Hillsboro, Tx

We went to Hillsboro which is about 10 miles from Whitney, Tx. There is a SuperWalmart that we needed to go to.

We first went to the Chamber of Commerce which was in the Katy Depot.

Chamber building

We got several to do pamphlets. One of them was a walking tour around downtown Hillsboro. A few blocks down was the original courthouse.

Courthouse

The courthouse is a beautiful building. They are doing some renovations to it, so I wonder if they will be using it again. The current courthouse is a dumpy looking building a few blocks away. We continued a few blocks to the old jail building. The jail building is now a jail museum, but only open on Saturday's from April through October.

Jail building

A few doors down was the Grimes garage. It is considered the first full service filing station. It had a map of the early Texas highway system painted on the wall. Will Rodgers once said what he remembers about Texas is The Alamo and Grimes Station.

Grimes Filing Station

We walked a few blocks and went around the corner and came upon Roadside America. I had seen this on a web site about weird attractions and wanted to see it, but didn't realize it was right here in downtown Hillsboro!

Roadside America

Custom car builder Caroll Estes has collected road culture memorabilia from the 40's and 50's and displays them in his small museum.  This building used to be the local Ford dealer for many years before they moved and Caroll got control of the building. The entrance to the museum is here on the side. The problem is that it was locked up tight!

There were some old signs and trucks and buses on the side of the building so we started snooping around. A few minutes later a women drove up and asked us what we were doing. We think she thought we were up to no good! 

We introduced ourselves and explained we were doing the walking tour and that we had seen the museum online. She said her name was Jane Goodman and that she was a docent for Caroll. She said Caroll had hurt himself and was down and the museum was not open. She had gone to do some shopping for him as he lives in the building.

We said no problem, that it was still pretty cool to see what was on the outside. She said give  me a few minutes and let me see if I can show you around.

Jane Goodman

A few minutes later she came back out and invited us in for a personal tour! The tour is heavy into advertising and car stuff. 

Caroll built this 1955 Pontiac Star Chief wagon with a Corvette tranny and Vette LZ1 engine. It is one of a kind and has been featured in many national hot rod magazines.

1955 Pontiac Star Chief

On the other side of the Pontiac you can see this Jack in the Box. This is an original Jack in the Box you would see at the drive through's. If you are in your 40's or older you will remember these.

Jack in the Box

Remember Bob's Big Boy?

Bob's Big Boy

How many know that the first Bob's Big Boy's were either blond or red hair with stripes instead of checkerboard? Carol has an original blond Big Boy! I had to Google this to research it when we got back and sure enough this is true!

Blondie Bob

This is an old drug store he has created. You can see old medications in the rear and of course the soda fountain in the front. He has all original bottles with syrups and even cups.

Drug Store

Jane asked us if we had any idea what the item in the middle is. We guessed it was some type of a press. The item is a cheese press from the 1700's! All original. The smaller one on the left is an apple press, not sure what year.

Presses

Patty was taking a picture of this award that Carrol received. When looking at the picture later I noticed the letter behind the award. We did not notice it when we were at the museum. If you blow this picture up you can see it is a letter written from Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde fame to Henry Ford. In it Clyde tells Ford:

Dear Sir: --
    While I still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make. I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got ever other car skinned and even if my business hasen't been strickly legal it don't hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V8 --

Clyde Barrow letter

In 1959 Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and Jay Richardson otherwise know as the Big Bopper (Chantilly Lace) died in a plane crash. In 2007 Richardson's son had his fathers body exhumed to put to rest rumors that he had initially lived through the crash or that he actually died from a gun shot. By law the body had to be moved into a new casket. The casket had been at the Texas Music Museum but somehow Caroll Estes now has it.

Big Bopper Casket

After about an 1 1/2 hours of looking around Mr. Estes came out to say hello. I found out he was a big scooter fan. Here is an old Cushman he has. (and still rides).

Cushman scooter

This is a living museum in that Caroll Estes continues to add to it. If I am ever in Hillsboro we will come back, plus we now have a new friend in both Caroll and Jane. I would highly recommend anyone to see this if you are in the area! We were truly in the right place at the right time, but it seems as though that happens a lot to us! :)

After we left the museum we headed back to the truck to go eat diner. We went to Up in Smoke a very good BBQ place in Abbott, Tx. We noticed they had diesel at a good price so I filled up. Gas is only $3.40.

$3.72

Stopped at Walmat to pick up some stuff and came back home. Had a great day!

By the way, Today... March 23 is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday mom!

Love you all,

Brian and Patty