Inscription
The 47-foot, seven-ton cowboy statue, known as Tex Randall, is considered a Texas icon. Designer and builder Harry Wheeler created the cowboy in 1959 as a roadside phenomenon to welcome travelers to his corral curio shop on U.S. Highway 60 West to New Mexico. The giant cowboy relates to the western heritage of the Texas panhandle as well as symbolizing the state of Texas.
William Harry Wheeler (1914-1997) was born in Hartley, Texas in the panhandle and died in Amarillo. He was a teacher by profession, but in the 1950s, he sought a way to supplement his income and opened a curio shop along the highway. After three years, he moved the shop across the highway and began his masterpiece, the big cowboy. For ten months, wheeler worked with six-inch wire mesh, rebar and concrete. A friend helped weld the pipe and rebar to the frame. The concrete cowboy was covered with burlap to protect it from the elements. Levi-Strauss made the pants and Amarillo awning made the shirt, a surface total of 1,440 square feet. Dressing the statue was completed by hand-stitching the clothes in back with sailboat thread, and the shirt was decorated with sheet aluminum buttons covered with vinyl. In true Texas style, the cowboy was adorned with a Stetson-style hat. Wheeler soon added a six-room motel for visitors.
Due to reconstruction of the highway, the tourist trade at his shop declined. Wheeler sold the property in 1963. Harry Wheeler's vision, dedication and attention to detail sealed his creation as a landmark and tourist attraction. The giant cowboy became Wheeler's lasting contribution to Texas heritage and history.
text from; Texas Historical Commission, Historic Sites Atlas
William Harry Wheeler (1914-1997) was born in Hartley, Texas in the panhandle and died in Amarillo. He was a teacher by profession, but in the 1950s, he sought a way to supplement his income and opened a curio shop along the highway. After three years, he moved the shop across the highway and began his masterpiece, the big cowboy. For ten months, wheeler worked with six-inch wire mesh, rebar and concrete. A friend helped weld the pipe and rebar to the frame. The concrete cowboy was covered with burlap to protect it from the elements. Levi-Strauss made the pants and Amarillo awning made the shirt, a surface total of 1,440 square feet. Dressing the statue was completed by hand-stitching the clothes in back with sailboat thread, and the shirt was decorated with sheet aluminum buttons covered with vinyl. In true Texas style, the cowboy was adorned with a Stetson-style hat. Wheeler soon added a six-room motel for visitors.
Due to reconstruction of the highway, the tourist trade at his shop declined. Wheeler sold the property in 1963. Harry Wheeler's vision, dedication and attention to detail sealed his creation as a landmark and tourist attraction. The giant cowboy became Wheeler's lasting contribution to Texas heritage and history.
text from; Texas Historical Commission, Historic Sites Atlas
Details
| HM Number | HM1PX4 |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Marker Number | 17522 |
| Year Placed | 2013 |
| Placed By | Texas Historical Commission |
| Marker Condition |  0 out of 10 (1 reports) |
| Date Added | Thursday, December 10th, 2015 at 1:02pm PST -08:00 |
Pictures
Locationbig map
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 31N E 166021 N 0 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 34.98480000, -101.92970000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 34° 59.088', W 101° 55.782' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 34° 59' 5.28" N, 101° 55' 46.92" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 806 |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling East |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 1400-1498 N 3rd Ave, Canyon TX 79015, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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I Have Some Information
The marker is about my dad who built by hand and in his time off from his regular job which was as a GS 11 at the Amarillo Air Force Base in Amarillo, Texas. I was told by the Tex Randall Project and Canyon Main Street organization that the marker would be put in place after the big cowboy (this is the name we always called the statue) or Tex Randall was finished.
I have not heard a word from them. Is there anyone who has seen the marker? I will contact some friends to see if their statement about the placement is true or not true.
At the time I was communicating with Canyon Main Street, I was sent a copy of the marker and was told it was one of the longest.
There is also something I would like to say about the content. I remember the interview they had with my dad. He did not tell the real reason he sold his business. He was making a lot of money especially during the tourist season in the summer. The highway situation had no effect on the income of the curio shop's business.
For the first time and here also. I will tell you.
My dad was a creative genius, but he was very kind and did not want to be critical of the city of Canyon. His twin daughters (one of them, me) and my older brother were not treated well at school. I will not go into detail, but the people of Canyon at that time were provincial. Nearly all had never had been in the curio shop or even got out to touch the big cowboy.
Now my dad wanted dad wanted something more for his young son. Although he was showing being on the 3rd or 4th-grade level, the teacher wanted to retain him. He was just bored. With that situation, dad felt that his young son would also be put down in school in that town. Protecting his son, he sold the business, but being the genius as he was, he taught piano and sculptured; He was very well known. His young son got his Doctorate Degree in Music.
My dad loved the 47-foot cowboy. He loved all his works of art. He never went back to see the cowboy because he knew the Levi jeans-clad cowboy would be neglected and eventually changed. That happened. If you compare the original to the one they have now, there is little remaining of the true 1960 cowboy. But they tried and I appreciate that very much.
Thanks for letting me tell the true facts of the content of the marker. The historical marker wrote what my dad had told them. I really appreciate their giving a marker and I was told it was very nice. Yes, has there been anyone who has seen the marker?
Thank you. Judy Kingsberry, daughter of William Harry Wheeler, artist and builder of the 47-foot cowboy known now as Tex Randall.
Oct 6, 2017 at 2:47pm PDT by 987judy
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