|
 Henry B. Sanborn
N 35° 12.535 W 101° 49.866
14S E 242280 N 3899883
Texas Historical Marker at the west entrance to the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 S Buchanan St, Amarillo, TX, providing some background on Henry B. Sanborn's rise to success and his becoming the "Father of Amarillo."
Waymark Code: WMZKJM
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/24/2018
Views: 4
Marker Number: 2441
Marker Text:
In 1875 Henry B. Sanborn (1845-1912) began a long association with the state of Texas when he became the Texas sales agent for Joseph F. Glidden's newly patented invention, barbed wire. A native of New York, Sanborn had become acquainted with Glidden in DeKalb, Illinois, where he had boarded with the Glidden family and in 1868 had married Glidden's niece, Ellen Wheeler.
At the time Glidden and his partner, Judson P. Warner, shipped the first four carloads of wire to Texas, farmers and ranchers of the state were in the midst of a great controversy over the preservation of open ranges versus closed protection of fields. Sanborn bought 10,000 acres of ranch land in Grayson County on which he sought to prove that barbed wire could be successfully used in fencing large acreages. In 1881 he and Glidden formed a partnership and began what now is known as the Frying Pan Ranch in the Texas Panhandle. Surrounded with 120 miles of barbed wire fence, it proved to be a very successful ranching operation.
Sanborn was involved in the promotion of the major Amarillo townsite, earning him the title "Father of Amarillo." His ranching and promotional ventures were major factors in making Amarillo and the Panhandle one of Texas' leading cattle and ranching centers. (1984)
|
Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
|