During the golden age of American road trips, and in the decades that followed, Texas highways were dotted with eye-catching attractions designed to lure travelers.
These roadside wonders combined Texan pride with quirky entrepreneurship, offering weary drivers a chance to stretch their legs and experience something unusual. From snake farms to tilted towers, these attractions captured the spirit of an era when the journey was just as important as the destination.
1. Old Tascosa: Ghost Town Of The Panhandle
Tumbleweeds rolled through the empty streets of Old Tascosa by the 1940s, transforming the once-bustling cowboy capital into a haunting roadside curiosity. Motorists pulled over to wander among weathered buildings where gunfighters once walked.
The nearby Boot Hill Cemetery, with graves of those who died by bullet and rope, drew visitors seeking authentic Wild West thrills. Nicknamed the “Mother of the Panhandle,” Tascosa’s abandoned courthouse and saloons stood as silent witnesses to frontier justice and lawlessness that inspired Larry McMurtry’s famous novel.
2. The Texas Snake Farm: Reptilian Roadside Wonder
The Texas Snake Farm: Reptilian Roadside Wonder. Curious travelers slammed on brakes when spotting the garish signs for the Texas Snake Farm near San Antonio. Established in 1967, this slithering sensation reached its peak popularity during the later travel boom on I-35. The farm featured a variety of snakes, including pythons and rattlesnakes. Postcards featuring the famous attraction were prized souvenirs, mailed to friends and relatives to tell tales of the unusual roadside stop.
3. Paluxy River Dinosaur Tracks: Prehistoric Highway Stop
“Genuine dinosaur tracks for sale!” called out local entrepreneurs along roadsides near Glen Rose. During the Great Depression, people found Cretaceous wonders embedded in limestone creek beds, and families with wood-paneled station wagons couldn’t resist stopping.
Local farmers supplemented their income by selling genuine and carved theropod footprints for a dollar or two apiece to amateurs and children alike. The Paluxy River site, today part of Dinosaur Valley State Park, gained national attention when rumors spread about human footprints existing alongside the dinosaur tracks. These claims, however, were later disproven.
4. Route 66’s Glenrio: Border Town Time Capsule
Straddling the Texas-New Mexico border, Glenrio was the ultimate roadside marketing gimmick. Travelers were greeted by signs like “Last Stop in Texas” for those heading west, and “First Stop in Texas” for eastbound motorists. The town thrived on its location, with businesses leveraging differing state laws, such as cheaper gasoline on the Texas side and legal alcohol sales on the New Mexico side. For example, the State Line Cafe and the Little Juarez Cafe were popular diners, and there was a State Line Motel and Texas Longhorn Motel. By day’s end, neon signs illuminated this bustling Route 66 oasis, drawing road-weary travelers to get gas, food, and rest.
5. Caddo Mounds: Ancient Mystery Along Highway 21
Rising mysteriously from East Texas pinelands, these earthen mounds beckoned mid-century motorists seeking connection to America’s ancient past. Unlike flashier attractions, the Caddo Mounds offered quiet contemplation of a civilization that thrived 1,200 years before.
Handmade roadside markers guided travelers to this ceremonial center where the Hasinai Caddo once conducted elaborate rituals and buried their chiefs. Local guides pointed out burial mounds and temple foundations.
Families spread picnic blankets beneath towering trees, children collecting pottery shards that emerged after rain while parents imagined the forgotten civilization that once called this sacred ground home.
6. Fort McKavett: Frontier Outpost Time Machine
Automobile tourists of the mid-20th century veered off main highways to explore the remnants of this limestone fort where Buffalo Soldiers once stood guard. Rather than being perfectly preserved, Fort McKavett in the 1940s was a collection of ruins and repurposed buildings where townspeople lived. Visitors could wander among the weathered structures and imagine the frontier history.
The nearby cemetery, along with the quiet dignity of the outpost, allowed visitors to reflect on the era. This was the same fort that General Sherman once called “the prettiest post in Texas” during its active period in the 1870s.
7. Texas State Capitol: Pink Granite Palace
Standing seven feet taller than the U.S. Capitol, this pink granite masterpiece became the ultimate roadside photo stop for 1940s travelers touring Austin. Families dressed in Sunday best posed on the sprawling lawn while fathers adjusted Brownie cameras to capture Texas-sized grandeur.
Free guided tours led visitors through marble corridors where cowboy-booted legislators crafted laws. The rotunda’s whispering gallery delighted children who discovered they could hear whispers from across the dome.
Souvenir stands offered miniature capitol replicas and postcards proclaiming “Everything’s Bigger in Texas!”, tangible proof for folks back home that Texans weren’t just telling tall tales about their magnificent statehouse.
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