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Decatur
Petrified Wood Gas Station
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, February 2002 |
Decatur
(Wise County)
is located at the intersections of US 287 and US 380, 25 miles west
of Denton, 35 miles
north of Fort Worth,
and 60 miles Northwest of Dallas.
Remember drive-in theaters? Car hops in roller skates taking your
order while you sat in your Plymouth Valiant? When ice cream sodas
cost a nickel at the pharmacy downtown and your sheriff looked like
Andy Griffith? Although I personally do not remember any of this,
I do know of a wonderful little place that harks back to those simple
days….
The Texas Tourist Camp and Petrified Wood Gas Station stand
like relics from that by-gone era on the east side of Decatur,
an old Chisholm
trail town which used to be the site of the Decatur Baptist College
(now, it's the Dallas Baptist University). The complex consisted of
a gas station, five cabins, and a café. Today, only the café serves
its original purpose.
It actually began as a camp ground on the edge of town. In 1927, owner
E.F. Boydston, realized that money could be made as people began travelling
for leisure, so he added a gas station, and in 1929 opened the Texas
Lunchroom for hungry road trippers. In the early 30's, Boydston
built cabins with garages to offer more comfortable settings. To REALLY
spruce things up, his brother Nolan put petrified wood (quarried from
around the area) on the exteriors in 1935. The tourist court became
an attraction in its own right, and remained popular throughout the
30's, 40's, and 50's for locals, travelers and college kids.
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The cabin
Photo
Courtesy Robin Jett, 2002 |
Cabin with garage
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, December 2007 |
As typical North
Texas history goes, Bonnie
and Clyde supposedly stayed in one of the cabins for a few nights.
Since the Texas Tourist Camp didn't make guests sign a register,
and the couple used the back roads into Dallas
constantly, the claim may not be too far fetched.
Sadly, the Texas Tourist Camp went the way of juke boxes and
poodle skirts. As Interstates began bypassing whole towns, it slowly
began its demise. First, the Texas Lunchroom closed in 1964…
about ten years later, the cabins shut their doors for good. The gas
station remained open until 1989.
In 1992, some enterprising souls bought and remodeled the Texas Lunchroom,
renamed it the Texas Café, and now cook up hamburgers, chili,
and apple pie. The Boydston living quarters are insurance offices,
and the gas station serves as an office for the remaining family.
Nancy Rosendahl, grand-daughter of E.F. Boydston, restored
the camp to its hey day look (ca. 1953) and applied for a historical
marker, which was granted in 1995. Because of the architectural style
(late, late, late wood) and that the building of the court coincided
directly with the National Highway Act of 1924, the complex
became a part of the National Historic Registry as well.
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Texas Tourist
Camp Complex historical marker
US 81/87 - 900 Block
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, December 2007 |
The cabins with
garages
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, December 2007 |
The Office
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, December 2007 |
Petrified wood
Photo courtesy Mike
Price, December 2007 |
Other places
to visit in Decatur:
The old Decatur Baptist College (now the Wise County Heritage Museum),
the beautiful courthouse, and the Waggoner mansion (not open to the
public, but worth a glance because it's down right creepy).
Texas Tourist Camp and Texas Café
100 S. US Highway 21/Business 287
Decatur, TX 76234
Wise County Heritage Museum
1602 S. Trinity
Decatur, TX 76234 (940) 627-5586
Decatur Chamber of Commerce
www.decaturtx.com
1200 C South FM 51 Decatur, TX 76234
(940) 627-3107
© Robin
Jett
May 2002 |
The gas station
Photo
Courtesy Robin Jett, 2002 |
Sources
Deed Records of Wise County
Interview with Nancy Rosendahl
Application for Historical Marker by Nancy Rosendahl and Rosalie Gregg
Texas Historical Commission on-line Atlas
Author - Robin Jett
Writer, Educator and History Buff
A native born, currently unemployed social studies teacher living
in Lewisville but trying desperately to return to a place without
traffic jams. |
Historical Marker
Texas Tourist
Camp Complex
Local businessman
E. F. Boydston (1888-1945) purchased this site, a former feed lot,
in 1927 for $400. Recognizing a potential business opportunity in
offering services to the traveling public, he built a wooden shed
and gas station in 1927. Travelers were allowed to build campfires
during overnight stays, and by 1931 Boydston added three wooden cabins
with garages to the camp complex. The buildings later were faced with
rock, and more cabins and garages were added in 1935. The original
wooden gas station was covered with petrified wood in 1935 when the
highway was widened and remained in operation by the Boydston family
until 1988.
The Texas Lunchroom, a one-room frame building, was built in 1929.
Renamed the Texas Cafe in 1935 and faced with stone to match other
buildings in the complex, it was enlarged to provide second-floor
living quarters. Popular with local high school and college students,
as well as families and the traveling public, it was closed in the
1960s after a highway bypass built west of town diverted traffic from
this area. The cafe reopened in 1993. One of the few intact examples
of tourist camps built throughout Texas in the mid-20th century, this
property is significant for its association with the early development
of automobile tourism.
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