Stop 1: Town of Clarendon Historical Marker
Directions: Marker at intersection of US 287 and TX 70
Access: Public, Free

Founded in 1878, Clarendon got its nickname, “Saint’s Roost” by cowboys due to the town’s absence of saloons and general reputation as a bastion for Christianity in the Wild West. The town was named after it’s founders wife, Clara.

Stop 2: Sandell Drive-In
Directions: Continue north on TX 70 for about ½ mile.
Access: Public, Fee
The drive-in has 300 car spaces. It was built in 1955 and ran until 1984. The drive-in was re-opened in 2002.

Stop 3: Greenbelt Lake
Directions: Continue north on TX 70 for 5 miles. Entrance on left.
Access: Public, Fee
The 2,025-acre reservoir on the Salt Fork of the Red River is a great stop for fishing, boating, camping, and hunting. The lake also has a marina. This is also a stop on the Great Texas Wildlife Trail.

Stop 4: Jericho Cemetery
Directions: Go 13.2 miles north on TX 70 to Jericho, just before the intersection with Interstate 40
Access: Public, free
Early community burials took place in a nearby pasture. Others in the cemetery were victims of smallpox and influenza epidemics. Veterans and area pioneers were buried here as well.

Stop 5: Boydstun Cemetery
Directions: From the Jericho Cemetery, continue west on the county road to the t-intersection, turn left, go for about one mile, then turn right at the next county road. The cemetery is about one mile ahead.
Access: Public, Free
This was the Boydstun family’s cemetery; deeded as a public burial ground in later years. This small community had a post office from 1891-1940.

Stop 6: Saints’ Roost 4th of July Celebration and Rodeo
Directions: Courthouse lawn and rodeo grounds, downtown Clarendon
Access: Public, Free (except for rodeo)
In 2002, Clarendon celebrated its 125th anniversary of an event begun in 1877. Great barbecue and an old-fashioned celebration mark this event, with copious amounts of beef raised by local ranchers. There are a craft fair, food booths, and an outdoor dance. Celebrations begin on the 3rd and run through the 5th. This is the oldest 4th of July celebration in the Panhandle, and the courthouse grounds mark the site of the last public hanging in the Panhandle.

Stop 7: The Clarendon Enterprise
Directions: 105 S. Kearney, Clarendon
Access: Public, Free
The Enterprise is the oldest newspaper in the Panhandle. It was established as the Clarendon News on June 1, 1878. The paper is a regular recipient of annual press awards for writing, reporting, and photography.

Stop 8: Clarendon City Park
Directions: On Kearney Street, between 6th and 7th Streets
Access: Public, Free
The city park was established as a project of Les Beaux Arts Club in 1938 as a town beautification project. The city park is one of the sites of the 4th of July celebration, and includes a little league field, playground equipment, covered picnic area, sand volleyball and horseshoe pit. The park is surrounded by a low stone wall that was built as a WPA project. Large shade trees are throughout the park, and a creek winds its way through the park. There is also a walking bridge across the creek.

Stop 9: Mulkey Theater
Directions: 106 Kearney
Access: Viewable from outside only
Built in 1940, this theater is an example of the old theaters once common throughout this part of Texas.

Stop 10: Clarendon City Hall
Directions: 119 S. Sully
Access: Public, Free
The city hall building was constructed in 1918. It originally housed the YMCA, and was also used at one time as a library. The city secretary’s office is located above what was originally the swimming pool of the YMCA. The original safe installed in 1918 is still in use.

Stop 11: Donley County Veterans’ Memorial
Directions: 300 S. Sully
Access: Public, Free
The memorial was built in 1995 to honor those who have served our country. Any family can purchase a memorial brick to honor a loved one who served in the military. Ceremonies are held on each Veterans Day and Memorial Day. The VFW post and the Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts do the flag ceremony, the high school/jr. high school bands play music, and two students read essays about patriotism.

Stop 12: Donley County Courthouse
Directions: 300 S. Sully
Access: Public, Free
The courthouse, built in 1894, is one of the oldest in the Panhandle. Restoration to its 1913 design was begun in 2002, and dedicated on July 4th, 2003. The two-storey brick Romanesque revival style courthouse is unusual in plan and form; it features a massive round-arch corner entry bay, as well as outstanding original interior woodwork of white pine and redwood. The original bench in the district courtroom is suggested on the exterior by a projecting semicircular mass. This is one of the most remarkable and beautiful structures in the Panhandle.

