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The fierce bands of Comanche Indians, on the testimony of their contemporaries, both red and white, numbered some of the most splendid horsemen the world has ever produced. "Nearby, on October 9, Buell defeated another group, and four days later Price, another group in Hemphill County, Texas. On October 21, Davidson took the field again to receive the surrender of the Indians near the agency, while Miles drove . . . " Read more Look inside

"The Jail was the first permanent public building built in Hemphill County, predating even the courthouse. In January 1897, prisoner Jim Harbolt, accused of murder, escaped from the jail by sawing through the window bars with a hacksaw blade and prying the bars loose with a crow bar. He let himself down to the ground with a rope made from bedding and was gone the next morning when Deputy Sherriff Dick Rathjen checked on his prisoner. Three day later . . . " Read more Look inside

"The settlement served as the county seat of newly organized Hemphill County, and quickly became a bustling community as it served the needs of the vast cattle ranches in the area. When Hemphill County was formed, it needed a sheriff, of course. The winner of the first election for the post was Tom McGee. Since Canadian was a shipping point for the surrounding ranches, it seems likely that most of McGee's official duties consisted of breaking up fights and throwing drunken in the hoosegow on payday. All that changed on the evening of November 24th, 1894 . . ." Read more Look inside

A HAUNTED MIDDLE SCHOOL IN CANADIAN
Mary Brainard Isaacs was born February 16, 1854. At age 34, Mary and her parents moved from New York to the Texas Panhandle. Mary's brother Ed had a ranch in Roberts County and encouraged his family to join him. They made the trip in 1888 and were the first passengers on the Santa Fe line. Mary and her parents stayed at the Sutherland Hotel for several days. Her parents didn't like the isolation of the ranch and asked to be taken back to Canadian. Mary became Canadian's pioneer educator when a one-room school house opened on November 12, 1888.... Mary died October 12, 1950 at the age of 96. After gleaning what I could of Mary's past, I turned to the present....and to those who spent their time alone at the Middle School, haunted by the pioneer teacher's ghost... Read more Look inside  . . . for more like this please see Mysterious Texas

"To avoid apprehension they kidnapped Dr. Myers and took him to Glazier, Texas keeping him under guard with a shot gun . . . Read more Look inside

In 1894, George Isaacs, the penniless black sheep of his family, was running with the worst of the outlaws in the Oklahoma Territory. There, a get-rich-quick scheme that seemed foolproof was hatched up. The plan was for George to present money packets falsely purporting to contain $25,000 in cash to the Wells Fargo office in Kansas City. Wells Fargo was to ship the packets via the Santa Fe railroad to George at Canadian, Texas, where George’s cronies would then rob the depot office and steal the phony money packets ... Read more Look inside

Battles of the Red River War unearths a long-buried record of the collision of two cultures.

"Nelson A . Miles established his headquarters and supply camp at a site on the Washita River in what is now Hemphill County, Texas , anticipating that the campaign against the Indians would extend into the coming winter months . From this camp, in early November  . . . " Read more Look inside

Getting Away with Murder on the Texas Frontier:

Sagebrush justice relied less on written statutes than on common sense, grass-roots fairness, and vague notions of folk law drawn from the Old South’s Victorian code of chivalry and honor. "Tom T. McGee was the first elected sheriff of Hemphill County, Texas. He was murdered by members of the Bill Doolin gang at the railroad depot in Canadian, Texas, on November 23, 1894, during an attempted robbery of the Wells Fargo Office. George Isaacs testified that the plan was  . . ." Read more Look inside

From 1833 to 1875, in a theater of action extending from Kansas to Mexico, the strife was almost uninterrupted. The U.S. Army, Kansas militia, Texas Rangers, and white pioneers and traders were arrayed against the fierce and heroic bands of the Kiowas, Comanches, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, and Kiowa-Apaches. "On October 13, near Gageby Creek in what is now Hemphill County, Texas (Panhandle), a detachment of Navajo scouts accompanying the column from New Mexico under Major W.R. Price, Eighth Cavalry, dispersed and scattered a band of . . . " Read more Look inside

Texas Women and Ranching: On the Range, at the Rodeo, and in Their Communities explores a variety of roles women played on the western ranch. Mary Jane Alexander certainly never set out to be the first woman rancher in the Texas Panhandle. Born Mary Jane Mathes on September 3, 1840, she grew up in a staunchly Presbyterian family. Her father was a minister. It was the custom in her family for the eldest son to become a Presbyterian minister, and, if possible, the girls would marry a Presbyterian minister . . . Read more Look inside

