Traveling Down the Dixie Overland Highway:
A Short but Fun Road Trip along Vintage US 80
Highway 80 is not the mythical road that US 66 is, and it hasn't been dubbed
anything interesting like the "Lincoln Highway," which is what travelers call US 50.
Nor does it go through some of the first settlements in the United States, from
Florida to Maine, like US 1 does.

Still, US 80 is cool.

Running from Tybee Island, Georgia to San Diego, California, this highway spans
the southern portion of the United States, passing through Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona along the way. If you took it from end to
end, you'd travel almost 2,500 miles, and according to Google Maps, it would take
you at least 3 days.

But for this article, I won't be taking you all the way through. Concentrating on the
areas around the Red River, let's instead take a road trip from Louisiana to parts of
western Texas on this old highway. I'm also going to show you the high-lights of the
trip (meaning "the places for which I have photos").

Like US 66, US 80 has been decommissioned west of Mesquite. It has merged in
many places with Interstates 20 and 30 (further west, with Interstate 10). Mostly,
though, the interstate can be avoided through careful planning!
I tend to call US 80 the "Bonnie and Clyde" road, mainly because it was
just off this highway that they were gunned down. Also, they traveled US
80 often as they drove to Dallas or away from the law (and Clyde is buried
just off of old US 80 in Dallas). Ergo, the first stops in Louisiana are
associated with Bonnie and Clyde.

Arcadia
The seat of Bienville Parish, Bonnie and Clyde were brought into Arcadia
to get the once-over from the coroner after they were ambushed on the
Mount Lebanon to Sailes road (LA 154). Visit the wooden Depot Museum,
with its displays of Bonnie and Clyde.

Gibsland
Bonnie and Clyde hid out at and around the Methvin farm near Gibsland.
The day of the ambush, Bonnie had purchased breakfast at Ma
Cranfield's Cafe in downtown Gibsland, and within the hour, she and her
sandwich both were shot to pieces. The Cafe is now home to the Bonnie
and Clyde Ambush Museum.

Bossier City
Barksdale Air Force Base makes Bossier a military town. I'll get photos of
Bossier as time permits! You will cross the Red River along East Texas
Street.

Shreveport
The town's name of Shreveport comes from Henry Shreve, who was
charged with removing the infamous "Red River Log Jam" that had
hindered navigation on the river north of Natchitoches. As you enter
Shreveport on East Texas Street/ US 80, you'll readily see what makes
Shreveport so popular in the region: its many casinos that sit along the
banks of the Red River.

East of downtown Shreveport, US 80/ Texas Street holds sad remnants of
the city's once vibrant economy. The predominantly African American
business district has been left abandoned, with empty storefronts and
whole street left to decay. The Antioch Baptist Church, however, still goes
strong.

Keep on trucking on Texas Street, which will turn into Greenwood Avenue
before you enter Texas.
First Leg: Louisiana
Mileage marker, set in 1934, on US 80
inside Mingus, Texas
The Arcadia Depot Museum just off US 80 houses a large
collection of artifacts on the Bonnie and Clyde ambush.
Peyton's Cut Rate Drugs on Texas Street in
Shreveport has seen better days.
Along US 80 east of downtown Shreveport, the contrasts are stark, but full of Southern flavor. The Victorian-style mansion on the
left sits neglected and abandoned down Austin Street. Almost directly behind it is a collection of shotgun houses (many have
been modified to add extra space). When I came through, most of these houses were unoccupied, at least by legal renters.
Second Leg: East Texas
As you travel from Louisiana to Texas (or vice versa), you'll
notice the many tall pines that comprise the western-most
part of what once was the Confederacy. East Texas is very
different from the rest of Texas, as it is historically linked to
the South, with its economies, histories, and its landscapes. A
little before Dallas, however, you will be entering the Grand
Prairie and points west - a land that opens up into the
horizon, with short mesquite trees, a few remnants of the
Cross Timbers, and shallow, rock-strewn rivers.

Waskom
Not much to write home about, Waskom does have one
strange feature: its downtown faces away from US 80. That's
because Waskom Boulevard, Waskom's main street, used to
be US 80 before the highway was straightened out and
placed around downtown.

Marshall
Marshall was the last capital of the Confederacy. It was also
one of the first cities in Texas at the forefront of the Civil
Rights movement. Marshall was home to both Bishop College
and is still the base of Wiley College, two prestigious African
American universities. Wiley College's famous debate team of
1935 helped to spark Civil Rights movements in Texas (the
movie, The Great Debaters, was based on this college's
achievements). On Marshall's west side (Victory Drive), check
out the abandoned drive-in theater. On its east side (Grand
Avenue), check out the abandoned high school.

