On one of my recent road trips, I stopped on the way back to take some photos of an old gas station I had seen on the side of the highway.

The sign on the building says “Uncle Sams”, but the painted-over red circle badge and red font still visible on the hood of the station’s roof looks like it was once a Texaco gas station. That the the giant Texaco sign in the background with the empty pricing gave it away.

Abandoned Gas Station 01

The pumps were old, rusted, and beautiful. All the accessories and decorations were long gone, and only the bare interior remained.

Abandoned Gas Station 02

A closeup of one of the pumps showed the last purchase made on this pump was for $50.02

Abandoned Gas Station 03

This opened pump was one of my favorite photos. There’s a mix of old and new parts in this one, and it looks like someone had pried the top plate down.

Abandoned Gas Station 04

Backing up a little, you can see how far the roof was leaning back. The impact was only on one column, and the roof was all in one piece. I wonder if this damage is what did in “Uncle Sams” or if it came after the store was already abandoned?

Abandoned Gas Station 05

A photo of the whole station. I can almost see what it was at one point a long time ago. The weeds have made great headway through the concrete, so it has been awhile since anyone has been here.

Abandoned Gas Station 06

This little rusted broken pillar is what was holding up the whole roof.

Abandoned Gas Station 07

This is my second favorite photo. The grass grew up into this last pump and was entwined among the rusting gears and steel.

Abandoned Gas Station 08

Backing up a few steps, you can see the grass had really grown into this last pump.

Abandoned Gas Station 09

If you looked at it from far enough away, it looks like the grass picked this particular pump to reach out to.

Abandoned Gas Station 10

That was it for my quick stop. I think the next big storm will probably knock over that roof, flattening the pumps and maybe part of the store.

As I was driving away, I noticed construction had just started on a freeway overpass for this town. It was just the flattening of the ground, but eventually there’s going to be a business highway and the regular highway passing by. And if it’s like any of the other bypass highways in this part of Texas, these towns I currently drive through on my way North might be in big trouble.