Gray County Historical Markers

Page 2

McClellan, George B., Pampa
McLean Methodist Church, McLean
McLean-Alanreed Museum, McLean
Pampa, Pampa
Pampa Army Air Force Base, Site of, Pampa
Pampa City Hall, Pampa
Pioneer Cottage, Pampa
Red River Expedition of 1852, Pampa
Rescue of Two White Girls by Lt. Frank Baldwin, Pampa
White Deer Land Building, Pampa
White Deer Land Museum, Pampa
World War II Prisoner of War Camp at McLean, McLean

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McClellan, George B., Pampa

Marker Location: from Pampa: 19 miles south on SH 70; 5 miles east on FM 2477 at Lake McClellan Recreation Area

Year Marker Erected: 1996

Marker Text: West Point graduate George B. McClellan (1826-1885) was a U.S. Army engineer and a member of an expedition led by Randolph B. Marcy that explored the Texas Panhandle in 1852. McClellan Creek was named for him, and nearly a century later Lake McClellan was named in his honor.

He was vice president and chief engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad and served as a Union general during the Civil War. He designed the McClellan saddle used by the U.S. Army. He ran for president in 1864 against Abraham Lincoln and served as governor of New Jersey from 1878-1881. (1996)

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McLean Methodist Church, McLean

Year Marker Erected: 1986

(no text provided)

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McLean-Alanreed Museum, McLean

Mailing Address:
McLean-Alanreed Museum
116 Main
McLean, Texas 79057

Street Address: 116 Main

Area Code: 806
Phone: 779-2731

Contact: Darlene Birkes
Area Code: 806
Phone Number: 665-2913

Director: Fayette Bell Barton

Museum Classification: General, History, Military, Non-Historic Structure, Museum Building Type: Historic Structure

Original Purpose: General Store

Types of Exhibits/Collections: Art, Military, Photos, Historical, Local/Pioneer History

Educational Programs: School Tours

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Pampa, Pampa

Marker Location: 1 Albert Square, Pampa (faces Courthouse Square on Kingsmill).

Year Marker Erected: 1986

Marker Text: In 1888 a telegraph station on the Southern Kansas Railroad developed here, and was named Glasgow. Renamed Sutton a year later, a post office was established in 1892 and the town was named Pampa by George Tyng (d. 1906), manager of the White Deer Land Company.

Surveyor A. H. Doucette (1884-1964) laid out the town in 1902. The first school opened in 1903 and the first church was organized in 1906. J. N. Duncan (1858-1941) became Pampa's first mayor in 1912. Following a 1920s oil boom, the county seat was moved here from Lefors in 1928.

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Pampa Army Air Force Base, Site of, Pampa

Marker Location: beginning in Pampa, take SH 152 about 11 miles east to intersection of SH 152 and FM 1474. (marker is on southeast corner).

Year Marker Erected: 1982

Marker Text: In the early 1940s Pampa Mayor Fred Thompson and a delegation from the city's Chamber of Commerce traveled to Washington, D.C. to promote this area as a possible site for a military base. Attracted by the terrain, climactic history, available land and community response, Army officials chose this site for the establishment of an installation to train pilots and support personnel for World War II.

Construction of the Pampa Army Air Force Base began in June 1942, under the direction of the Tulsa, Oklahoma office of the Corps of Engineers. Overseeing the initial stages of the operation was Col. Norman B. Olsen. Temporary offices were set up in the Rose Motor Company and Culberson-Smalling buildings in town. Col. Daniel S. Campbell became the commanding officer in September 1942, and within two months the first planes and aviation cadets had arrived.

The Pampa Army Air Force Base closed September 30, 1945, after just three years of operation. During that time 6,292 aviation cadets and 3,500 mechanics were trained. The base's safety record was one of the best in the U.S. Training Command during World War II. Despite a brief history, the base had a dramatic impact on the development of the Pampa area. (1982)

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Pampa City Hall, Pampa

Marker Location: 1 Albert Square, Pampa (faces Courthouse Square on Kingsmill).

Year Marker Erected: 1987

Marker Text: Construction of this and other major downtown buildings in Pampa came as a result of the Texas Panhandle Oil Boom of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Designed by architect William R. Kaufman to complement the Gray County Courthouse, which he also designed, the City Hall was completed in December 1930.

