Goodnight, Texas | |
|---|---|
  Goodnight  Goodnight | |
| Coordinates: 35°02′04″N101°11′11″W / 35.03444°N 101.18639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Armstrong |
| Elevation | 3,150 ft (960 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 806 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1358160 [1] |
Goodnight is an unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. [1] The community is part of the Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2000, the population was 18. [2]
Goodnight was named for pioneer rancher Charles Goodnight, [3] who settled on a ranch near the community after selling it to the JA Ranch in 1887. The ranch was the first building in the community and remained in the community in 1890, along with a buffalo herd he had on the ranch to help preserve the species. He was the dominant force in the community until he died in December 1929. The Fort Worth and Denver Railway built a station at that same spot, with John Dorterer as the station agent and CM McCurdy as a section foreman. A post office was established at Goodnight in November 1888 and remained in operation until 1969, with Sam Dyer as postmaster. R.A. Hathorn, who served as the blacksmith at the JA Ranch, opened his shop that same year. A newspaper called the Goodnight News was first published in 1890 and merged with the Claude Argus to become the Claude News. Goodnight Baptist Church was chartered in 1904. The community had nine businesses and 300 residents in 1940. The community's business district declined with the emergence of Claude as the county's business center and improved transportation and communication facilities. Its population plunged from 200 in 1944 to 25 in 1969. It continued to decline even when the 1963 film Hud was filmed in the area. The Goodnight Ranch facilities, a church, and a cemetery remained there in 1984, along with a population of only 18 in 2000. [2]
A folk-rock band called Goodnight, Texas was named after the town of Goodnight, located 1,415 miles (2,277 km) directly between their hometowns of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and San Francisco, California. The band had performed in town three times as of 2017. [4]
The Charles and Mary Ann (Molly) Goodnight Ranch House is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [5]
Goodnight is located on U.S. Highway 287 at the edge of the Llano Estacado, [2] 14 mi (23 km) southeast of Claude and 40 mi (64 km) southeast of Amarillo [6] in northeastern Armstrong County.
Goodnight's first school was established in 1891, with Goodnight College operating from 1898 through 1917. The school was run in cooperation with the local Baptist church. [2] Today, the community is served by the Clarendon Independent School District.
Swisher County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,971. Its county seat is Tulia. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1890. It is named for James G. Swisher, a soldier of the Texas Revolution and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Randall County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 140,753. Its county seat is Canyon. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1889. It is named for Horace Randal, a Confederate brigadier general killed at the Battle of Jenkins Ferry. The reason the county name differs from his is because the bill creating the county misspelled Randal's name.
Briscoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,435. Its county seat is Silverton. The county was created in 1876 and later organized in 1892. It is named for Andrew Briscoe, a soldier during the Texas Revolution.
Armstrong County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of Armstrong County was 1,848. It is in the Texas Panhandle and its county seat is Claude.
Claude is a city in and the county seat of Armstrong County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,196 at the 2010 census. It is located east of Amarillo in the south Texas Panhandle. Claude is part of the Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area but is some thirty miles east of Amarillo.
Henrietta is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area. The population was 3,141 at the 2010 census, a decline of 123 from the 2000 tabulation of 3,264.
Amarillo is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The estimated population of Amarillo was 200,393 as of April 1, 2020. The Amarillo metropolitan area had an estimated population of 308,297 as of 2020.
Charles Goodnight, also known as Charlie Goodnight, was a rancher in the American West. In 1955, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
The Amarillo Globe-News is a daily newspaper in Amarillo, Texas, owned by Gannett. The newspaper is based at downtown's FirstBank Southwest Tower, but is printed at a facility in Lubbock.
Wayside is an unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. In 2000, the population was thirty-five. The community is part of the Amarillo, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Washburn is an unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had an estimated population of 120 in 2000. Washburn is part of the Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Delhi is an unincorporated community in Caldwell County, in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 300 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Austin metropolitan area.
The Charles and Mary Ann (Molly) Goodnight Ranch House, near Goodnight, Texas, was built in 1888. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
James Wadsworth Ritchie was an American sportsman and rancher who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age.
Watterson is an unincorporated community in Bastrop County, Texas, United States. It is located within the Greater Austin metropolitan area.
Mary Ann Dyer "Molly" Goodnight was an American cattlewoman and rancher married to prominent Texas rancher and cattleman Charles Goodnight. She was a 1991 inductee of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
The JA Ranch is a historic cattle ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon in Armstrong County, Texas. Founded in 1876 by Charles Goodnight and John George Adair, it is the oldest cattle ranching operation in the Texas Panhandle. Its headquarters area was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for its association with Goodnight, one of the most influential cattle barons of the late 19th century. The ranch is an ongoing business, operated by Adair's descendants.
John George Adair, sometimes known as Jack Adair, born in County Laois, Ireland, was a Scots-Irish businessman and landowner, financier of JA Ranch in the Texas Panhandle.
Malden is an unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. The community is part of the Amarillo, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Paloduro is an unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Texas, United States. In 2000, the population was ten. The community is part of the Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Municipalities and communities of Armstrong County, Texas, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| CDP | ||
| Other communities | ||