Stop 13: Clarendon Motor Building
Directions: 221 S. Sully
Access: Public, viewable from outside
The building was completed in 1926, and was one of the largest car dealerships in the Panhandle at the time. The noteworth element of the façade is the Alamo-style parapet that punctuates the front façade. Two tiled roof kiosks stand near the street, and are contributing structures to the site, which retains a high degree of integrity.

Stop 14: Saints’ Roost Museum
Directions: Intersection of Hawley and Cook
Access: Public, Free
The museum is housed in the former Adair Hospital. The hospital was founded by Corielia Adair in 1910 for the local cowboys. The hospital was closed, then reopened in 1982 when the museum was founded. The museum features heirlooms from area ranches, farms, and businesses. Also located on the site and under renovation is the Ft. Worth and Denver Railroad Depot. When finished, it will house a transportation exhibit. Also on the site is a restored bunkhouse branded with local ranchers’ branding irons. Annual Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff held the last Saturday of September. In December, the annual Christmas Benefit Ball is held with a dance, dinner, and raffle. In spring a barbecue is held on the site as a membership drive. Field trips available by appointment.

Stop 15: S.W. Lowe House
Directions: 507 W. 5th
Access: Private, by appointment, 806-874-3332
Built in 1904, this elegantly furnished Victorian home recalls life on the prairie. Home tours and English tea served on tours.

Stop 16: First Christian Church
Directions: 120 E. 3rd
Access: Public, Free
Built in the 1920’s the congregation has been active in Clarendon for 110 years.

Stop 17: Gabbie Betts Burton Memorial Library
Directions: 201 E. 3rd
Access: Public, Free
Established in1923, this was the first library in Donley County.

Stop 18: St. Stephens Baptist Church
Directions: 310 N. Jefferson
Access: Public, Free
In 1897, two women established a Sunday school for African-American children. This was the beginning of the first African-American church in Donley County. The church recently celebrated its 106th anniversary in 2003. The first building was destroyed in 1918, and a new building constructed by the congregation. This is one of, if not the oldest African-American church in the Panhandle.

Stop 19: First Presbyterian Church
Directions: Intersection of 4th and Parks
Access: Public, Free
Founded in 1899 in downtown Clarendon, the church was moved to its present location in 1929 due to repeated flooding. The church has its original pews, stained glass windows, and an interesting pulpit area.

Stop 20: St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church
Directions: 301 S. Parks
Access: Free, Public
This is the oldest Episcopal church in the Panhandle. The organ was donated in 1912 by Alfred Rowe, a local rancher who died on the Titanic. The beautiful original woodwork and stained glass windows have been lovingly preserved.

Stop 21: First United Methodist Church
Directions: 5th and Jefferson
Access: Public, Free
The church was founded as a congregation at the “Old Clarendon” site at Carrol Creek and the Red River in 1887. The current building used by the congregation was built in1910 as the Methodist Episcopal Church. The pipe organ in the sanctuary was built especially for the church and installed in 1911. The butter joint construction of the building is by Master Masons brought to town to build the church. Its is known as the Akron Auditorium style.

Stop 22: First Baptist Church
Directions: 300 S. Bugbee
Access: Public, Free
Original church was built in 1892 on 3rd and Gorst. The current building was built in 1968.

Stop 23: St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Directions: Montgomery and McClelland
Access: Public, Free
The church was built in 1892. It was the first church building for a Catholic congregation in the Panhandle. It was also the first headquarters for missionary efforts on the “last frontier.” The church cost $1700 to complete.

Stop 24: Salt Fork Loop of the Great Texas Wildlife Trail
This is a complex of wildlife viewing sites in and around Donley County. Information can be obtained directly from the link above.

Stop 25: Citizens Cemetery
Directions: Take TX 70 about one mile south of town
Access: Public, Free
Remains of pioneers from Old Clarendon were moved to this new site south of town when Greenbelt Lake was formed.

Stop 26: James T. Patman Monument
Directions: Citizens Cemetery
Access: Public, Free
Outstanding peace officer, sheriff of Donley County from 1905-1916. In 1902 he led efforts to make Donley a dry county, and was responsible for closing all the saloons.

Stop 27: Rowe Cemetery
Directions: On FM 1932 in Hedley
Access: Public, Free
Established in 1898, it was named for Sir Alfred Rowe, who died on the Titanic in 1912. There are more than 1,500 marked graves here. In 1990 a veterans memorial and markers for the graves of 32 victims of the 1918-1919 influenza epidemic were placed here.

Stop 28: JA Ranch Headquarters
Directions: 22 miles southeast of Clarendon on FM 2162
Access: Private, Scenic Drive
This was the second cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle, after the Springer Ranch of Hemphill County. Founded in 1876, the headquarters were built in1877. The post office on this working ranch is still in operation.