a brief history of sanderson

At the time, railroad surveyors reached the site of present-day Sanderson. The area had very few residents at that time, except a few early sheep ranchers. The site was first called Strobridge after James H. Strobridge, president of the transcontinental railroad construction company. The town name was then changed from Strobridge to Sanderson, after Thomas P. Sanderson, the engineer in charge of construction. 

Terrell County was demarked from Pecos County in 1905 and Sanderson became the county seat as a result of a countywide election. The Terrell County Courthouse was also constructed in 1905. It was later remodeled in a Spanish colonial style in 1930.

In the 1910's, the railroad was thriving, and was constantly receiving improvements to meet the demands. Another freight house was constructed east of the main depot to handle the massive shipments of wool and mohair, which dominated the Sanderson economy for years.  

The once called San Antonio - El Paso Road became an auto highway first renamed Highway #3 in 1922 and later Highway 90. Before long, Sanderson quickly became a major road stop for travelers, merchants, and  business opportunities. 

Give us mo (hair)!  Terrell County became one of the biggest sheep and wool producers in the U.S. By 1926, 11,000 lambs, averaging $6 per head, were sold in one of the most significant lamb sales in history. Additionally, the Sanderson Wool Commission sold thousands of pounds of wool and mohair annually. 

The Sanderson community also saw it's peak population number of 3000 in the 1950's. Afterward, the population began to decline due to many reasons and events.

On the night of June 10, a storm moved into Terrell County, sending heavy rain over Sanderson Canyon. The rain hit dry land and began to build with nowhere to go and the rising floodwater continued downstream, ultimately, hitting town. 

The wall of water reached Sanderson by 7 in the morning, at a rate of 14.7 feet per second. The rushing water devastted town while sweeping into homes, businesses and more. Twenty six people lost their lives that morning and the event changed Sanderson forever.

The railroad continued to thrive until Southern Pacific turned over its passenger operations to Amtrak. Southern Pacific then reduced its operations to a minimum which highly affected Sanderson.

Sanderson then took another economic blow when Interstate 10 was built which knocked Hwy 90 down from the main route from East to West.

The Southern Pacific Railroad moved its crew base from the Sanderson terminal to Alpine in 1995, taking families out of the community. Then in '96, the Southern Pacific Railroad was bought by the Union Pacific Railroad, and all operations moved to Alpine. 

The Sanderson depot was closed and abandoned. The historic building became the target of vandalism and theft and although people rallied to save the depot, it was unfortunately torn down in 2010.

Due to the many hits Sanderson took, the population continued to steadily decline but the community held strong.  Sanderson's new focus became the activity on the Border, serving as a hub for a Border Patrol station and more jobs. This new station also provided the opportunity for families to move to town. 

The railroad still operated on a smaller level, and many still work for the railroad. Sanderson also has a small Amtrak stop for the adventurers.

Many, local and opportunists alike, began the long journey of rebuilding Sanderson. Over the past 10+ years, many have seen the potential in our little town and decided to do something about it. Town began a healing process as homes, historic buildings and businesses started to rebuild.

A EF3 tornado in 2024 created a slight set back, and history was lost to the storm, but everyone leaned on each other and didn't let it slow us down. It's only up from here!