Bob's Oil Well
This is Bob's Oil Well in Matador. The owner wanted his station on the corner of US 70 and Texas 70 to stand out. It was originally constructed with a wooden derrick over the station then later a steel structure was erected. In it's heyday it was a major tourist attraction with a diner, station, petting zoo, and rattlesnake exibits. The building was in disrepair but the outside of the station has been refurbished and the local organization that worked to repair it is awaiting more funding to do renovations to the inside of the building. It will also be nice if they can get enough funds to light the derrick is it was; a beacon along the highway for travelers.
I have added a link to Preservation Texas. The group had listed it as a historical structure under the threat of extinction. The article on Bob's Oil Well is halfway down this page. Click here.
at 8:03 PM
10 Comments:
If you notice that rock building on the right, it was a cafe`. lots of old truckers stopped to eat there.
I am friends with the people doing the renovations. They found all sorts of cool old stuff in there when they started. Old menus, reciepts, and things like that.
It is pretty cool at night too. They have redone the lights on the derick. You can see them for miles.
They are trying to get hold of some sort of original signs for the place. I`m not sure, but I think it was a Mobil station. Isn`t it the one with the flying horse? like I said I`m not real sure about that.
I didn't realize they had redone the lights. I have been through there at night a few times and have never seen the lights on. It must be like the Palace Theater lights. Since the rise in the cost of electricity, it is rarely lit up.
I was wondering about that sign on top. I could not tell if it was for Mobil or Texaco. It will be cool if they can get it going.
It is amazing that they found anything salvageable inside due to how bad the building had deteriated.
These volenteers are doing a heck of a job. The preservation of our history is an important task. Thanks for telling a little bit of the rest of the story, Phred.
I still can't get over how blue the sky is in all your pictures. Is it always like that?!
The pictures have all been taken on different days and different times of the day so I guess it is most of the time.
Cool shit you come up with fuzz.
all we have here in Virginia is the homes of former Presidents; you've seen one, you've seen them all...
Mimi, I guess it is due to the dryness. No moisture in the air equals blue skies. I could do with some overcast days. It has been hotter than Hades around here lately.
Bruce, I drove through Virginia back when I was in high school but we did not visit any of the former president's homes. I remember that it was a beautiful state though.
Bob's Oil Well was a Conoco service station. If you look closely at the top of the derrick, you'll see a wire triangle with a rectangle through it. That's where the sign originally hung. Conoco's original sign used the YMCA triangle with the name through the rectangle. Currently, they have a triangle on display there with the oval symbol across it, which is incorrect.
I had a relative who ran the station for quite some time after Bob died. He ran it until the cost of renting the place got too high.
Unfortunately, the placard is based on the history of the widow (now deceased) and her family's memories, so his running it is not mentioned. There are other facts that are inaccurate. Been trying to figure out how to contact the State Historical Society to see if we can get that corrected - and it should be, given how long it ran after Bob died.
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My dad worked for Bob's Oilwell in 1939 the year I was born. I have a picture of him standing there, but the derrick is not in the picture. It was a Conoco station.
Bob Robertson was born in 1894 in Greenville, Tx. He was a marine in WWI and when he came to Matador in the twenties he worked in Spot-Cash grocery store and later ran a service station for another man. With $100 and a little credit he opened his famous station/cafe at the intersection of highway 70 north-south and highway 70 east-west. He first built a wooden tower above the station and it became 'Bob's Oil Well'. In 1939 he replaced it with a steel tower measuring 86 ft in height. Aside from the station, coffe shop and cafe he also maintained a variety of animals in a small zoo outside. Robertson considered a promotional genius for both the town and himself fell victim to a bad marriage and he took his own life Jan. 13, 1947 after discussing divorce proceedings with his wife and her lawyer. She showed some consideration for him as she rushed to his side, after he fell.
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