28
Mar
Top Stops In Texas On Route 66
Tower Station and U-Drop Inn – This is a very interesting place to visit as far as architecture and aesthetic go. This stop is located in Shamrock, Texas. The town got its name from the earliest settlers who were from Ireland. George Nickel was given credit for naming this city in 1890 when he suggested the name might bring luck and courage to its residents. It did not however seem to bring luck to Mr. Nickel when his house burned down shortly after this. However, the name stuck when the city became official in 1902 when the Chicago Rock Island and Gulf Railway arrived.The Tower Station and U-Drop In was constructed in 1936 and has not changed a bit. With its huge Tower and pillared surrounding, you will not find a cooler restaurant to “drop in” while cruising across Texas. Originally this gas station and restaurant was built as part of a deal when the developers came through to build the intersection between Route 66 and the Del Rio Canadian Road. The owner Grace Burner was offered a price for the property and a custom building for her own use, the owner of the land could not turn this offer down.Serving hot meals and gassing up cars for Route 66 travelers for many years the Tower Station and U-Drop-In finally closed down in the mid 90’s. Using various grants the Shamrock Chamber of Commerce is fixing up this old station and restoring it to its original looks from almost 50years ago.
photo credit: Clinton Steeds
Texas Historic Route 66 Association & Museum – When passing through the town of McLean, TX you will find the states official Route 66 museum and Historic Route 66 Association, both of which are dedicated to the history and future of the Route 66 highway. This town started off as a cattle-loading site and when the railroads came through started to grow, it was not until oil was found here in 1927 that the city really began to boom when the Mother Road came through in the same year. In 1942 McLean became home to a P.O.W. camp and housed over 3,000 prisoners of war. When larger nearby towns began to pop up, the population of this quaint little down dwindled, but there is still a strip of the original Route 66 here and some lovely shops to visit when you come through this area and has some brick paved roads that you hardly see anywhere. Don’t forget to make you way over to the Historic Route 66 Association located in the Devil’s Rope Museum while you’re here.
photo credit: Marcin Wichary
Originally posted 2010-02-06 20:42:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 28th, 2010 at 4:23 pm and is filed under Texas Route 66. Follow the comments through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or leave a trackback.
