Perhaps you've seen him, He stands over I-40 in West Amarillo reminding everyone about their second amendment rights as he looks over the Cadillac Ranch R.V. Park. The Second Amendment Cowboy is a throwback to a bygone era when more of his kind dotted the landscape all along Route 66 and many of the other highways across the USA.

Get our free mobile app

Second Amendment Cowboy actually is on his second stop coincidentally here in the Yellow City which his shirt proudly represents. So how did he get here? where was he before?

He's actually a Muffler Man

Michael J. Rivera
Michael J. Rivera/TSM
loading...

Muffler men first started appearing in the 1960s as lumberjacks but with some changes to the mold you ended up with a cowboy. The company behind them was International Fiberglass out of Venice California. At the time one of these guys would set you back $1,800 to $3,000 depending on how you had them fitted and as large as they are only weigh 350-500 lbs due to their fiberglass construction. They had to be light due to the nature of their application and transport.

Second Amendment Cowboy first lived at Country Barn

Michael J. Rivera/TSM
Michael J. Rivera/TSM
loading...

Country Barn was a steakhouse that is now presently occupied by the Longhorn Steakhouse, Why they would tear apart one steakhouse to build another is beyond me but hey, you do you right? Anyway. the Glenn Goode variant muffler man actually first made his Amarillo appearance in front of the steakhouse in 2004 after living in Sanger, Texas and actually was restored after hosting quite a few bullet holes ironically. His origins beyond that are unknown which is very typical of these statues. When the steakhouse was auctioned off in 2014, This fella found his current owners and was placed watching over Traffic on I-40 with a set of celebrity studded caddies behind him. The center one with Willie is my personal favorite.

Michael J. Rivera/TSM
Michael J. Rivera/TSM
loading...

Today he soldiers on. Like many of his bretheren he stands watch. Greeting you with a cowboy stare that says, I got you friend... A little piece of roadside Americana.

Things We Would Put In Our Version of Cadillac Ranch

Check Out The Original Names For These Amarillo Streets

It's hard to imagine these well-known Amarillo streets as any other name. Try to imagine giving directions to someone while using their original names. Gets tricky, doesn't it?

The new names (that we currently know them by) came mostly from associates of Henry Luckett, who drew the first map of the area. When this took place exactly, records do not show, but the street name revamp is covered extensively in 'Old Town Amarillo' by Judge John Crudgington, published in the Plains Historical Review in 1957.

More From Mix 94.1