Longview
Longview was founded as a railroad town, when the Texas &
Pacific came through in the 1870s. The Dalton Gang even
conducted their last bank robbery here. Today, with its larger
neighbor, Tyler, Longview's the economic hub for northern
East Texas. US 80, named Marshall Avenue, skirts downtown
Longview, traveling through strip centers that were built in the
1920s. A well-known roadside attraction on US 80 is Johnny
Cace's, a sea food restaurant that incites pilgrimages by
people from all around Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and
Arkansas.

Gladewater
Like Longview, Gladewater was founded alongside the Texas
& Pacific tracks. The original town area is quite compact.

Mineola
Yet another railroad town, Mineola was named after
someone's daughter, or daughters - the stories differ as to
who named it after whom. Lots of antique shops line the
downtown just off US 80 (and many are open Sundays).

Terrell
In the North Texas region, Terrell's best known for the Texas
State Psychiatric Hospital, which is located just north of US
80/ Moore Avenue. The large campus, which began in the
1880s, is beautiful, peaceful, and is an integral part of
Terrell's economy. US 80 slices directly through downtown
Terrell.
Reader Marie Ashley clarified that this abandoned building off
of US 80 in Marshall was once the Texas & Pacific Railroad
hospital. Built in the 1920s, it was closed in the 1960s and since
then served as a juvenile detention center.
Gladewater is a very
cute town nestled in
gently rolling hills. The
city's wonderful art
deco school must be
its pride and joy.
This old motel on US 80 is still in use as a business office.
Third Leg: Dallas and Fort Worth
As you drive away from Terrell, US 80 will become a four lane,
divided highway. But old US 80 still exists - all you've got to do
is find the exits!

Forney
This little hamlet used to be called Brooklyn, but renamed itself
when the Texas & Pacific chose to run its line through town.
Several alignments went through Forney; the later one is now
the frontage road of the current US 80. If you follow FM 688
(Broad Street), you'll drive on an even older portion, and
through the center of town. Several antique shops line US 80.

A little after Forney, US 80 merge with Interstate 30. But don't
fret! You can follow the original US 80 by exiting onto Samuell
Boulevard in Mesquite, which is what old, decommissioned US
80 is now called.

Mesquite
While technically not on US 80 - downtown Mesquite lies south
of Samuell Boulevard - the town has a nice, sordid past, so I'll
include it here. For example, Belle Starr and her family called
Mesquite home. Belle, the "outlaw Queen," was a some-time
horse and cattle thief who hung out with former Quantrill
Guerillas, like her future husband Sam, and their friends Cole
Younger and Jesse James. Sam Bass also made a brief
appearance in Mesquite, after relieving the Texas & Pacific
Railroad of some cash.

Dallas
Once in Dallas, you'll be following a lot of roads that were once
US 80. Since the "official" US 80 consists now of Interstate 30,
I'm consulting an old Conoco Map for your jaunt through Dallas
and later, Fort Worth. Today, the old US 80 route through
Dallas is unmarked.

Keep on driving on Samuell Boulevard (which used to be called
East Pike during US 80's hey-day) until you reach East Grand
Avenue/ TX 78. To follow old US 80, turn left onto Grand
Avenue/ TX 78 until it meets Haskell Avenue. You'll be in the
heart of the Fair Park neighborhood on this route, and you'll
catch glimpses of the Cotton Bowl as you mosey on towards
downtown. As soon as you turn onto TX 78, you'll be on the
Bankhead Highway, an old route that linked Washington D.C. to
San Diego.

Turn right onto Haskell and follow it west. Quite quickly, Haskell
will become Stonewall Street, as Haskell splits into two
one-ways. At the intersection of Stonewall and Parry Avenue,
turn left. Parry Avenue will take you right by Fair Park!

After you pass over the DART railroad tracks, turn right onto
Commerce Street and follow it to downtown Dallas.
At the intersection of Parry and Commerce is a grand old fire
station, which has been converted into a museum. The Museum
of the American Railway, where I volunteer in the archives, is
inside Fair Park, but not for long - its collection will be moved to
Frisco,Texas, soon.

As you drive up Commerce, you'll have to jog onto Main Street
or Elm Street to your right - Commerce becomes a one way
street in the opposite direction. To get to Main or Elm Streets,
take Exposition to the right and then turn left onto either Main
or Elm (both will take you through downtown). Commerce Street
is the original US 80.

