Gray County
Historians and those who love old buildings will enjoy their visit to Gray County. The county seat, Pampa, is home to “Million Dollar Row,” consisting of the Gray County Courthouse, Pampa City Hall and the fire station. All three buildings were erected in the late 1920s and were designed by William R. Kaufman & Son with a combined construction cost of $1 million, and all three have the designation of a National Historical Marker.
Several blocks to the west is The White Deer Land Museum, a classic gallery offering an interesting glimpse into the early years of Pampa and Gray County. The museum houses an extensive collection of art and the Southwest’s largest individual arrowhead and primitive tool collections.
Built as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects in 1934, the U.S. Post office is one of the best of its kind. The Spanish Renaissance Revival architecture embellishes the façade made of decorative stonework depicting cherubim, and different designs reflecting the way early settlers made their living in Gray County, including shocks of wheat, oil derricks and plows. The inside of the post office is graced with a colorful ceiling highlighted with gold leaf.
The Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center is housed in the old Harris Drug Store, also located in Pampa. Also paying honor to the music and memory of this great singer and songwriter is a sculpture of musical notes to “This Land” located on Highway 70. This sculpture is in the same vicinity of the Freedom Museum, USA, which has an extensive collection of military equipment and memorabilia, including a rare WWII B-25 bomber.
No outing would be complete without visiting Old Route 66, now I-40, in southern Gray County. The Devil’s Rope Museum in McLean houses a Route 66 museum and an extensive collection of barbed wire. To add to your trip down memory lane, be sure and visit the originally restored Phillips 66 service station in McLean. – County Judge Richard D. Peet