{"nrhp_refnum":"97000477","name":"Texas Tourist Camp","other_names":["Texas Tourist Courts","Texas Cafe","Texaco Petrified Wood Statio"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"900--904 S US 81/287","address_restricted":false,"city":"Decatur","county":"Wise County","state":"TX","lat":33.22851911200007,"lon":-97.57618511699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roadside complex of five wood and stone buildings at 900-904 U.S. Highway 81/287 South in Decatur, Wise County, Texas, built between 1927 and 1935. It includes a cafe, an office/residence, two sets of tourist cabins and a Texaco service station.","why_significant":"The complex is argued to be an early local example of a tourist court serving automobile travelers, significant in Commerce under Criterion A. Its veneers of sandstone, assorted rock and petrified wood are cited as reflecting early 20th century roadside architecture trends under Criterion C. Significance is local.","narrative":"Five buildings along the old Meridian Highway in Decatur, Texas, make up a tourist camp that grew from a roadside campground into a full service stop for motorists. Local businessman E.F. Boydston bought the land in 1927 and built a shed and a Texaco station. A cafe followed in 1929, cabins with garages in 1931, and an office/residence and two more cabins in 1935. His son Nolan faced the station with petrified wood gathered from nearby towns, and other buildings received sandstone and assorted rock veneers, arched porches and neon signs. The station operated until 1988, while the cafe closed in the early 1960s after a highway bypass drew traffic away from the site. The complex is considered significant locally as an early example of a commercial roadside type and for its use of found materials in roadside architecture. Its period of significance runs from 1927 to 1953, and several buildings are again in use.","period_of_significance":"1927 - 1953","architect_builder":"Boydston, E.F.; Boydston, Nolan","architectural_style":"OTHER: L-plan tourist court","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Restored as close as economically feasible to its 1953 appearance. The cafe reopened in 1993, the office/residence serves as an insurance office, and the station has been rehabilitated as an office; in 1995 the camp was remodeled for use as a cafe and office complex.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.620148-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/9740/40974025/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/97000477.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000477/82b6e52857-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000477/82b6e52857-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_Tourist_Camp2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_Tourist_Camp2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40974025","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Tourist_Camp","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000111"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/wise-county/texas-tourist-camp-97000477/"}