"The Canadian Depot Robbery. George Isaacs had three brothers who settled in Hemphill County and became landowners and respected citizens. But somehow things had never worked out right for George. At the time his brothers had been " . . . Read more Look inside

From Spanish conquistadores and American Indian battles to railroads and oil booms, Hemphill County has seen it all. Located in the northeast Panhandle, Hemphill County is a land of sage-covered sand hills and rolling breaks, with towering buttes and deep canyons cut by the Canadian River. Once inhabited by the ancient mammoth and mastodon and, more recently, thundering herds of bison, Hemphill County has a rich human history too. It was home . . . Read more Look inside

For eight years (1832–39) George Catlin ventured among the Indians of the North American Plains capturing in verbal and visual pictures every facet of their lives. "CAMP CANADIAN, TEXAS. Six days of severe travelling have brought us from the Comanche village to the North bank of the Canadian, where we are snugly encamped on a beautiful plain, and in the midst of countless numbers of buffaloes . . . " Read more Look inside

Most writers are impressed by three things in the life of Clay Allison: That he had a tooth pulling bout with a dentist; that he rode the streets of Canadian, Texas, clothed only in a gun belt; and that he went back to Tennessee to marry his childhood sweetheart. Eleven years of research and thirty thousand miles of travel are the propos on which the author built this story. It is not surprising that he should come up with a human being who is surprisingly capable of feats more commendable than those other Western legendary characters hit upon by most writers of Western folklore . . . . Read more Look inside

The bawdy and moving story of two contemporary bronco busters. Acclaimed for its realistic depiction of modern cowboying and for its humor, it is also a very serious work, described by the author as a tragicomedy. "I heard his name called, Walter Hall from Canadian, Texas. I almost swallowed my dry tongue. There is always a bunch of good rodeo hands from that part of the country. This kid, maybe eighteen or nineteen, rode in the arena. He had a ". . . Read more Look inside

Taming the Land presents postcards from twenty-four counties in the booming Texas Panhandle. This is the first book in a set called Plains of Light, which will collect and document turn-of-the-twentieth-century photo postcards from all over West Texas . . . Read more Look inside

When American explorers crossed the Texas Panhandle, they dubbed it part of the “Great American Desert.” A “sea of grass,” the llano appeared empty, flat, and barely habitable. Contemporary developments—cell phone towers, oil rigs, and wind turbines—have only added to this stereotype. Yet in this lyrical ecomemoir, Shelley Armitage charts a unique rediscovery of the largely unknown land, a journey at once deeply personal and far-reaching in its exploration of the connections between memory, spirit, and place . . . Read more Look inside

Harry Johnson and two accomplices, along with a prostitute—all of whom likely boarded the Iron Mountain at Piedmont to reach Hemphill County, Texas —were taken into custody there and held for Missouri authorities ready to charge him . . . Read more Look inside

The Chisholm Trail is one of the most famous cattle trails of the Old West. It ran for eight hundred miles, from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas, and was instrumental in creating the famous image of the cowboy. "At the time of the breaking up of the cattle business in the Cherokee Strip , Anderson Hance moved to Glazier, Texas , where he operated a cattle ranch and prospered . He came from there for many years to attend the old cowboys ' annual" . . . Read more Look inside

by Veva Vonter

Texas movies are as vast as the Lone Star State. This book offers readers the chance to visit Texas vicariously by viewing movies filmed in and about the state that reflect Texas history, cultures, and landscapes. Found inside: "Cast Away (2000), OK, you don't associate Texas with islands in the middle of the ocean, but this Tom Hanks vehicle does include some great shots of a lonely Panhandle crossroads---remember those four highways stretching way out here to the horizon? Those scenes near the end of the movie, when Tom is searching for his former fiancé, were filmed near the town of Canadian, more specifically on the Arrington Ranch   . . . " Read more Look inside

Resources:

West Texas History & Memories (Face Book Group)

Early Life in Texas County by County

Books about Texas People and Places

Famous People from Texas County by County

These Deceased Residents of Canadian Texas left a total $33,515 in Unclaimed Money for their heirs. Know the Heirs? Please Share this with your Family and Friends to Let them know . . . see the list