Amarillo, Potter County
(1845-1912) Principal early-day developer of Amarillo. Born in New York state; employed 1875 by barbed wire inventor J.F. Glidden as his Texas sales agent. With Glidden he established the famous 250,000-acre Frying Pan Ranch in 1881 to prove the economic advantages of barbed wire fencing. Building of the Fort Worth & Denver City Railway through the region led voters to organize Potter County. In the election on Aug. 30, 1877, Sanborn offered a site for the county seat. A rival section was chosen. Undaunted, Sanborn began developing the Glidden & Sanborn Addition one mile east of the new town site. In 1889 heavy rains and other inducements led residents to move to Glidden & Sanborn Addition. In 1892 Sanborn traded his interest in The Frying Pan for Glidden's interest in the city. In 1898 he secured a rail connection to the South Plains which assured the future of Amarillo. On this site Sanborn and his wife (Glidden's niece, Ellen Wheeler) had their home, an office building, a carriage house, stables for their six matched coach horses, and a deer park. Henry Bradley Sanborn, "Father of Amarillo," died on May 19, 1912. (1971)