Like all else in Texas, I guess the TXDOT wanted something BIG so the Highway 80 traveler would be sure to know they they were in Texas.  I think this marker fits the bill!  I wonder how long this fella has been greeting travelers into the state?  Once you pass this, the first real town in Texas is just a few seconds away, and a lot remains to be explored in Waskom.

     Waskom really is an interesting place.  Two versions of 80 run through here, the original alignment of Highway 80 which was on Waskom Ave newer (by newer, I mean 1930's!) 80 which followed the route the main highway still follows today.  Accompanied by fellow roadie Doc Rob Garrett of Dallas, we opted to spend more time exploring the original alignment which follows (as was typical of most early roads...) the RR tracks quite closely (see pic).  Take a few minutes to stroll along the abandoned old Main St.  Note the 1926 Abney Jones Building and many others.  However, not all buildings on this bypassed alignment ended up like Abney Jones.  Local legend has it that the Waskom Cafe was lifted up on hydraulic jacks and rotated to face the new Highway 80 alignment to the south-all with flexible gas lines still feeding the grills so no one missed a cup of Joe or a flapjack!  And there were plenty of hungry travelers and activity.  Indeed, this stretch of Texas used to be literally lined with gas stations side by side as Texas had a lower gas tax than Louisiana so those big guzzling cars of the day from both states supplied plenty of business!

     Doc Rob & I decided to spend the majority of our time exploring the remnants of original and early (pre-1934) 80.  This early routing went north to Jonesville and over to Marshall via county roads134 & 1998.  Although it was a nice rural drive, the roads have been rebuilt/widened several times and no evidence of vintage 80 remained except a smattering of old buildings such as this one in Jonesville.  Marshall offered a lot of vintage architecture on both the old alignment (Houston St.) and the newer alignment such as this mouthwatering 1960's style Whataburger!  Truly a classic!  And speaking of classics, don't miss a cut off stretch of original 80, known as County 3379 on the west side of the road off of 4-lane 80 on the SW side of Marshall.  Hard to believe this was the main road once...

     East Texas is full of these cut off segments of original 80.  A major re-straightening effort was accomplished between 1930 & 1934 which left many portions of the old road abandoned or transferred to private ownership.  Indeed, a study of Mapquest or other similar programs will show you several small loops between Marshall and Hallsville, and almost all of them are original 80 (though most are on private property).  An exquisite example and a real *MUST SEE* segment of original 80 lies just east of Hallsville and is known as CR 3810.  Shown as being a through road on Mapquest, don't be fooled.  You can drive in 1.5 miles from the east through thick woods on narrow vintage asphalt (see pic) before plunging ahead on 1/2 mile of abandoned roadbed to the real treasure, or come in from the west side and just park your car and hoof in a couple of hundred feet.  Oh yeah, that real treasure I mentioned?  A vintage and probable pre-80 abandoned iron truss bridge!  Completely overgrown now, this bridge is a true relic of the highways early years and is a wonderful photo op.  Don't miss it!

  West of Hallsville, note the subtle terrain change.  We are leaving the lower and more marshy areas behind and entering an area of more pine trees interspersed with rolling pastures.  Soon, we enter Longview the major metropolitan area of east Texas.  I can find no evidence of another routing besides the existing Highway 80 routing through Longview, and relics such as the 20's era station seem to bear me out.  Based upon the cloverleaf emblem in the glass facade crystal, this station appears to have been a circa 1950's Cities Service station (green cloverleaf on a white background versus the earlier black cloverleaf on a white background) though it looks as if it *may* have 'acquired' a much older Phillips 66 as they would more often than not utilize an existing structure versus building a new one.  Thanks to our roadie friend Brian Garner for pointing out the significance of the glass crystal & emblem in the brick facade.  I had not noticed this and just assumed this was an old Phillips 66 based upon the style of the building.

Just down the street, The Grill is still in business and was doing a good lunch.  Wonder if the old neon works?

     Between Longview and Gladewater, original 80 ran just north of newer 80 and was bypassed sometime between1934 & 1939.  In Gladewater, original 80 took one of those seemingly irrational 90-degree turns north past the old Ice House with its old vending machines (see pic), then headed west on Gay Ave. (becomes White Oak) over to Big Sandy.  Big Sandy presents something of a mystery.  It's old Main St, now virtually abandoned (see pic), seems to be mis-located.  Although it is down by the RR, original 80 actually entered town a block north of newer 80!  Am I missing an earlier incarnation of the Dixie Overland here or something??