Commerce, Main, and Elm Streets form the center roads for
downtown Dallas. All three merge on the west side of downtown
into Commerce Street as they pass through the infamous
"Triple Underpass." If you drive down Elm Street, you'll see the
"X" on the road that marks where John F. Kennedy was shot.

After they merge, Commerce Street becomes a two-way road.
This portion of Commerce street is a newer alignment of US 80.
You can follow this road into Oak Cliff.

If you want to follow the original US 80, you'll have to turn left
onto Houston Street at Dealy Plaza. Follow Houston Street as it
curves onto the Houston Street Viaduct, considered the longest
concrete bridge in the world (and who'd want to dispute that!)

Interesting side note: the Trinity River used to flow where the
Triple Underpass now stands. The river was straightened
through a series of dikes during the 1930s and 1940s. This
project was considered one of the most expensive and
ambitious civic undertakings in US history. Now, of course,
Dallas would like to reclaim the Trinity, which has become
nothing more than a ditch that occasionally floods.

Oak Cliff
If you took the older alignment from Houston Street, your path
will lead you through the heart of Oak Cliff and past the Texas
Theater, where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested after his
event-filled day in November of 1963. In Oak Cliff, US 80 is
Davis Street.

If you decided to follow the newer route on Commerce Street,
make sure to veer left onto Fort Worth Avenue, or what locals
still call the "Old Fort Worth Turn Pike." Fort Worth Avenue is a
great road to take when you want to ponder the past, or when
traffic on Interstate 30 gets so bogged down you need an
alternate route. Either way, it's a great road. You'll see lots of
old motels, vintage diners, and even Clyde Barrow's Grave at
the Western Heights Cemetery, located on Fort Worth Avenue
between Navarro and Neal Streets.

Fort Worth Avenue will merge with Davis Street just west of
Westmoreland Road, and you'll once again follow a single US
80, which is now designated as TX 180.

Grand Prairie
Once you pass over Loop 12, you'll be in Grand Prairie.
There's not much to see here, except some old drive-ins and
several flea markets. TX 180/ US 80 becomes Main Street in
Grand Prairie.

Arlington
Continue west on TX 180 / US 80. After the intersection with
Great Southwest Parkway, you'll be in Arlington, the third
largest city in the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metro-area. Long before
you get to Arlington, however, you'll be able to see its newest
landmark: the brand new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, a.k.a. the
Jerry-dome. It is HUGE. It also occupies an older section of town
that had been condemned through eminent domain to make
way for the stadium. The many diners, motels, and older stores
from the old neighborhood that still ring the stadium will most
likely go away soon, as developers see opportunity knocking.

In Arlington, TX 180/ US 80 becomes Division Street. This a
cool old road that is hugged by down-home restaurants, dance
halls, and local dives. The large campus of the University of
Texas at Arlington sits behind this street, next to the rather
nondescript downtown.

East of downtown is one of my favorite spots on this jaunt:
Arlington Baptist College. But not because I'm religious - it's
because the campus, built of sand stone and situated on one of
the highest hills in Tarrant County, sits on the site of a former
speakeasy, the Top of the Hill Terrace. Drinkers and gamblers
would revel in an underground tavern, but would flee through
an underground tunnel if the police showed up.

Fort Worth
Aaah, my favorite town. As you come down this way, you'll pass
through Handley, a small railroad town that maintains its identity
separate from Fort Worth.

In Fort Worth, TX 180/US 80 becomes Lancaster Avenue. It
doesn't go through the best of neighborhoods - several
homeless missions line the road on both sides. When you pass
under the Interstates near downtown, you'll see why Lancaster
Avenue had a more seedy side to it... it used to empty right into
the heart of the notorious Hell's Half Acre. Alas, the convention
center has replaced this storied neighborhood.

According to my trusty Conoco Map, the old US 80 route
veered off from Lancaster Avenue and onto Main Street. Then,
it continued west on 7th Street, and then followed Camp Bowie
Boulevard to the southwest. You can jog this path, or just stay
on Lancaster Avenue until it intersects with Camp Bowie
Boulevard - the choice is yours. Both ways are interesting.

