Amarillo, Texas

==History==
{{For timeline}}
During April 1887, J. I. Berry established a site for a town after he chose a well-watered section along the [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]] of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad, which had begun building across the Texas Panhandle. Berry and [[Colorado City, Texas]], merchants wanted to make their new town site the region's main trading center. On August 30, 1887, Berry's town site won the [[county seat]] election and was established in Potter County. Availability of the [[railroad]] and [[freight]] service after the county seat election made the town a fast-growing [[cattle]]-marketing center.<ref name="handbook"/>

The settlement originally was called Oneida; it later changed its name to Amarillo, which probably derived from yellow wildflowers that were plentiful during the spring and summer or the nearby Amarillo Lake and Amarillo Creek, named in turn for the yellow soil along their banks and shores (''Amarillo'' is the Spanish word for the color yellow). Early residents originally pronounced the city's name more similar to the Spanish pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˌ|aː|m|ə|ˈ|r|iː|j|oʊ}} {{respell|ah-mə|REE|yoh}}, which was later displaced by the current pronunciation.<ref>Hammond, Clara T., comp. ''Amarillo'' (1974). pg. 6. George Autry, Printer, Amarillo, Texas.</ref>
[[File:Amarillo, Texas (1889).jpg|thumb|left|Amarillo in 1889, three weeks after incorporation]]
[[File:Amarillo Texas Downtown 1912.jpg|left|thumb|An aerial view of the Amarillo business district in 1912]]
[[File:Grand Opera House, Amarillo, Texas.jpg|thumb|right|Grand Opera House, Amarillo, Texas (postcard, circa 1909–1924)]]
[[File:Texas - Amarillo - NARA - 68149021 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Downtown Amarillo in 1944]]

On June 19, 1888, [[Henry B. Sanborn]], who is given credit as the "Father of Amarillo",<ref>{{cite news |author=Everett, Liz |title=History Makers of the High Plains: H.B. Sanborn |date=May 19, 2000 |work=Amarillo Globe-News |url=http://www.amarillo.com/stories/051900/his_sanborn.html |access-date=January 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003456/http://www.amarillo.com/stories/051900/his_sanborn.html |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and his business partner [[Joseph Glidden|Joseph F. Glidden]] began buying land to the east to move Amarillo after arguing that Berry's site was on low ground and would flood during rainstorms. Sanborn also offered to trade lots in the new location to businesses in the original city's site and help with the expense of moving to new buildings. His incentives gradually won over people, who moved their businesses to Polk Street in the new commercial district.<ref>{{cite news |author=Crawford, Jim |title=A town determined to survive |date=July 23, 2006 |work=Amarillo Globe-News |url=http://www.amarillo.com/stories/072306/spe_disama7.shtml |access-date=January 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929090757/http://www.amarillo.com/stories/072306/spe_disama7.shtml |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Heavy rains almost flooded Berry's part of the town in 1889, prompting more people to move to Sanborn's location. This eventually led to another county seat election making Sanborn's town the new county seat in 1893.<ref name="handbook"/>

By the late 1890s, Amarillo had emerged as one of the world's busiest cattle-shipping points, and its population grew significantly. The city became a [[grain elevator]], milling, and feed-manufacturing center after an increase in production of wheat and small grains during the early 1900s. Discovery of [[natural gas]] in 1918 and [[Petroleum|oil]] three years later brought oil and gas companies to the Amarillo area.<ref name="handbook"/>

The United States government bought the Cliffside Gas Field with high helium content in 1927 and the Federal Bureau of Mines began operating the Amarillo Helium plant two years later.<ref>{{cite news |author=Livadas, Greg |title=State of Ballooning: Texas |date=October 1999 |work=Balloon Life Magazine |url=http://balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9801/9910/sob9910.html |access-date=January 25, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316214121/http://www.balloonlife.com/publications/balloon_life/9801/9910/sob9910.html |archive-date=March 16, 2006 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The plant was the sole producer of commercial helium in the world for a number of years.<ref>{{Handbook of Texas|id=doh02|name=Helium Production}}. Retrieved on January 25, 2007.</ref> The [[National Helium Reserve|U.S. National Helium Reserve]] is stored in the Bush Dome Reservoir at the Cliffside facility.<ref>{{cite book |author= National Research Council U.S. |year= 2000 |title= The Impact of Selling the Federal Helium Reserve |chapter=TABLE 2.1 Ownership and Location of Helium Extraction Plants in the United States in 1998 |chapter-url= http://www.nap.edu/openbook/0309070384/html/20.html |page= 20 |publisher= National Academy Press |isbn= 0-309-07038-4 |author-link= United States National Research Council}}</ref>

