Originally "Carson City", town name was changed 1887 when this site appeared to be the future metropolis of the Panhandle: it was to be at the junction of Santa Fe (under name "Southern Kansas") and Fort Worth & Denver City railroads. Plans changed, however, and the F.W. & D.C. took a route 16 mi. south, bypassing Panhandle (Amarillo was soon founded on the F.W. & D.C.). Even so, Panhandle became a major shipping center. During great ranching era and again in 1926 oil boom, it moved more freight than any other town on Santa Fe line except Chicago. (1968)