In 1886 the Southern Kansas Trailway Company of Texas, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, began plans to bridge the Canadian River and continue laying rails south into the panhandle. A year later, land was sold to the railroad to create a site for a depot, side tracts, cattle pens, churches and a school. Lots were made available for merchants and shopkeepers on July 4, 1887, and a town (originally called Moulton*, but soon changed to Canadian) was born. The Santa Fe Railroad became the lifeblood of the community for 67 years, providing jobs, education and entertainment for their employees and the surrounding population.
Section houses, water stations, roundhouses, stockyards, telegraph offices, a depot, a reading room, hotels, and restaurants were constructed. A brick depot with a 300-foot platform and a Harvey House restaurant were completed in 1907. The reading room was a boarding house for men working on the trains, and musicians, actors, and lecturers were brought in on a regular basis to entertain railroaders and townspeople free of charge. Santa Fe also provided educational programs to farmers and ranchers in the area. In the 1920’s, a special farm and home demonstration train toured, exhibiting the latest experiments and findings from agricultural universities, and teaching how to improve production and quality of crops and livestock.
Through the years, setbacks occurred, including several roundhouse fires, and floods that washed out bridges and tracks. But the railroad continued to build and improve, thus providing jobs for many local residents. During 1924, one train left the local yard each hour. The opening of the oil field industry in the Texas panhandle created a need to be able to load a thousand cars a day. One out of every six families in the area were employed by the Santa Fe.
In 1936, the change from steam engines to diesel-electric power created even more demand for rail shipping and better passenger trains with dining cars and fewer stops for water and fuel. When World War II broke out, trains became a vital force in the home front war effort. Santa Fe employees proudly purchased Victory Bonds and spearheaded scrap metal drives.
In 1954, the Texas Railroad Commission granted Santa Fe permission to move its freight terminal to Amarillo. One hundred fifty families were moved from Hemphill County to the new rail hub. That same year, Santa Fe began bypassing the town of Canadian, and the railroad once called the ‘greatest factor in the county’s growth’ no longer served as a major force in the community. Today, Canadian functions as a center for ranching, the oil and gas industry, and as a popular stop on eco-tourism trails including the Canadian River Historic Wagon Bridge. And the downtown features several architectural gems.
More recently, Canadian experienced the ravages of the Smokehouse Creek Fire of March 2024, when over thirty homes and structures were lost.
Thanks to the River Valley Pioneer Museum for contributing material for this story. For High Plains Public Radio, I’m Cheryl Berzanskis in Amarillo.
High Plains History is a production of High Plains Public Radio. Special thanks to Lynn Boitano for additional production assistance.
