Tex Randall is a tall cowboy figure constructed in 1959 next to U.S. Route 60 in

Canyon, Texas Canyon is a city in, and the county seat of, Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, metropolitan statistical area. Canyon is the home of West Texas A&M University and ...

. It weighs seven tons and is made of cement and steel. The statue was constructed in 1959 by local shop teacher Harry Wheeler to advertise for a western wear store directly next to it. It originally featured a bandanna, a western-style shirt and real denim jeans. When Highway 60 was rerouted through an underpass, traffic to the store declined and it closed. The statue gradually fell into disrepair as high winds shredded the jeans, a truck crashed into the left boot, and the cigarette was shot from his hand. In 1987, a campaign began to repair the statue, which resulted in a different appearance: the remains of the cigarette were replaced with a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...

and new paint gave him different clothing and a moustache. Without further maintenance, the statue again fell into disrepair until 2013, when the

Texas Department of Transportation The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...

constructed a park underneath and around the statue. A new campaign funded the restoration of the statue to more closely resemble its original appearance. The restoration was completed in 2016. The statue was named an official Canyon landmark in 2017.

References

{{Reflist Colossal statues in the United States Landmarks in Texas Buildings and structures completed in 1959 Statues of fictional characters Mascots introduced in 1959 1959 establishments in Texas Male characters in advertising