Panhandle is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Carson County, Texas Carson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,807. The county seat is Panhandle. The county was founded in 1876 and later organized in 1888. It is named for Samuel Price Carson, the ...

, United States. The population was 2,378 at the 2020 census. Panhandle is part of the

Amarillo metropolitan statistical area The Amarillo metropolitan statistical area is a metropolitan area in the Texas Panhandle that covers five counties: Armstrong, Carson, Potter, Randall, and Oldham. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 268,691. Counties * Armstr ...

History

Panhandle derives its name from its central location in the Texas Panhandle. Originally named "Carson City", it was later changed to "Panhandle City". In 1887, Panhandle obtained a post office, and in 1888, the city was planned as the terminus of the

Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway The Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway (P&SF) was an American rail transport company that was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF), operating primarily in the Texas Panhandle. History Chartered November 2, 1886 as The S ...

. At that time, the city was surrounded by several large cattle ranches. The community soon acquired a bank, a mercantile store, a wagonyard, a school, a newspaper, and three saloons. In 1888, Carson County was organized, and Panhandle became the county seat. The area's cattlemen were reconciled to the arrival of farmers because they produced needed

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

crops, such as

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

, and introduced more families with eligible young women for the cowboy bachelors of the cattle kingdom.Lester Fields Sheffy, ''The Life and Times of

Timothy Dwight Hobart Timothy Dwight Hobart (October 6, 1855 – May 19, 1935) was an American businessman, best known as the manager of the JA Ranch. He was also mayor of Pampa, Texas.Lester Fields Sheffy, ''The Life and Times of Timothy Dwight Hobart, 1855-1935: Colo ...

, 1855-1935: Colonization of West Texas'' (Canyon, Texas: Panhandle-Plains Historical Society, 1950), pp. 120-121 Panhandle was scandalized in 1897 after George E. Morrison, a preacher at the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

, poisoned his wife Minnie with a

strychnine Strychnine (, , American English, US chiefly ) is a highly toxicity, toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, ...

-laced apple so that he could marry his mistress Miss Annie Whittlesey of

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

. Morrison was sentenced to die in the gallows at Vernon in

Wilbarger County, Texas Wilbarger County ( ) is a county located in the North Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,887. The county seat is Vernon. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1881. Wilba ...

, his last words being: "

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, Lover of My Soul". In 1909, Panhandle voted to incorporate with a mayor-council government. The population grew in the 1920s when Panhandle became the center of a

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

field. A new county courthouse was completed in 1950. Panhandle continued to thrive in the 1980s as a regional marketing and shipping center for cattle,

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

products.

Geography

Panhandle is located slightly south of the center of Carson County.

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

passes through the city, leading northeast to

Pampa The Pampas (; from Quechuan languages, Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentina, Argentine Provinces of Argentina, provinces of Buenos Aires Pro ...

and southwest the same distance to Amarillo.

Texas State Highway 207 State Highway 207 (SH 207) is a state Highway that runs from Post, Texas through the South Plains and Texas Panhandle to the Oklahoma state line. History The highway was originally designated on August 1, 1934 between Floydada and Ralls. On ...

crosses US 60 in Panhandle and passes through the center of the city; it leads north to Borger and south to

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

Conway Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Townshi ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Panhandle has a total area of , all land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Panhandle has a borderline

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...

(''Cfa'')/ cool semi-arid (''BSk'') climate. It features hot summers with moderate rainfall and cold, though extremely variable, and generally dry winters.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,378 people, 1,058 households, and 723 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 2,589 people, 945 households, and 719 families were residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 1,216.6 people/sq mi (469.3/km²). The 1,014 housing units averaged 476.5/sq mi (183.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.16% White, 0.66% African American, 0.77% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 3.86% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 8.96% of the population. Of the 945 households, 38.2% had children under 18 living with them, 64.0% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were not families. About 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.63, and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.4% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $41,686, and for a family was $50,735. Males had a median income of $38,155 versus $25,329 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $21,640. About 4.0% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 7.1% of those under 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Sites listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

include Carson County Square House Museum, and the Panhandle Inn.

Education

Panhandle is served by the Panhandle Independent School District. Panhandle High School is located here.

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Texas County seats in Texas Cities in Amarillo metropolitan area