This Iconic North Texas Destination Is A Cinematic And Cultural Treasure With Timeless Small-Town Charm

Deep in North Texas, less than an hour from the border of Oklahoma, is a small town featured in some of cinema and literature's most classic titles. Archer City is home to just over 1,600 people, the most famous of whom — Pulitzer Prize- and Oscar-winning author Larry McMurtry — put it on the map. McMurtry, described as the "novelist of the American West" (via The New York Times), painted an indelible portrait of the small town life of Archer City in his novels "The Last Picture Show" and "Texasville." The film adaptations of both were shot on location here, transforming the town into an iconic destination.

The timeless small-town charm of this one-stoplight town can be found in places like old-school Southern cafes, the historic 1920s Spur Hotel, and the Royal Theater, famously captured in Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 Oscar-winner "The Last Picture Show," which now hosts events and performances. Bibliophiles can head to the Larry McMurtry Literary Center, housed in the former used bookstore the author owned that was once a cultural treasure of hundreds of thousands second-hand books and one of the biggest bookstores in the country. Located just 30 minutes from the highly affordable and gastronomy-filled Wichita Falls, Archer City is a perfect day trip for anyone staying in that North Texan hub.

Archer City was founded in 1858, although people didn't start settling there until the 1870s, after the army pushed out the indigenous tribes in the area. The town was centered around three major railroad lines and over time, it fell into the rhythm of ranching and oil-drilling like many other towns around Texas. While McMurtry sought to "demythologiz[e] the American West" with his depictions of the reality and hypocrisies of small-town rural life (via The New York Times), he also sought to transform that from which he came and make Archer City a veritable literary hub.

For decades, book and culture lovers and those interested in finding hidden gems and surprises in a timeless Texan location could head to the courthouse square in Archer City, where McMurtry's shop, Booked Up, sprawled across four buildings filled with about 400,000 used and rare books like first printings of works by William Faulkner and Dylan Thomas. 

At one point, the store occupied about 30% of commercial space in Archer City, although in 2012, over a decade before his death in 2021, McMurtry auctioned off about 300,000 books. Nowadays, over 80,000 books remain, and the former store — reduced to one building in an old run-down Ford dealership — has been turned into a literary center with plans to be renovated and refurbished with a lecture space and an apartment for writers in residence.

Archer City is filled with time capsules, some of which visitors can interact with today. Built in the 1920s and renovated after a devastating fire in the 1960s, the Royal Theater, the emblem of "The Last Picture Show," hosts the Texasville Opry, as well as theatrical and musical events. The old jail, constructed in 1910, now houses the Archer County Museum and Arts Center, although it's currently closed for restoration until further notice. The Spur Hotel, built in 1929 and also featured in "The Last Picture Show," offers accommodations within its historic walls.

McMurtry once described the Dairy Queen as the town's main gathering place, where oil men, cowboys, women, and teens all intersected to chat and gossip, and you can still get an Orange Julius there today. Or stop by Murn's Cafe to see for yourself why this was a favorite spot of McMurtry's (his order was a cheeseburger and cherry pie, just FYI) and why hundreds of folks have given it a 4.8 rating on Google, with one user going so far as to drive almost 2.5 hours from Dallas just for the catfish. Just be sure to order your slice of pie early; Murn makes 11 pies a day and they run out quickly.

The best way to get to Archer City is by car. The closest regional airport is in Wichita Falls, while Dallas has the closest major international hub, and folks coming in from Oklahoma can reach Archer City in just 2.5 hours from Oklahoma City. Archer County is home to a number of ghost towns, making this a perfect stop for book or film lovers, as well as those interested in a more haunted exploration of the abandoned towns hidden all over Lone Star state.