     Oft bisected by newer 80, westward bound old 80 wove gently back and forth and connected many interesting small towns. Hawkins appears to have lively old Main St. full of antique shops while one block south on newer 80, judging by the amount of seating available, Petty's Cafe looks to be quite the happenin' place.  Be sure to take scenic CR 3340 past Angler, and the Bennet's Country Store building by the RR tracks in Hoard has apparently been around since 1912.  Through New Hope on FM 1801 and coming into the east side of Mineola on Mimosa Dr., old 80 is a fine rural drive any average sedan can take (just watch for the occasional bad bump/pothole).  

     Mineola itself is truly an interesting place.  Full of historic buildings, the area along the RR and Commerce St. (original 80) appears to be undergoing a restoration as THE place in town to eat and shop.  As a bonus, the old brick road and the Beckham Hotel really transport you back in time.  With the first hotel (circa late 1800's) being destroyed by fire, the current brick building was built in 1927-just in time to usher in new Highway 80 to the area.  Today, a couple of rooms have been refurbished and once again, the Beckham can cater to the Highway 80 roadie. 

   Just west of Mineola, the Sabine River winds its way through eastern Texas like a writhing ball of earthworms!  Old 80 crossed the Sabine at much more of a 90 degree angle than newer 80.  The result?  A couple of cut-off segments of old 80 now known as CR 2231 on the NE side and CR 4133 on the SW side.  The old 'Rail Type D' bridge as shown in this photo attests to the age of this segment of abandoned 80.  Just a mile further west in this interesting area, this fine example of an unknown station sits on the south side of the road at Silver Lake.  Farm Road 1701 heading to the SW is another proven segment of original 80 and takes one through a peaceful country drive before coming into Grand Saline. 

     Like many cities in Texas, Grand Saline depends upon the riches of the earth for its lifeblood.  But in addition to oil, another staple of the American diet comes from the area.  As you might have guessed, it's salt!  The Morton Salt Company (yes, that Morton Salt Company) pumps huge amounts of water underground which dissolves the salt and this salty slurry is pumped back out (to the tune of almost 500,000 pounds a year) and eventually makes its way onto your bag of popcorn.  Be sure to stop at the Salt Palace (which is actually made of salt blocks by the way!) to see a few artifacts of this local industry.  Another thing you will notice about the Grand Saline area is the abundance of roadside fruit stands such as this one.  If you get lucky and the time of year is right, you might be able to take a few of these beauties along for a tasty and healthy (and probably kind of messy if you're not careful!) snack along the way.

     From here, we don't have far to go to Terrell, the last major city along the road on the way to Dallas.  We'll pass through the small communities of Fruitvale and Edgewood on the way.  Original 80 was on the south side of the tracks between Fruitvale and Edgewood, but was bypassed by newer 80 934. Moving westward, Wills Point is a welcome little town and is certainly worth a stop and look-see as the downtown historical area is chock full of brick roads, historical buildings (for example, see my pic of the Majestic Theatre) and museums.  Original 80 came into town on the north side of the tracks on Commerce and ran right smack dab into a 'roundabout' before crossing back to the south side of the road where it is today.  Indeed, this old 'roundabout' is still in existence and apparently marks a water well where early pictures show herds of cattle being watered in the middle of the street!  Similar to Fruitvale and Edgewood, this routing was bypassed by 1934.

     Terrell.  The last major stop on our journey through eastern Texas, Terrell has been, and remains to this day, an industrious Highway 80 city.  With Highway 80 always being the main road through town, colleges, iron works, and a major rail shipping point ensured that Terrell had the diversity of industry to withstand the construction of I-20 to the south and thusly, Highway 80 remains a busy thoroughfare to this day.  Indeed, if you stop to take some photos in the downtown area as I did, make sure you don't step out into oncoming traffic!  Luckily, I was able to get a good photo of this Buford Drugs sign from the safety of the sidewalk!

     From here, stay on 4-lane 80 west until just after the big TX 557 interchange.  Then, as soon as you can, cross to the south frontage road by the RR tracks which is original 80.  From here, it's a short jump west to the town of Forney and the beginning of Highway 80 through the Dallas/Ft. Worth  metropolitan area!  Be prepared, it will be busy!