Getting Gassed - Eastland County Safety Rest Area - Ranger, TX - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

They're called "Safety Rest Areas" because there are storm shelters to be found, a change from the classical rest stops along the Interstates. They're a little more than just facilities with picnic areas and vending machines, in that there are signs and exhibits for notable attractions in the county that sponsored the rest area. In this area, parts of I-20 are following the old Bankhead Highway, while others are still visible off the Interstate and even on the grounds here (north). This sign is visible from just inside the entrance, standing in front of a mock-up of a vintage service station, and it reads:

In the early days of the automobile, gasoline was purchased at local hardware stores, general stores, liveries or blacksmith shops. In some areas curbside venders carried gasoline to the car in buckets or cans and poured the fuel into the tanks with a funnel. But as the distances drivers wished to drive grew longer, and since a car could only hold so much gas, it was necessary to create places where fuel could be purchased along the route. So, along early roads like the Bankhead Highway a new technology was born that would change the face of America. It was the filling station.

The early filling stations, similar to the one displayed here, no longer dispensed gas in buckets and cans but with metered pumps. They not only sold gasoline, but provided free air and water, generally included a garage for crankcase service, tire and tube installation, some had mechanics, a forge, drill press and other tools to repair or remake automobile parts.

As more and more filling stations were developed, drivers were able to travel greater distances. The whole concept of "touring" was created. But touring required places to stop for food and sleep. And so the filling station became a magnet for restaurants and tourist courts and these facilities often developed into the main streets of towns. The filling station not only fueled the automobile, it fueled the economy of small town America.

Today, we often think of the filling station as a creation of our brave new modern world. But, in fact, the truth is the other way around. Our brave new modern world was created by the filling station.

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Inset photos show a section of the old Bankhead Highway, the Pecan Grove Filling Station along the highway, and a young boy posing in front of a café around 1939. Note the brick section of the highway for the background on the lower part of the sign.

Group that erected the marker: Eastland County URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Eastland County Safety Rest Area I-20 Ranger, TX USA 76470

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Date Logged Log   05/21/2022 The Snowdog visited it