the opposite side. Though Fort Sumner is still more than two hundred miles away, don’t fret. Just imagine what a cowboy would have traded to get out of his saddle and into your air-conditioned car.
The
History
Drive
Who wouldn’t
get excited about driving a stretch of El Camino Real, which is still known on the map as the Old San Antonio Road? The trail was first blazed in the late seventeenth century, and this short segment reminds us of how Texas used to look.
START: Benchley
END: Midway
DIRECTIONS: East on Old San Antonio Road
DISTANCE: 55 miles
The Old-Fashioned Drive
By Jordan Breal
ROUTE: Paris to Decatur
DISTANCE: 148 miles
NUMBER OF COUNTIES: 6
WHAT TO READ: Michael Andrews’s Historic Texas Courthouses
Whenever I start to suffer the ill effects of traffic overload and endless status updates on my smartphone, I set out for a quieter, quainter place that has at least two of the following: a picturesque Main Street lined with small specialty shops, a beautiful courthouse or other architectural gem, and a beloved cafe famous for its chicken-fried steak or enchiladas or fried pie (I’m not too picky). So I recently plotted a course from Paris to Decatur, mostly along U.S. 82, that would take me through a handful of North Texas’s historic downtowns—and transport me back a generation or two.
Starting out on the edge of the Piney Woods, I headed straight to Paris’s grand plaza, an assemblage of twenties-era storefronts that form a nostalgic square around Culbertson Fountain, an Italian marble beauty built to commemorate the city’s rebirth after the devastating 1916 fire. When I wasn’t uploading pictures of the Instagram-worthy facades (alas, some habits die hard), I was shopping, buying handwoven sisal necklaces at the eco-friendly Green Boutique and a flaky croissant at the Paris Bakery.
I followed U.S. 82 west out of town, and with nobody tailgating me, I felt oddly relaxed behind the wheel. For a while, rows of loblolly pines ran parallel to the two-lane highway, but as I got closer to Bonham the trees became fewer, and I was soon surrounded by gently rolling prairie and broad blue sky. After an hour, I veered off 82 just outside of Bells to pick up U.S. 69 going northwest. Twenty minutes later, I was cruising—at an unhurried 25 miles an hour—down Denison’s ten-block-long Main Street. Its buildings from the early 1900’s are an endearing mishmash of colors (canary yellow, pistachio green) and decorative elements, from the Rialto Theatre’s art-deco marquee to Blue Moon Antiques’ blue-and-red-striped awning. I could’ve spent the rest of the afternoon sizing up art in the galleries and artists’ studios.
Continuing on, I followed Texas Highway 91 south for a few miles until I was back on U.S. 82 and heading west. By the time I hit Whitesboro, I was deep into horse country. I kept inadvertently dipping below the speed limit as I gawked at one ridiculously pastoral plot after another: think red-roofed barns, bright-white fences, and dozens of world-class paint horses grazing on grass so green it looks like AstroTurf.
Outside Gainesville, the countryside petered out and big-box stores started popping up again like weeds, so I took the exit for FM 372 and followed it south until I hooked a right onto FM 51, which runs past the Cooke County courthouse. Bolstered by a lunch of green-chile-chicken enchiladas at Sarah’s on the Square, I zipped through several notable shops, including the 123-year-old Kinne’s Jewelers and Paige Davidson’s enviably creative Cahoots Handbags, which happens to be around the corner from the Fried Pie Co and Restaurant. I’ll give you one guess as to what I walked out of there with.
The afternoon was waning, so I set out for my final destination. Just after FM 51 crosses underneath Interstate 35, it starts to curve to the southwest and soon narrows to two lanes. The next forty miles proved to be the most scenic segment of the trip. I drove up and down baby hills and through plots of farmland so expansive that I couldn’t see anything but the horizon—and herds of loitering cattle. As I approached Decatur, I realized I’d unwittingly saved the prettiest panorama for last: with a mile to go, the castle-like turrets of James Riely Gordon’s Wise County courthouse came into magnificent view. When I arrived at the square, I made my way over to Sweetie Pie’s Ribeyes, where I treated myself to a steak dinner and somehow finally found the willpower to forgo dessert.
The
Courthouse
Drive
For more than a century, county courthouses have defined their communities—and created a sense of rivalry between nearby cities. And few architects have been as closely associated with the buildings as James Riely Gordon, who designed at least fifteen across the state, primarily in the Romanesque Revival style. Though we typically avoid I-35, the interstate makes it easy to see examples of his legacy in Waxahachie, Waco, New Braunfels, and San Antonio before heading east to Victoria.
START: Waxahachie
END: Victoria
DIRECTIONS: From Waxahachie, take I-35 south through Waco, New Braunfels, and San Antonio. Then proceed east on U.S. 87 to Victoria.
DISTANCE: 357 miles
Drives Directory
The BBQ Market Drive
City Market (Luling): 633 E. Davis,
830-875-9019
City Market (Schulenburg): 109 Kessler, 979-743-3440
City Meat Market (Giddings): 101 W. Austin, 979-542-2740
Gonzales Food Market ( Gonzales): 311 Saint Lawrence, 830-672-3156
Prause Meat Market (La Grange): 253 W. Travis,
409-968-3259
The Backwoods Drive
Big Pines Lodge Restaurant and Waterin’ Hole: 747 Pine Island Rd., 903-679-3655
Catfish Cabin: 2957 U.S. 96, 409-384-2228
Gator Country: 2957 U.S. 96, 409-384-2228
J&D’s Little Cafe: At the intersection of Texas 21 and Loop 547, no phone
Shady Glade Cafe: 449 Cypress Dr.,
903-789-3295 or shadygladeresort.com
The Birding Drive
Bentsen–Rio Grande Valley State Park: 956-584-9156 or theworldbirdingcenter
.com/Bentsen.html
Estero Llano Grande State Park: 956-565-3919 or theworldbirdingcenter
.com/estero.html
National Butterfly Center: 956-583-5400 or nationalbutterflycenter.org
Quinta Mazatlan: 956-681-3370 or
quintamazatlan.com
South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center: 956-243-8179 or spibirding.com