Texas's Historic Gas Stations

Catering to drivers on the go, the early oil companies invented one of the most iconic symbols of the 20th century:  the roadside gas station .

More than a place to fuel up, historic roadside gas stations attracted drivers with convenience and eye-catching designs. This Story Map shares the early history of the gas industry in Texas and shows how gas stations styles changed over the decades.

Texas hit the jackpot in 1901 after Anthony Lucas found oil just outside of Beaumont. Lucas came to Texas in search of oil under the Gulf Coast salt domes, and started putting drills in the ground around  Spindletop Hill .

Lucas struck oil and created a black geyser 100 feet tall until his crew capped it nine days later. Oil, millions of gallons of it, pumped into the Texas economy.

Within a few short years of the discovery of oil at Spindletop, Texas was at the center of it all.

Big Texas industries like  cotton  and  transportation  once relied on animal or steam power. With a local source of cheap fuel, these industries  switched to crude oil, diesel, or gasoline burning engines. 

The first car in Texas arrived by train in 1899 outside of Dallas. By 1910, Texans were driving over 14,000 vehicles across the state. Many were Henry Ford’s cheap and popular  1908 Model T.  

Texas was a rising star in the  first few decades of the 20th century . The state was growing and industrializing at a break neck pace.  Cars and horses shared the road , but there were no gas stations as we know them today.

Four oil companies established themselves in East Texas soon after the discovery at Spindletop. Humble, Magnolia, Gulf, and Texaco became the biggest names in Texas oil. Over the next seventy years these companies built thousands of stations across Texas.

The first filling stations arrived in the 1910s. These were simple storage tanks with pumps set into curbs or roadsides. Drivers on the go lined up in the street in front of these early stations and wait for service from an attendant.

Where roads and cars went, gas stations were sure to follow. In the 1920s paved highways spread from one end of the state to the other while tens of thousands of cars drove across Texas. The state highway commission worked to accommodate new increases in traffic and build a statewide network.

Demand for gasoline grew in Texas during the  Great Depression  and  World War II . By then, most Texans considered gas-powered machines a part of daily life.

Drivers ranged farther afield as  New Deal era roads  spread across the state in the 1930s. With access cheap fuel sources at home, Texans dealt with the fuel shortage of the 1930s and 1940s better than those in other states.

Still, many Texans did not have the income or rations to spend on car products. Due to this, most oil companies of the era looked to cut costs and  raise brand loyalty  among a shrinking customer base.

World War II restricted gasoline sales even further. The US government rationed gasoline, rubber, and oil during World War II. These goods were vital to the war effort. Wartime propaganda  encouraged drivers to carpool and conserve resources .

The national economy bounced back after World War II.  By the 1950s, Texans found themselves more prosperous than ever before . Car ownership rose while new highway construction made  road tripping even more popular .

Following decades of depression and war, Texas's oil companies grew their service ranges across the state after World War II. They were aided by the postwar economic boom, the spreading state highway system, and the discovery of massive new oilfields in West Texas.

Texas’s historic gas stations are a lasting symbol of the state’s rags-to-riches story. Where these stations survive today, they provide glimpses of the history behind the Texas-sized success.

Learn which gas companies made a mark in Texas in the  next Story Map !