Former Gulf Station - Junction, TX
N 30° 29.362 W 099° 45.923
14R E 426544 N 3373262
This old Gulf station, now a laundromat, stands at the corner of Main Street at N 5th street along the Old Spanish Trail in downtown Junction.
Waymark Code: WMTV88
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/09/2017
Views: 3
This former Gulf service station has been standing on this corner in Junction since the 1930s. We know it was a Gulf because the Kimble County Historical Society has a 1940s postcard of Main Street Junction that shows the sign just at the right edge of the frame. (Our thanks to them for the use of the photo in our waymark.)
Like almost all the small Texas towns along the Old Spanish Trail, that part of the OST as it passes through Junction is named "Main Street."
As of 1969, the entire route of the former OST through Junction (including Main Street) was redesignated State Loop 481 to serve as a business route for the reroute of the US 290 north of town (preparing for the day to come where the US 290 would become the I-10).
Wikipedia proves that Texas SL 481 was formerly co-signed as US 83 and US 290. The US 83 came in from the south and joined US 290 east of Junction, where the two roads headed west through town. North of town, US 83 diverged from US 290, and continued north to the Oklahoma border.
US 290 entered Junction from the east, joined with US 83 and left US 83 to continue west to El Paso. Therefore, SL 481 is clearly the former route of the Old Spanish Trail. (
visit link)
In its day, the station was located across from the Kimble County Courthouse square, a GREAT location to catch locals downtown and travelers passing through on the Old Spanish Trail/SH 27/US 290 -- the only highway in this part of town. It would've been a convenient place to stop for gas and a nice clean restroom, maybe get your oil checked.
In 2016 this old service station is still across from the courthouse on the square, but it is a laundromat. Blasterz are pretty sure it is been a laundromat for a long time.
After the completion of the I-10 in the 1980s, which bypasses Junction to the north, all the old gas stations downtown have either gone out of business completely or have relocated along the interstate. The historic old station buildings have found new re-uses and new tenants.