|
|
ROOMS
WITH A PAST - Texas Hotels Built Before 1950 :
The Texas Tourist
Camp &
Petrified Wood Gas Station
Decatur, Texas
Text &
photos by Robin Jett
|
|
|
The
gas station
Photo Courtesy Robin Jett |
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.
|
|
|
|
|
The
cabin
Photo Courtesy Robin Jett |
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.
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
May 2002
© Robin Jett
See Decatur.
Texas
More Rooms
with a Past
Decatur
Hotels
Book Your Hotel Here & Save
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
