Oklahoma's Once-Thriving Town On Route 66 Is Now An Almost Abandoned Outpost With Curious Historical Sites

Aside from being a historic, nearly 100-year-old road trip course brimming with Americana, Route 66 gives travelers the chance to experience some of the oft-overlooked, small American towns dotting the Midwest and Southwest. Along the New Mexico portion of Route 66, there's Tucumcari, an underrated pit stop bursting with vintage charm. Drive up through the Texas panhandle through the tiny town of Groom, known for its eye-catching, eclectic roadside attractions. Continuing east, the route crosses into Oklahoma, where a town sitting just over the edge of the Texas state border has lent it the name Texola. With only a smattering of residents left to welcome road-trippers, Texola has the atmosphere of a stranded set from a forgotten Western film.

Texola holds steady on the map, nevertheless, with its historic sites that keep drawing in visitors. Among them are a one-room, cinderblock jail and the Magnolia Service Station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite often being referred to as a ghost town, Texola still has a handful of residents (40, as of 2023). The town's last restaurant (formerly one of the oldest on the route) and bar have closed down in recent years, though. Only bleached signs and husks of roadside buildings remain as evidence of the town's glory days.

The town of Texola was incorporated in 1901, though it underwent a bit of identity confusion before officially becoming Texola. Its position on the 100th meridian — the divide between eastern and western U.S. — meant that the town was surveyed eight times to determine whether it was part of Texas or Oklahoma. Eventually, it settled within Oklahoma's borders. In the early 1900s, Texola had a steady economy fueled by two cotton gins and a gristmill. There was a bank, hotels, restaurants, and even a town newspaper. The Magnolia Service Station was opened in 1930 for road-trippers, a year before Route 66 was officially paved in town.

Around 1930, the town's population reached its peak of over 580, but, following the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, it started dwindling. By 1990, there were just 45 residents left. The Magnolia Service Station closed down for good in the 1980s. The one-room Texola Jail, which was built around 1910, stands deserted in the middle of a field, with an odd, tombstone-shaped memorial to the class of 1939 resting in front of it. Inside, there's a display of famous outlaws. The town had a couple of locales that remained active until around the COVID-19 outbreak. One of them was the Tumbleweed Grill, which served as an eatery and souvenir shop and claimed to be the oldest-running cafe on Route 66.

When you arrive in Texola, it won't look like much, in truth. Its appearance is heavily rundown — crumbling facades, slanted shacks, stop signs creaking in the wind. But try to imagine what the town was like at its prime. Look for a somewhat overgrown shack at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Route 66, and keep in mind that this intersection was one of the busiest in town, with businesses on all corners. The shack used to be the Friendly Cafe, which was once complete with a neon sign and awnings. At the edge of town, on W Main Street, there's an eroded building that was known as the Last Stop Bar, since it was the last stop before making it to Amarillo, Texas. A sign outside the former bar reads, "There's no other place like this place anywhere near this place so this must be the place."

Though Texola was once a lively stop along the original Route 66, part of its decline comes from the fact that the route was largely replaced by interstate highways in the late 20th century. The added Interstate I-40 bypasses the town, meaning that to get there, you have to veer off the main highway. You can still see traces of the original Route 66 in Texola, though it can't be driven on nowadays. To reach the town, it's about a 1.5-hour drive from the Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Amarillo. If you're making a trip to see the best of each state's Route 66 attractions, the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo is a must-visit.