thumb|Model chapel in White Deer Museum
thumb|Ironing in the kitchen, ca. 1900, White Deer Museum
Pampa (from the Quechua: pampa, meaning "plain") is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,867 as of the 2020 census. Pampa is the county seat of Gray County and is the principal city of the Pampa micropolitan statistical area, which includes both Gray and Roberts Counties. Pampa is named after the Pampas Lowlands in Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil.
Pampa hosts the Top o' Texas Rodeo each year in July, which brings competitors from Texas and the surrounding states to Gray County. The White Deer Land Company Museum, which showcases ranching exhibits, is located in downtown Pampa.
History
In 1888, the Santa Fe Railroad was constructed through the area where Pampa would be established. A rail station and telegraph office were built, and the townsite was laid out by George Tyng, manager of the White Deer Lands ranch. The town was first called "Glasgow", then "Sutton", and then the name was changed to "Pampa" after the pampas grasslands of South America at Mr. Tyng's suggestion. Timothy Dwight Hobart, a native of Vermont, sold plots of land for the town only to people who agreed to settle there and develop the land, and Pampa soon became a center for agriculture. Gas and oil were discovered in the Texas Panhandle in 1916. Pampa prospered greatly in the resulting oil boom, and the Gray County seat of government was moved in 1928 from Lefors to Pampa.
The Army Air Forces Training Command operated the Pampa Army Air Field that was in operation from 1942 to 1945. The former base is located near the intersection of SH 152 and FM 1474, about 10 miles east of the town.
1995 tornado
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On June 8, 1995, a violent tornado hit the industrial section on the west side of Pampa, destroying or damaging about 250 businesses and homes. It resulted in $30 million in damage and was the costliest and the most destructive tornado on record for this town. It had a three-mile-long path and was 200 yards wide. At its peak, the tornado was rated an F4 on the Fujita scale.
Geography
Pampa is located in northwestern Gray County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total land area of , all land.
U.S. Route 60 passes through Pampa, leading northeast to Canadian and southwest to Amarillo. Texas State Highway 70 crosses US 60 in the southwestern part of Pampa and leads north to Perryton and south to Interstate 40.