Borger - city in Hutchinson County, Texas, United States

Borger is a city in the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle. It was a wild oil boom town through the 1920s, 30s, and 40s and is still very much an oil town to this day. Borger is also home to Franks Phillips College.

Get in

• Highway 152 comes in from the small county seat city of Stinnett, and Dumas in the neighboring county, 40 minutes to the northwest, and from Pampa, 25 minutes east.
• Highway 136 comes in from Amarillo and Fritch.
• Highway 207 connects Borger with Panhandle and Claude to the south.

Get around

As in other area towns, a car is necessary to get around.

See

The Battles of Adobe Walls

Adobe Walls was originally a tiny buffalo hunting outpost established in 1843 on the north bank of the Canadian River in Hutchison county. The locale was the site of two of the largest battles of the Indian Wars. At the First Battle of Adobe Walls, in November 1864, a US cavalry force of 410 men attacked what they thought was a small Kiowa village, only to find that the area was teeming with other Comanche villages, engaging as many as 4,000 Indians in the battle. Though greatly outnumbered, superior firepower allowed the US force to retreat. In the Second Battle of Adobe Walls however, it was the Comanches who were forced to retreat after around 700 Comanches, led by Quanah Parker, attacked the rebuilt hunting post in the early morning of June 27, 1874. Though there were only 28 settlers to defend it, long range buffalo guns allowed them to hold the Comanches at bay for four days. After Billie Dixon fired the most famous shot of the Indian Wars, killing a warrior on a hill one mile away, the Comanches gave up the fight. This battle provided the spark which started the Red River War of 1874-75.

These days, little remains at the site, though some Texas Historical Marker mark the spot, and excavations have produced a number of artifacts. The museum in Borger has from time to time produced re-enactments of these two great battles-- inquire for details. To visit the site, take SH 207 north about 11 miles past Stinnett, turn east onto County Road F and continue for 17 miles as the road makes several turns, becoming first CR 23 and then CR 22.

• Asa Borger's House. A two-story house built in 1929, the first brick house built during the oil boom days.
• Hutchison County Historical Museum, 618 N Main, +1 806 273-0130. Located in a building from 1927, this museum hosts many permanent exhibits related to Native Americans of the area and the pioneer and oil boom days.

Do

• Morrison Ranch, +1 806-665-8014. A 15,000-acre ranch north of town. Take a 7-mile hike to the Adobe Walls site, or view typical Panhandle wildlife. Camping and cabin lodging are available.

Buy

Borger has a lot of antique shops.

• Thomas Greenhouses & Seasons Antiques, 120 W 5th St, +1 806 273-5444.

Eat

• Texas Rose Steakhouse, 1020 Megert Ctr, +1 806-395-3164. Steaks and Tex-Mex.

• The Plaza, 1003 N Main St, +1 806 274-7263. Good Tex-Mex.

Drink

Whether it's a legacy of Borger's boozin' gamblin' boomtown days, or a result of it being a college town, Borger has more than its share of watering holes when compared with many High Plains towns.

• Mac's Jolly Pig, 1114 S Main St, +1 806 273-5472.
• Main Street Bar, 631 N Main St, +1 806-886-1366.

• Wizzards Water Hole, 8989 Highway 136, +1 806 273-9207.

Sleep

• Best Western, 206 S Cedar St, +1 806 274-7050.

Go next

• Alibates Flint Quarry National Monument, Cas Johnson Road (off Texas 136 seven miles southwest of Fritch), +1 806 857-3151. Beginning around 13,000 years ago, American Indians collected high-quality flint here for weapon and tool-making. Alibates Flint was traded across the continent long before the Europeans made their appearance. The park has over 700 quarry sites. Free tours are available by reservation only at 10AM and 2PM daily.
• Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, access from headquarters at 419 E. Broadway in the small town of Fritch, 7 miles east of town on Texas 136. This man-made reservoir provides drinking water for 11 nearby cities and is a popular spot for boating and fishing. The surrounding lands have canyons of up to 200 feet and provide ample opportunities for hiking and observing wildlife.
• The drive to the tiny county seat of Stinnett crosses the breaks around the Canadian River and is quite scenic. While there, check out the McCormick Cottage, an old wooden farm house built in 1899.