We explored the ares of the panhandle north and east. North of Route 66 and east of Amarillo.
Starting with the map …. Zoom in on Amarillo and find US 60. Going up 60 we stopped in Panhandle, White Deer, Pampa. After Pampa on 60 we took TX 152 into Mobeetie and on into Wheeler. In Wheeler we took US 83 North into Canadian then on to Lipscomb by taking US 60 out of Canadian then TX 305 North. From Lipscomb to Perryton it got really cool …. FM 1920 out of Lipscombe changes into FM 3260 North a few blocks on TX 23 then County Road V changes into County Road U stay on county road U past Huge Boulders and Outcroppings, Unbelievably beautiful scenery and NO cars whatsoever … stop and photograph Wild Turkeys, a lake …. WOW then US 83 North into Perryton. Then Leaving Perryton on TX 15 into Spearman … Leaving Spearman on TX 207 in Stinnett and on to Borger. Whew … Finally Back to Amarillo … and Rest.
Panhandle Texas was a Major Surprise. You expect to see a courthouse, maybe a railroad station …. they have a full blown museum!! Donations Accepted!! So many things to see!! A Must See if you are ever in the Texas panhandle, spread out across 2 buildings and a huge block of ground is a fantastic museum about life in the panhandle. Rail Cars, horse drawn paddy wagon, dispatcher’s office, pioneer dugout home, lots of artifacts. More than possible to list.
Beautiful Rail Station for the Santa Fe Railroad … Currently City Hall
The surprise museum is in the town square directly across from the county courthouse. Shown is the smallest building. There are several static structures and 2 larger brick buildings on the grounds. Worth the time to stop, definitely.
Carson County Courthouse has a beautiful Carved Mosaic Right above the front door.
Well, this just about sums up White Deer, Texas. Main Street is closed and the white deer guards empty brick streets. The historical marker points out that the town got it’s name from a nearby creek which, according to indian legend, had white deer feeding there.
Pampa Texas has an old Downtown area with several very interesting buildings. Also Gray County Courthouse is in the town of Pampa.
Mobeetie Texas was another nice little surprise. Mobeetie (the town) is on the north side of TX 152. Historic old Mobeetie is on the south side of TX 152. We went to the town, first and almost went on our way …. then we went south. Mobeetie was once the county seat of wheeler county. The first county jail in the panhandle is there …. along with several other structures … an old one room schoolhouse, an old barber shop, an old doctor’s office, each with artifacts! US Cavalry Fort Elliot once occupied space near Mobeetie and several artifacts from there are housed at the museum including the old original flagpole. There is a larger old school building on the grounds that houses artifacts from several school districts in the area including yearbooks, photos, jackets, furniture, and other small school artifacts. All of the structures were open for touring the day we were there!
Wheeler, Texas. The most impressive veterans memorial view was in this town. The view of the memorial with the massive county courthouse and the cannon off to one side was definitely striking.
Canadian, Texas …. The county Seat of Hemphill County. Hands Down the most beautiful veterans memorial in the entire panhandle. The Courthouse was being restored while we were there, so it was covered with scaffolding. You can easily see what glory awaits when the scaffolding comes down. Canadian actually has a very old movie theater still in operation and a wagon bridge built at the turn of the 20th century that is in good enough shape for pedestrians to use …. we did. We walked almost the entire length of the bridge. It was awesome!!
Imagine driving into Canadian, Texas from Oklahoma within this structure …. this bridge carried automobiles and trucks into the 1960s!!
Lipscomb Taxas …. Well they had some old boarded up old west buildings and the county courthouse. Not much else.
But, the Drive between Lipscomb and Perryton made the disapponintment of little to see in Lipscomb worth while. What a beautiful drive!! Highly recommend Ochiltree County Road U (Except that you may not see another car or human for quite a while … not for the faint of heart).
Perryton Texas is a neat little town. The old Ellis Theater is still in operation. There’s another beautiful Art Deco Building almost directly across the street from the theater. The old Ochiltree County Courthouse has cows instead of gargoyles … how fitting is that?
Spearman Texas had another little nice surprise. First of all, spread out throughout the town are windmills. Each with a number like you’d check it off a list or something. Turns out, JB Buchanan Windmill Park has a whole bunch of windmills that actually operate in one spot and the mills you see in the town are actually part of the park’s collection. We spent several minutes roaming around the park, just looking. Spearman is the county seat of Hansford County Texas.
Stinnett Texas …. another neat little town, not much to see. Beautiful County Courthouse and Isaac McCormick Cottage built in 1899. That’s about it.
Borger Texas … It was getting dark when we rolled into Borger. We looked at a couple of old theater buildings and left to get back to the hotel room. It had been a very long day. Nice, but, long.
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