The beaux arts style building features triumphal arch entrances with classical detailing and pilaster elements around the perimeter. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1987

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Pioneer Cottage, Pampa

Marker Location: corner of Yeager Street and Starkweather in City Park area, Pampa.

Year Marker Erected: 1970

Marker Text: Built in 1903, one year after county was organized, by settlers Wiley Vincent and wife Katie. This small early Texas cabin has 2 rooms. In 1907, huge prairie fire missed it by only 600 yards. The cabin was bought in 1920 by E. S. Carr, Pampa mayor, 1917-1918 and 1938-1940.

He gave it as a wedding present to daughter Edna and her husband Clifford Vincent, a son of the builders. In 1963, the Cliff Vincents gave the cabin for use as a museum to the Pampa Genealogical and Historical Society. It has been furnished with period pieces and restored to original appearance. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1970.

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Red River Expedition of 1852, Pampa

Marker Location: SH 70 R.O.W. 6 miles south of Pampa.

Year Marker Erected: 1984

Marker Text: In 1852, U.S. Army Captain and explorer of the Southwest Randolph B. Marcy and George B. McClellan, later Democratic candidate for President against Abraham Lincoln, led Company D, 5th Infantry into the Texas Panhandle to locate the headwaters of the Red River.

Their findings had great impact on the determination of Texas' border with the State of Oklahoma. Until the 1852 journey, it was not known that there are two large branches of the Red River that intersect the 100th meridian, which forms the eastern boundary of the Texas Panhandle.

On June 16th, the company discovered the headwaters of the North Fork (approx. 1 mi. SE). On July 1st, they found the source of the southern, or Prairie Dog Town, fork in Palo Duro Canyon. Marcy's report to Congress is one of the earliest known written records of Gray County.

Since several early treaties had used the Red River as a boundary and since there was an extensive area of land between the two branches, the question arose as to which fork was in the minds of the contracting parties when the boundary was first defined.

Marcy testified before a Congressional Committee that the South Fork should be the boundary, and an 1896 Supreme Court decision confirmed his findings. (1984)

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Rescue of Two White Girls by Lt. Frank Baldwin, Pampa

Marker Location: take SH 273 south from Pampa. Marker is located at SH 273 and Spur 398 in a small park just north of Lefors.

Year Marker Erected: 1936

Marker Text: Ten miles southwest of here Lieutenant Frank D. Baldwin commanding two companies of United States troops attacked a large band of Cheyenne Indians and rescued two white girl captives, November 8, 1874.

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White Deer Land Building, Pampa

Year Marker Erected: 1970

(no text provided)

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White Deer Land Museum, Pampa

Mailing Address:
White Deer Land Museum
P O Box 1556
Pampa, Texas 79066

Street Address: 116 S Cuyler

Area Code: 806
Phone: 669-8041

Contact: Anne Davidson
Area Code: 806
Phone Number: 669-8041

Museum Classification: General, Non-Historic Structure, Museum Building Type: Historic Structure

Historic Designation: Recorded Texas Historic Landmark

Educational Programs: Guided Tours, School Tours, Lectures

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World War II Prisoner of War Camp at McLean, McLean

Marker Location: 2 miles east of McLean on IH-40 to exit #146; 1 mile north on CR 5280 (county line road)

Year Marker Erected: 1997

Marker Text: A permanent alien interment camp (prisoner of war camp) in the 8th Service Command was established here during World War II. Construction began in September 1942 and American military personnel and German prisoners began to arrive in July 1943.

The site included 25-30 buildings to accommodate the military and civilian personnel required to operate the camp. Three large compounds housed the prisoners of war. Other structures included warehouses, engineering and fire departments, carpenter shop, and water plants.

Facilities for the military were comprised of barracks, nurses' and bachelor officers' quarters, officers' club, post exchange and commissary, theater, laundry, and barber shop. A small hospital was shared by the American military and the prisoners of war.

The first group of prisoners brought to McLean were members of the famed Afrika Korps commanded by General Erwin Rommel and were captured in North Africa. By October 1944 the camp exceeded its official capacity of 3,000 prisoners. The community was closely involved with the camp, and many local citizens formed lasting friendships with some of the German prisoners. The camp closed in July 1945. (1997)

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Page last updated on April 9, 2000