GOOD NEWS: Doppler Dave examines history in our area, including the ‘Santa Fe Trail’

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - For anyone interested in history, our region is rich with interesting and fascinating sites and events from the past. In fact, you may have unknowingly passed by many historical references right in front of you.

Just north of Amarillo, you can still look out and see traces of the Fort Smith to Santa Fe Trail.

The trail was sort of like one of the first highways in the area, used for cattle drives to Santa Fe but also for travelers, especially heading west across our area for the gold rush.

The trail is marked with a historical marker along the highway. It’s one of hundreds placed in our area that refer to some kind of historical location or significant event that has taken place in this region.

One of my favorites is the location south of Spearman, where Charles Lindbergh needing fuel for his plane landed and created quite a stir in the 30s.

“Imagine him landed out in the middle of an open field, no runway and everything like that. I can just imagine what it was like at that time back in the 1930s,” says Tobe Shields, Spearman Mayor. “It’s not everyday you get something this historical at that time, and you know at that time, aviation was just something new.”

Lindbergh and his wife spent a couple of hours near Spearman before taking off again, turning an otherwise ordinary day into one of extreme excitement for the town.

“He landed here to try to keep from the big cities and the crowds, but he’s as you can tell in a small town news travel fast and before you know it, you had a crowd out here,” continues Shields.

There are some really awesome history all around our area. Sometimes you just have to stop and take the time to read a sign but when you do, you can open your world to some really cool stuff that has happened here in the past.

That’s some good news.

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