Wayside is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Armstrong County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 2000, the population was thirty-five. The community is part of the

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

Wayside was originally named Beulah, after the daughter of one of the McSpadden family's daughters. It was renamed Wayside for its location on the "wayside" of the

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo and Canyon, Texas, Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an ...

. A post office was established at Wayside in September 1897 with Hervey J. Bradford as postmistress. The community's first settlers were

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

s on the JA Ranch who developed line camps along the canyon's south rim. A road was also built to move

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and ranch outfits across the canyon to the community. It was a retail supply point for an area that was perfect for

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

raising and irrigated farming. It had two stores and 40 residents in 1940. 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 ...

found another business, as well as a cemetery in Wayside in 1948. It had the same three businesses, as well as a population of 100, in 1967, which declined to 36 two years later. It was 40 in 1970 through 1990. It had one business in 1991 and Native American relics from the 15th century were found near Wayside. Its population was 35 in 2000. Its population was estimated as 40 in 2010. Although it is unincorporated, Wayside has a post office, with the ZIP Code of 79094.Zip Code Lookup
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Geography

Wayside is located on Farm to Market Road 285 south of the

, east of the Randall County line and north of the Swisher County line in the southwestern corner of Armstrong County. The two nearest cities are

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...

, located northeast and

Canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

, located northeast.

Education

Wayside was first established as a school district in 1893. Its land was donated by the McSpadden family. It had its own high school in 1940, and another school in 1948. Today, the community is served by the

Claude Independent School District Claude Independent School District is a public school district based in Claude, Texas ( USA). In 2009, the school district was rated " recognized" by the Texas Education Agency. Schools In the 2012-2013 school year, the district had students i ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Armstrong County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Amarillo metropolitan area