Latest posts
-
The Lost Railroad Camp at Langtry: Chinese Railroad Workers in West Texas
Part 2 of the “Railroad Builders of Far West Texas” seriesA SandersonTexas.org History Series In Part 1 of this series, Chinese Railroad Workers and Sanderson Texas Railroad History, I wrote about the Chinese railroad workers who helped build the Southern Pacific route through far West Texas—the railroad corridor that made Sanderson possible. That history can…
-
Chinese Railroad Workers and Sanderson Texas Railroad History
Part 1 of the Railroad Builders of Far West Texas series Sanderson is a railroad town. The tracks that reached this part of West Texas in 1882 brought freight, passengers, jobs, supplies, and a lasting connection to the outside world. The railroad helped transform a remote stretch of desert country into the community we know…
-
Sanderson Train Robbery: The Wild West Shootout at Baxter’s Curve
On a dark March night in 1912, two outlaws thought they had found the perfect place to rob a train. Instead, near Sanderson, Texas, they found the end of the Old West. There are places in West Texas where the land seems to remember. The country around Sanderson is wide, dry, and unforgiving. The hills…
-
When News Travels Fast: Sanderson’s Media History and the Need for Trustworthy Information
Sanderson has never lacked for news. For more than a century, residents have relied on local papers, personal conversation, county offices, and community networks to learn what is happening in town. The methods have changed, but the need has not. People want to know about public safety, schools, roads, businesses, local government, community events, and…
-
How Sanderson Became the Cactus Capital of Texas
When people first arrive in Sanderson, Texas, they often notice the distance before they notice anything else. The sky feels wider. The hills rise abruptly from the desert floor. Highway 90 stretches east and west through a country that appears quiet, rugged, and almost untouched. Then, as you slow down and look closely, you begin…
-
Law Enforcement in Terrell County: Sanderson, Border Patrol, and Border Security History
The Evolution of Law Enforcement in Terrell County In a place as vast and sparsely populated as Terrell County, Texas, “law enforcement” has always meant more than badges and statutes—it has meant relationships, long miles, and a constant negotiation between frontier reality and the rule of law. From early sheriffs and Texas Rangers riding into…
-
Sanderson, Texas History: Wool, Mohair, and the Rise of a West Texas Town
Sanderson did not simply grow up in West Texas; it was shaped by the hard realities of sheep, goats, railroads, and the fibers those animals produced. For decades, wool and mohair were the quiet engines of the local economy, moving from the ranches of Terrell County through freight houses and commissions before reaching textile mills…
-
Sanderson Before 1882: Native Peoples, Spanish Explorers, and West Texas History
Sanderson Before 1882 Before Sanderson became a town in 1882, the land around it was already part of a much older West Texas story. Native peoples lived in and moved through the region for generations, Spanish explorers crossed the wider Texas frontier, and later travelers, ranchers, and soldiers passed through the remote desert country that…
-
Sanderson’s Forgotten Airfield: When Army Biplanes Patrolled the Texas Border
If you have ever driven U.S. 90 through Sanderson, it is hard to imagine that this quiet Cactus Capital of Texas once had a U.S. Army airfield built specifically to patrol the border from the sky. For a brief window after World War I, Sanderson Field put de Havilland DH‑4 biplanes and the 90th Aero…
-
How the Railroad Built Sanderson, Texas (And Took It Apart Again)
If you spend any time in Sanderson, Texas, you will hear two things. Trains in the distance and folks telling you this town would not exist without the railroad. They are right. Without steel rail and a stubborn engineer’s name, Sanderson would still be a lonely stretch of caliche and creosote trying to mind its…