Eighter from Decatur - Decatur, TX
N 33° 14.065 W 097° 35.144
14S E 631770 N 3678166
The official slogan of Decatur, TX, "Eighter from Decatur", is immortalized in the form of a mural on the side of the building at 105 E Main St, next to a complementary sculpture of rolling dice.
Waymark Code: WMXWF3
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/07/2018
Views: 6
The mural is 14' x 32'. The background is a blue sky above brown terrain, with bits of reddish-brown where light from "Decatur" and the dice in front of it illuminate the soil, which is black where the light cannot reach. Of course, the dice show an "eighter" -- two fours -- with an orange ribbon with black text that says "Greetings from" above "Decatur". Below "Decatur" is "Eighter from Decatur County Seat of Wise TEXAS", in yellow script (note the red border on "TEXAS"). The mural is signed, "RL Duwe" and "DR Duwe" in the lower left corner. Scenes from around town that you will see, painted "in living color", are:
D - El Castile, the Waggoner Mansion that is visible from US 380 as you come into town from the east.
E - A cowboy on his horse, tending to his cattle as they make their way along the Chisholm Trail, which passed through town back in the day.
C - The Sam Woody Cabin, built by an early area pioneer, and now on the grounds of the Wise County Heritage Museum.
A - The historic Wise County Courthouse, visible from miles around.
T - The Texas Tourist Camp Complex, a rare example of a surviving tourist camp, with a cafe that is still operating.
U - The old Decatur Baptist College building, now home to the Wise County Heritage Museum.
R - The flag of Texas, standing on the prairie and waving proudly in the wind.
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Regarding "Eighter from Decatur"...
It's difficult to drive through town and not see this catchy slogan somewhere. The origins of the phrase are a bit cloudy, but a laborer shooting craps, saying "Ada from Decatur" to invoke a local pretty lady for good luck, tends to be at the root. Over time, "Ada" became "Eighter", as others tried to roll a lucky eight. Bob Wills immortalized "Eighter from Decatur" in his instrumental of the same name.
PDFs of the referenced links have been saved offline, and should the originals be removed, they are available from me upon request.