Following the lead of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad, the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] and [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad]] established services to and from Amarillo. Each of these three carriers maintained substantial freight and passenger depots and repair facilities in the city through most of the 20th century and were major employers within the community.<ref name="railroads">{{cite news |author=Welch, Kevin |title=Crossroads of America |date=July 23, 2006 |work=Amarillo Globe-News |url=http://www.amarillo.com/stories/072306/spe_disama2.shtml|access-date= January 25, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Amarillo Texas March 1943 View.jpg|thumb|Amarillo, March 1943]]
Amarillo was hit by the [[Dust Bowl]] and entered an [[Great Depression|economic depression]]. [[U.S. Routes]] 60, 87, 287, and 66 intersected at Amarillo, making it a major tourist stop with numerous motels, restaurants, and curio shops. World War II led the establishment of Amarillo Army Air Field in east Amarillo and the nearby Pantex Army Ordnance Plant, which produced bombs and ammunition. After the end of the war, both of the facilities were closed. The Pantex Plant was reopened in 1950 and produced nuclear weapons throughout the [[Cold War]].<ref name="handbook"/>

In 1949, a deadly F4 tornado devastated much of Amarillo, shortly after nightfall on May 15, tearing through the south and east sides of the city, killing seven people, and injuring more than 80 others. The tornado touched down southwest of Amarillo, near the town of Hereford, then tracked its way northward, on a collision course with Amarillo. The tornado, shortly after 8 pm, ripped through Amarillo's most densely populated areas, demolishing almost half of the city, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life.

In 1951, the army air base was reactivated as [[Amarillo Air Force Base]] and expanded to accommodate a [[Strategic Air Command]] [[B-52 Stratofortress]] wing.<ref>{{cite web |author= Amarillo Economic Development Corporation |url= http://www.amarilloedc.com/index.php?id=51 |title= Community History |access-date= January 28, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060116220406/http://www.amarilloedc.com/index.php?id=51 |archive-date= January 16, 2006 |url-status= dead |df= mdy-all }}</ref> The arrival of servicemen and their families ended the city's depression. Between 1950 and 1960, Amarillo's population grew from 74,443 to 137,969. However, the closure of Amarillo Air Force Base on December 31, 1968, contributed to a decrease in population to 127,010 by 1970.

In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Amarillo's population as 6.1% Hispanic and 88.5% non-Hispanic white.<ref>{{cite web|title=Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html|access-date=December 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html|archive-date=August 12, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In the 1980s, [[ASARCO]], Iowa Beef Processors (present day [[Tyson Foods]]), [[Owens-Corning]], and [[Weyerhaeuser]] built plants at Amarillo. The Eastridge neighborhood houses many immigrants from countries such as [[Vietnam]], [[Laos]], and [[Burma]]. Many of them found employment at the nearby Iowa Beef Processors plant.<ref>{{cite news |author=Beck, Bruce |title=Representing all walks of life |date=December 27, 2006 |work=Amarillo Globe-News |url=http://www.amarillo.com/stories/122706/our_6355729.shtml |access-date=January 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003321/http://www.amarillo.com/stories/122706/our_6355729.shtml |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The following decade, Amarillo's city limits encompassed {{convert|60|sqmi|0}} in Potter and Randall Counties. [[Interstate 27 (Texas)|Interstate 27]] highway connecting [[Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock]] to Amarillo was built mostly during the 1980s.<ref name="handbook"/>

In May 1982, a strong F3 tornado struck Amarillo's western suburbs, devastating parts of Dawn, and Bushland. No fatalities were reported.