Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad

Construction of a railroad across the Panhandle led to the founding of Amarillo as County Seat of Potter County, Aug. 30, 1887. For the ensuing ten years, Amarillo had a monopoly on trade from the South plains, and was the nation's largest rural cattle shipping point, 1892-97. But in 1898 its trade was threatened and the city's very existence jeopardized when it appeared that the (Santa Fe sponsored) Pecos Valley & North Eastern Railway, to be built to Roswell, N.M. (220 mi. SW), might make junction with the Santa Fe at Washburn (15 mi. SE), cutting off ready access to the South plains. The Santa Fe, however, responded to requests from the citizens to make Amarillo the terminus of the new line. The Santa Fe acquired the Pecos Valley & North Eastern in 1899 and moved headquarters from Panhandle (30 mi. NE) to Amarillo. In 1908 the Santa Fe extended its main line here from Panhandle and built a link from Texico, N.M., to Belen, N.M., making Amarillo a major point on the transcontinental line. These measures, together with construction of branch lines, contributed vitally to making Amarillo the commercial center of the High Plains. (1973)

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad is a historical marker in Amarillo, Potter County, dedicated in 1973. It is one of 48 historical markers documented in Potter County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 68 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 35.2046, -101.8376 near Amarillo. The nearest cataloged historic site is Bivins Home (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Site of Significant Archeological Find, American Mammoths, Santa Fe Building, and Fisk Medical Arts & Professional Building.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5375000227. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.