Texas Tourist Camp Complex
Decatur, Wise County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1927 local businessman E. F. Boydston bought a former feed lot for $400 and sensed opportunity in the growing tide of automobile travelers. He built a gas station and let motorists camp overnight, then added cabins, garages, and the Texas Lunchroom, later the Texas Cafe — facing the buildings in stone and even petrified wood. Popular with students, families, and travelers for decades, the complex faded after a highway bypass diverted traffic in the 1960s.
Why it matters
One of Texas's few intact tourist camps, the complex documents the rise of automobile tourism and the roadside businesses it spawned across mid-century America.
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Related people
- · E. F. Boydston
Themes & tags
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