T.P. Tavern
McCamey, Upton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
McCamey residents and visitors remember this site of a well-known nightclub. Co-owners Tom Bargesser and Perry Fitzsimmons used their first initials to name the T.P. Tavern in 1927. The first location near Shell Pipeline road served large crowds during an oil exploration boom. In 1934, the business moved here, accommodating more space and a wooden dance floor. Jim Sloan took over management in 1938, adding distinctive teepee insignia to the building. As part of the west Texas roadhouse circuit, the Tavern hosted regional musicians and many who gained national fame, including Ernest Tubb, Lawrence Welk and Bob Wills. Rattlesnake derbies and boxing matches were also popular before the building burned in 1976.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When oil exploration set west Texas boomtowns roaring in the 1920s, McCamey needed places to blow off steam — and Tom Bargesser and Perry Fitzsimmons obliged, opening the T.P. Tavern in 1927 and lending it their initials. A fixture of the west Texas roadhouse circuit, it drew huge crowds to its wooden dance floor and hosted touring performers who went on to national fame, including Ernest Tubb, Lawrence Welk, and Bob Wills. Rattlesnake derbies and boxing matches shared the bill until fire took the building in 1976.
Why it matters
Roadhouses like the T.P. Tavern were the cultural heartbeat of oil-boom Texas, carrying live regional music to remote towns and helping launch careers that shaped American country and swing.
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Related people
- · Tom Bargesser
- · Perry Fitzsimmons
- · Jim Sloan
- · Ernest Tubb
- · Lawrence Welk
- · Bob Wills
Related events
- · West Texas oil exploration boom
Themes & tags
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