Today is the exception. First, I want to explain all  the county courthouse posts. These are stories I wrote over a period of a few years when I was actively going out to see classic old Texas county courthouses. I had self-published them on a personal web site that I am now in the process of deconstructing.

So, I needed a place to put them. Either that or I could just trash them, but I didn’t want to do that. Maybe just a sentimental thing, too, but I felt they still had some relevance to the core topic of this blog.

And, they still have an audience as well. I suspect most of the readers are school children researching their one-page reports. Come on, we all wrote those papers at some point in our life, and I’m just putting out some low fruit for these little guys. Actually one of my nieces told me she ran across them because they were referenced on an assignment sheet for a research paper she wrote for a college history class. The funny thing is, she told me, she didn’t realize I had written them until she came back later documenting her sources.

There are about 10 of these courthouse posts now. I will probably do another 10 simply because I have the resources. Been there, took the picture, bought the t-shirt.

Actually, I was originally inspired to go see these historic buildings after reading The courthouses of Texas: a guide. In this book they had a short list of the really great courthouses and I started off on a journey. Actually, if your into self-abuse, you could go see all 254 Texas county courthouses. Me, I just wanted the best of the best. As a bonus, most of the great courthouses are in interesting places.

Actually, I think historic county courthouses make great road trip destinations. A few weeks back I took a Sunday drive down to Waxahachie. There were so many people there. A few folks were there to eat at a restaurant that was open, but most people came there to see the courthouse. They would drive up, get out of the car and wonder around the courthouse and town square, then get back in the car and leave. I would like to tell you this is the first time I ever noticed this. Actually, I’ve seen this over and over. Old courthouses are popular road trip destinations.

Without belaboring the point, this sort of road trip is a lot like heritage tourism. I’ve also heard it called educational travel. The point of the trip is to understand the story of the place and possibly its people. I realize that reading up on a destination is a little over the top for some folks. Sometimes it can be a real bonus to know a little about the back story before you visit a place.

For example: I recently took a walk through the Johnson County courthouse in Cleburne. I’m not a student of architecture, but I had read something about this courthouse five or six years ago. From my dim recollection of that reading, I remember that this building is representative of Prairie architecture. I remember that this architectural form is known for strong horizontal lines and geometric patterns. As I walked around the outside of the building I noticed, first, the massive width of the building. Then I notice all the geometric patterns. On the clock tower, frieze, and in the cornice.

I go inside the courthouse only to realize these same patterns recur inside the building. First I noticed them in the most apparent places, but then I notice the patterns used in more subtle ways. In the heavy iron railings, in the webbing of the iron stair cases. In the heavily ornate trim and moldings in the large courtroom. Then it occurred to me that some of the patterns were geometric and some were sculpted. They were sort of like leaves and fruit. Kind of like the bountiful fruits of the vast, horizontally expansive prairie.

My point is that with just a little bit of knowledge from reading a few paragraphs about this courthouse and its architectural style, I was able to appreciate this building and its complexity vastly better.

I recently came across KERA’s Living With the Trinity: a River’s Story. It made me think about travel beyond the road. I’ve read that the Trinity River Valley northwest of DFW in the area of the Palo Pinto Mountains is a great place to canoe. As a child I spent many-a-day wondering the river banks near my hometown. There was this one place at a sharp turn in the river where huge stone blocks marked paths through what was otherwise wilderness. As children we  had no idea what to make of this strange labyrinth in the middle of nowhere. Today I know that it was actually Guard Lock Number 10 on the Beaver and Erie Canal. You never know what your going to discover exploring the bounds of a river.

So that’s my pitch for road tripping for discovery. Don’t go to just look, go to understand the back story of a place or people. And, don’t limit yourself to the low fruits of roadside attractions. Rivers and railroads and mountain tops hold super potential for discovery.

Enjoy!

It occurred to me how Gunnar’s definition of mundane compares to interstate highway travel. On that endless ribbon of asphalt called the Interstate, everything is perfectly predictable, and boring. The Interstate it seems was built to bypass anything and everything interesting, informative or controversial. You can travel mindlessly for hours never seeing a thing of interest. Drive off at any exit to find the same fast food eateries, convenience stores and hotels you would find at any other exit on the Interstate.

Traveling on the back roads of America, by contrast, can offer up an occasional surprise. Maybe a ghost sign on the side of an old abandoned building, or a classy family-run business complete with local residents that actually talk to each other, and to you if your a willing participant.

Once while having lunch in Fossati’s Delicatessen in Victoria Texas, some of the locals struck up a conversation with my wife and I. When I told them we were road tripping through the area and interested in visiting historic properties, they told us about places in Victoria we would have never discovered on our own. Finally, before leaving the restaurant I asked for directions to Memorial Square. An elderly couple said we would never find it on our own and insisted we follow them over to the park. When we got there, they told us the history of the park, wished us good day, and went on their way.

Usually, when eating along the Interstate, the only conversation I encounter involves Super-sizing my meal.

Sadly, few of us opt to navigate the road less traveled. During a recent side trip on Route 66 in Oklahoma, I found plenty of interest. Sadly though, I also discovered that many of the mom and pop motels and old carnival style road side attractions are falling victim to decay and abandonment. Or, worse yet, in urban areas they’re being torn down to make way for more fast food restaurants and other boring franchised business establishments.

Both Preservation Oklahoma and The National Trust for Historic Preservation have named Route 66 Motels to their most endangered places list. Unfortunately, city governments are often focused on developing new business no matter what the cost to the culture and heritage of the community. An article in the Urban Tulsa Weekly described one faction of the City Council as the “build anything I want anywhere I want” crowd. I’m not an expert on Tulsa, but there seems to be a riff in the city between those who would rather tear down everything old and build new, and the other camp that would like to preserve some of the character and culture of Tulsa. This post on The State of Fort Worth Preservation by Kevin Buchanan suggests that the build anything I want anywhere I want mentality is far from unique to Tulsa Oklahoma. More likely, this is a national phenomena.

During my recent side trip on Oklahoma’s stretch of Route 66 I also found signs of hope. In Stroud Oklahoma the Rock Cafe, which was opened in 1939, is still operated as a Mon and Pop business. Locals own the business and provide local employment. Further down the road in Arcadia I found POPS. Not a historic property, POPS is brand new and pleasingly unique. You have to admire these folks for doing something different and taking the business risk that goes along with it.

What can the individual do to help save these mundane road side destinations? Get involved if that’s the sort of person you are. And, of course, we can all vote with our dollars. Public awareness and the efforts of individuals and preservation organizations are the best chance these mundane and eclectic road side destinations have for surviving for future generations to discover and enjoy.