Both were established to meet the demand for a central entity that could regularly deliver products and services needed by an emerging population of pioneers settling over the Southwest. The Texas Panhandle was raw rangeland when Col. Charles Goodnight drove the first cattle to the famous JA Ranch along Palo Duro Canyon. That was near the time railroads built crossings in the central Panhandle. Se
ttlers staked claims. And in 1887, Amarillo officially became a town. As families moved to the new frontier community, visionary rancher and businessman Henry S. Sanborn built the Amarillo Hotel. Appropriately, it was painted yellow by the man known as the Father of Amarillo. The city was named the Potter County seat in 1893. Between 1892 and 1897, the Fort Worth and Denver railroad shipped some 100,000 cattle from the growing city. History says that more cattle were shipped from Amarillo that any other rural point in the United States. Those were cattle raised to meet the beef demands of a growing nation. A few cows were undoubtedly singled out for milking. Most rural homes, and many in town, had their own milk cows. Many households likely wore out a butter churn or two long before modern dairies were established across the sprawling nation.
“We remain grateful to our many loyal employees and especially our hundreds of thousands of customers who trust Plains Dairy and our second-to-none products. As we’ve said for many years …
“… When you want the best, it’s Plains to see.”
