This highway giant has a bit of
history. He is ultimately kin to Glenn Goode's two Cowboys that stand northeast of Gainesville, TX. When Mr. Goode acquired his first Cowboy -- not this one -- in 1971, it was missing its head and hands. He borrowed the head and hat from a Cowboy in Canton, TX to create a mould, and then did something similar with one of Ken's Dallas Half-Wits for the hands.
At some point, Mr. Goode cast moulds of the rest of the body, and two new Cowboys were created. One was placed in front of Glenn's son's business in Sherman, TX, while the other was placed in front of a business in Sanger, TX. This latter one now stands here in Amarillo.
Prior to his movement to Amarillo in 2004, our Cowboy was neglected and used for target practice, and that's where the nickname of "2nd Amendment Cowboy" comes in. Before the Cowboy was sent to Amarillo, Mr. Goode himself repaired all the damage and restored him. He stood in front of the Country Barn BBQ & Steaks east of here until the restaurant closed in 2013, and by 2014, he was standing here at the corner of Hope Road and the I-40 service road. The Cadillac Ranch itself is slightly west of here.
The Cowboy stands 22' tall, with his head tilted slightly forward. He wears a beige Stetson hat, waving with his right hand while his left hand is at his side. His shirt is yellow, with black lettering on both sides, identifying himself as the "2nd Amendment Cowboy". His slacks are dark blue, pressed and pleated, with white stitching on the back pockets, and they're held up by a black belt with a tarnished silver buckle with a longhorn on it. He's wearing silver spurs (which don't spin) on his black boots -- they could use some repair -- and the shaft of the boots is red with blue inlay.
In front of the Cowboy is a faux Texas Historical Marker -- that's not the symbol of the Texas Historical Commission at the top -- with the Second Amendment quoted:
2nd Amendment
to the Constitution of
The United States of America
A well regulated militia being
necessary to the security of
a free state, the right of the
people to keep and bear arms
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.
The spurious George Washington quote follows:
A free people ought not only
be armed and disciplined, but
they should have sufficient
arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from
any who might attempt to abuse
them, which would include their
own government.
George Washington
Unfortunately, that's not what he said, and the attribution should have been preceded by "Thou Shalt Not Lie" from the Ten Commandments. The Mount Vernon website notes that the first ten words are from Washington's First Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union in 1790 in which Washington was promoting self-reliance. The remainder is an "alternative fact", tacked on presumably to promote someone's agenda, and our first President actually said this:
"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies."
Interestingly, the Cowboy is not armed, and a twist of irony is that his very name comes from the inability of some to use their firearms responsibly. One can visit the Cowboy at any time, but there are plenty of signs advising of the use of cameras to monitor the goings-on here. They're probably more concerned about the cars behind the Cowboy, but they probably wouldn't take too kindly to anybody's messing with their private property.