 | Amarillo Texas: Encyclopedia II - Amarillo Texas - History
Amarillo Texas - History
In 1514, a Spanish conquistador named Francisco Coronado was the first European to visit the present day Amarillo region. In April 1887, J. T. Berry established a site for a town after he chose a well-watered section along the way of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad, which had begun building across the Texas Panhandle.
Berry and Colorado City, Texas merchants wanted to make their new town site the region's main trading center. On August 30, 1887, Berry's town site won the county seat election and was established in Potter County. The settlement originally was called Oneida, it would later changed it name to Amarillo which derives from the nearby Amarillo Lake and Amarillo Creek, named probably for the yellow soil along their banks and shores (Amarillo is the Spanish word for yellow, the color). Most of the town's first houses were painted yellow in tribute of the name change. The railroad and freight service were made available after the county seat election. Amarillo became a fast growing cattle marketing center.
On June 19, 1888, Henry B. Sanborn began buying land to the east to move Amarillo after arguing that Berry's site was on low ground and would flood during rainstorms. He also offered to trade lots in the new location to businesses in the original city’s site and help the expense of moving buildings. Sanborn’s incentives gradually won over people, who moved their businesses to Polk Street in the new commercial district. In 1889, it rained heavily and almost flooded Berry’s part of the town and prompted more people to move to Sanborn's location. In 1893, another county-seat election made Sanborn's town the new county seat.
By 1890, Amarillo had appeared as one of the world's busiest cattle shipping points. The city’s population rose from 482 in 1890 to 1,442 by 1900. In 1913, Amarillo is the first Texas city and the fifth in United States to use the council-manager form of government. [2][3] During the early 1900s, Amarillo became an elevator, milling, and feed-manufacturing center after an increasing production of wheat and small grains. In 1918, the discovery of oil in the Texas Panhandle brought oil and gas companies to the region. In 1928, the discovery of the Cliffside gas field with high helium content and eventually led the establishment of the United States Helium Plant by the Federal Bureau of Mines.
In the 1930s, Amarillo was hit by the infamous Dust Bowl. Also in the 1930s, the U.S. Highways 60, 87, 287, and 66 merged at Amarillo, making it a major tourist stop with numerous motels, restaurants, and curio shops. By 1940, Amarillo's population was 51,686. During World War II, led the establishment of Amarillo Army Air Field at the Amarillo airport and the nearby Pantex Army Ordinance Plant, which produced bombs and ammunition. After the end of World War II, both of the facilities were closed. In 1950, the Pantex plant was reopened and produced nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War. In 1951, The air base was reactivated and expanded to accommodate a Strategic Air Command wing. [4] The arrival of servicemen and their families ended the city's depression. Between 1950 and 1960, Amarillo grew from 74,443 to 137,969. The closure of the Amarillo Air Force Base on December 31, 1968, contributed to a decrease in population to 127,010 by 1970. In 1980, the population of Amarillo reached to 149,230 and its city limits encompassed 60 square miles in Potter and Randall counties. In 2000, the city’s population reached 173,627.
Other related archives1514, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1893, 1900, 1900s, 1913, 1918, 1925, 1928, 1930s, 1940, 1950, 1951, 1960, 1966, 1968, 1980, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2006, AF2, ASARCO, AT&T, Affiliated Foods, Inc., African American, Akon, Albuquerque, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Amarillo College, Amarillo Dillas, Amarillo Dusters, Amarillo Globe-News, Amarillo Gorillas, Amarillo National Bank, Amarillo Slim, Amarillo metropolitan area, American Airlines, American Eagle, American Quarter Horse, American Quarter Horse Association, Asian, Atmos Energy, August 30, BNSF Railway, BWXT Pantex, Barry Orton, Bell Helicopter Textron, Ben Sargent, Blair Garner, Bobby Troup, CDs, Cable television, Cadillac, Cadillac Ranch, California, Canyon, Texas, Carolyn Jones, Cast Away, Central Hockey League, Clovis, Cold War, Colorado City, Texas, Comic Relief, Continental Express, Cox Communications, Cyd Charisse, DVD, Dallas, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Danny Elfman, December 31, Denver, Division II, Dory Funk, Dory Funk, Jr., Dust Bowl, Erik Watts, European, Evan Tanner, Francisco Coronado, Full House, GR1, GR2, GR6, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, George Strait, Grand Canyon, Great Lakes Aviation, Handbook of Texas, Helium, Hereford, Texas, Hispanic, Houston, Howard Greenfield, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Interstate 27, Interstate 40, Is This the Way to Amarillo, J.D. Souther, January 27, January 28, John Steinbeck, July 1, June 19, Kevin Fowler, Lake Meredith, Las Vegas, Latino, List of Registered Historic Places in Potter County, List of Registered Historic Places in Randall County, List of television stations in Amarillo, Love Field, M. K. Wren, Marine One, Michelle Tanner, Mike Hettinga, NCAA, Nat King Cole, Native American, Neil Sedaka, New Mexico, Ogallala Aquifer, Oklahoma, Oprah Winfrey, Owens Corning, Pacific Blue, Pacific Islander, Palo Duro Canyon, Panhandle, Pantex, Pantex Army Ordinance Plant, Paul Lockhart, Paula Trickey, Peter Kay, Phoenix Nights, Plainview, Potter County, Randall County, Rick D. Husband, Rick Husband, Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, Ron Ely, Santa Fe Railroad, Serpico, Southwest Airlines, Space Shuttle Columbia, Spanish, Stanley Marsh 3, State Park, T. Boone Pickens, Jr., Tarzan, Telephone, Terry Funk, Texas, Texas Panhandle, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, The Addams Family, The Big Texan Steak Ranch, The Grapes of Wrath, The Wall Street Journal, Todd English, Tom Hanks, Tony Christie, Tyson Foods, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census, U.S. Highway 287, U.S. Highway 60, U.S. Highway 66, U.S. Highway 87, U.S. Highways, U.S. News & World Report, U.S. state, UK Singles Chart, USD, United States Census Bureau, United Supermarkets, V-22 Osprey, Wal-Mart, Wayland Baptist University, West Texas, West Texas A&M University, White, William Thomas, World War II, Xcel Energy, automobiles, bachelor's degree, budgets, cattle, census, charity, city manager, college basketball, color, community college, conquistador, council-manager, country music, county seat, documentary film, flint, freight, gallons, helium, income, kg, km, km², laws, legislative body, married couples, mayor, miles, mi², m³, natural gas, nuclear weapons, oil, other races, ounce, paratransit, per capita income, population density, poverty line, primary, railroad, school districts, secondary education, self-proclaimed, sitcom, summer, yellow
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
