Town file
Panhandle, Texas
Panhandle, Texas is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 470, "Friday The 13th" (24 February 2024). Panhandle, Texas, is a small town in the Texas Panhandle, about half an hour from Amarillo, with a population of 2,686 and an economy built on farming and oil.
- Town
- Panhandle
- State
- Texas
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 470
- Approximate location
- 35.346, -101.381
Episode 470 / 24 February 2024 / 70 min / express
Friday The 13th
"We are going all the way down to Texas this week, to the town of Panhandle, Texas; unsurprisingly it is in the Texas panhandle, about a half hour or a little more to Amarillo" about 0:03:40
The case: Murder of Frankie Garcia (July 13, 1995). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 2,686
- Median household income
- $76,481
- Median home value
- $159,100
History, in brief
- Originally named Carson City; changed to Panhandle City and then Panhandle. about 0:06:45
- Got a post office in 1887. about 0:07:22
- The town was laid out in 1888 because the railroad was coming through. about 0:07:27
- It had a bank, a wagon yard, one store, a newspaper and three saloons. about 0:07:33
- It became the county seat. about 0:07:41
- In 1897 the Methodist Episcopal Church preacher George E. Morrison poisoned his wife Minnie with a strychnine-laced apple so he could marry his mistress from Topeka, Kansas. about 0:07:48
- Morrison was sentenced to die and hanged in Wilbarger County, Texas; his last words were "Jesus, lover of my soul". about 0:08:27
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A wonderful country area with a lot of farms; very small so it is easy to find whatever is needed, and a simple, uncomplicated life."about 0:08:55
2 stars
"Honestly not for me: the adults say they are equal but judge people behind their backs, and the kids are bullies, druggies or abused; avoid this town."about 0:09:29
1 star
"Worst town I have ever lived in; if you have writing or music talent, move on, because the bigots will falsely accuse you of taking pictures of their kids, and the town has gone downhill since Lyle Denny died."about 0:10:32
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Dimmitt, Texas76 miles
- Woodward, Oklahoma133 miles
- Seiling, Oklahoma148 miles
- Fort Sumner, New Mexico171 miles
- Okarche, Oklahoma193 miles
- Chickasha, Oklahoma195 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.