Oil, football…and the Bankhead Highway? That’s the story in Breckenridge. The Stephens County seat, Breckenridge started out as little more than a Wild West-like oil town with tent encampments, shacks, and gambling halls. Oil wells gushed into the 1920s, making men and the town rich. Fancy hotels popped up downtown, and Walker Street was laid with brick. The improvement of roads connected many of the oil boom towns, including Breckenridge, Cisco, Eastland, and Ranger. Travel between these towns became easier and football rivalries emerged among high schools. High school football was so important it was said that wealthy oil men would travel to towns to scout players and offer higher paying jobs to the fathers of the ones they wanted to play for their team.

More Locations in Breckenridge

Conoco Gas Station
590 E. Walker St.

Coming into Breckenridge from the east, travelers will be welcomed by this 1920s former Conoco gas station. While some oil companies opted for futuristic and highly stylized designs, Conoco used this familiar domestic design to attract weary road travelers.

Service Station
240 US 180 E.

Anchoring the corner of a busy downtown intersection on the Bankhead, this still functioning all-in-one service station has seen downtown Breckenridge change from an oil boom town in the 1920s to the bustling community of today. Pull in under the pressed tin ceiling-tiled canopy, get an oil change or air in your tires and watch the world go by on the town’s brick streets.

Gulf Gas Station
201 US 180 E.

This 1960s Gulf station stands out among the series of stations lined up along the old Bankhead Highway in Breckenridge. In pristine condition, this station is sure to grab your eye much like it was designed to do.

Brick Roadway
Walker Street

In Texas, roads were paved with black gold. Like many town in this part of the state, oil production generated enough tax revenue to pave streets with expensive brick. It was also practical, providing a durable surface for the added traffic from the oil fields.