Camp Bowie Boulevard (also US 377) is Fort Worth's favorite
road. It's bumpy, too, as some of its sections remain paved with
brick. The Modern Art Museum, the Kimball, and the Museum of
Science and History are located off of Camp Bowie, and many
stores, restaruants, and theaters line the road, too. The
neighborhood surrounding Camp Bowie is quite eclectic,
ranging from old apartment buildings to 1950s suburban homes
to fancier digs. Camp Bowie Boulevard is the reason why so
many people fall in love with Fort Worth.
There is plenty of 1930s architecture to admire in buildings
and store fronts along Parry Avenue near Fair Park.
The Doublewide, a bar on Exposition Street with a tornado on its
roof, cracks me up every time I see it.
Arlington is full of vintage and
colorful signage along US 80, as for
years it was the main thoroughfare
between Dallas and Fort Worth.
The newer alignment (50 years young) of US 80
passes as Commerce Street right through the Triple
Underpass at the base of Dealy Plaza.
Get your kicks at the Ritz Starlite Room in Arlington!
The old TP station along Lancaster Avenue
has been converted into Condos.
Fourth Leg: West Texas
Once Camp Bowie Boulevard passes underneath Interstate 30, it
becomes the current US 80. You'll want to follow the signs for US 80 -
that means, veer right to stay on Camp Bowie Boulevard, and follow the
street as it becomes Palo Pinto Drive. You'll eventually merge with
Interstate 30 to go west to our next stop, Weatherford.

Weatherford
Exit the interstate onto TX 180/ Fort Worth Highway in Weatherford. As
the county seat of Parker County, Weatherford is quite the prolific town.
Mary Martin, the famous Broadway actress, was born here, and Oliver
Loving (Charles Goodnight's partner) is buried here. The courthouse
sits in the middle of the road, forcing everyone to drive around it. There
are also some great Victorian homes on the western half of TX 180/US
80.

Mineral Wells
The next stop is Mineral Wells, one of the most interesting towns in
North Texas. The fabulous Baker Hotel will shade your path as you
drive through downtown.

Mineral Wells was once a spa resort, and people from all over would
flock to the town to take in the waters. As people began taking their
vacations to farther destinations, the town lost its tourist clout, and only
pockets of Mineral Wells hint at what was once a bustling resort city.

Bankhead Highway
As you continue your journey west into Palo Pinto, you'll find two side
roads that are named "Bankhead Highway." Here's where your journey
really gets fun - you'll be able to drive down the original alignments,
with the old paving still intact!

US 80 was named the Bankhead Highway after John Hollis Bankhead,
an Alabama politician. US 80 was one of several intersecting routes
that eventually connected Washington D.C. to San Diego, California.
These routes were mapped out and paved through several funding
acts during the 1920s, making trans-American travel possible. These
networks of roads included the Lincoln Highway and of course, good
old Route 66.

On your way west on TX 180/ US 80, you'll often notice parts of the old
road that have become someone's driveway.

Palo Pinto
Palo Pinto began as a town in the 1850s. Many Comanche raids
threatened its existence, but it hung on until it became a well-traveled
ranching center and stage coach stop.

Today, it's still small, but as the county seat of Palo Pinto County, it's
not going anywhere. The jail is now a museum that never seems to be
open (then again, I tend to visit on Sundays, so it's my fault).

End of the Road (for us, anyway)
After the coal mining town of Mingus, you'll drive on US 80 further west
to Shackleford. Then, old US 80 turns south to meet up with modern
Interstate 20 at Strawn. Here, Interstate 20 approximates the original
route through Ranger, Cisco, and Abilene, on toward El Paso.
The Baker Hotel in downtown Mineral Wells.
Ruins have become a staple of downtown Mineral Wells.
Dug-out in Mingus.
Mingus, Gordon, and Thurber (pictured
here), all coal mining towns, were not
accessible to travelers on US 80; they
had to take TX 89.  
A very vintage scene in Strawn: a brick road lined with Thurber
pavers and a hotel named after US 80, the Bankhead Highway. Note
that the "Bankhead" followed US 80 west of Dallas only.
US 80 is one of the grande-dames of the American highway system. While it still exists as a
supplemental road to Interstates 30, 20, and 10, traces and swaths of the old road - and the
automobile culture that went along with it - still remain. Like Route 66 and US 50 have done
for their states, this highway has defined the Red River Valley, and I hope that one day, just
like its sisters, its importance will be recognized.
Clyde and Buck Barrow's grave at Western Heights
Cemetery on Fort Worth Avenue is still well visited.
An original alignment of US 80 east of Mineral Wells.
The Montgomery Ward Building on the west side of downtown
Fort Worth now houses trendy people inside lofts.