Skip to content →

Panhandle Research

Dr. Sublett’s current research project deals with the numerous panhandles that occur across the United States, mainly those appended to about a dozen states but also those that occur in conjunction with municipalities, townships, counties, parks, and other government-defined areas. His primary focus is on enterprises that name-givers have chosen to associate with the word “panhandle.” For instance, in Idaho is the Panhandle Animal Shelter (Ponderay) and the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Florida, currently the project’s state leader in terms of total enterprises, is home to Florida Panhandle Technical College (Chipley) and Panhandle Boats (Panama City) among hundreds of others that still exist or are inactive. Amarillo, Texas, has had and still has more than a thousand panhandle enterprises, like Panhandle Gopher Getters and the Dent Clinic of the Panhandle. A critical source of enterprise names for each state is the business search website of each state’s Secretary of State that allows one to look for enterprises having panhandle in their names. The research will take a look back at old newspapers to learn when name-givers first began to use the word in each state. He plans to write a journal article on geographical panhandles.

Skip to toolbar