Majestic Theatre - Wills Point (1926) Karl C. LyBrand launched his long and colorful career in the entertainment business in Wills Point in 1907 as manager of the Wednesday Book Club Opera House. In 1926, the theatre building was built to show the silent movies that were all the rage. Probably the most memorable thing during the silent picture days was the orchestra that won fame in our area providing musical accompaniment to the films. The orchestra included Karl C. Lybrand on trumpet and Ms. Eva Lybrand on piano. The orchestra played until talking pictures took over the screen in 1933. The first talking picture shown her was “The Girl From Woolworths” starring Alice White. Karl C. Lybrand III carries on the tradition of his father and grandfather operating the Majestic Theatre today. It is the longest continuously operated movie house in Texas.
Bluebird Cafe - Wills Point
The Rose Monument - Wills Point - The structure in the center of Commerce and N. 4th is the Rose Monument. I.E. Rose, the younger brother of B.W. Rose, followed his brother here. He stayed in Wills Point before going to Dallas where his ventures in real estate and other businesses proved profitable. Mr. Rose remembered Wills Point fondly for what it had done for him and his family, and expressed the desire to give something to the town that would be a source of civic pride. He first had the idea that a park for children to play in would be the best project, but after careful consideration by the mayor, city council and Mr. Rose, the monument was selected. The monument has tiers of basins for plants, a center projection that extends to a height of about 12-15 feet and attached to the projection are four light posts.
Wills Cabin - Wills Point - The name Wills Point is said to be after William Wills, the local tax assessor who had settled here in the 1840s. The "point" was the tree line that ended abruptly where the prairie began. Wills built a double log cabin and expanded his land holdings. In the mid 1850s Wills took advantage of his location on the Dallas-Shreveport Road and provided lodging for travelers. Prior to the arrival of the railroad, the town had stagecoach service. The Wills Point post office was opened in 1870 and the town was platted in the early 1870s with the arrival of the Texas & Pacific Railroad.
Waiting for a Freight Train - Wills Point
Don's Dairy Bar - Grand Saline (1950)
Burgers at Don's Dairy Bar
A Woman And Her Truck . . .
Mama's boy on the road with us!
Mama's boy on the road with us 2!
Shopping on Hi-Way 80
Vendors Along Hi-Way 80
Main Street - Mineola
Beckham Hotel - Mineola - The Beckham Hotel is a genuine railroad hotel, built to house passengers as well as railroad employees laying over between runs. Located on Commerce Street in the downtown area, the hotel sits directly across the tracks from the Amtrak station. Several rooms overlook the tracks, and are favorites of guests who find Mineola's railroad heritage particularly appealing. The present brick structure was completed in 1927 after a fire razed the first (ca. 1880s) hotel. Big bands were said to have played in the upstairs ballroom during the 1920s and 1930s, and there are stories of bootlegging, ghosts and late night poker games interrupted only by the passing of trains
Beckham Hotel Sign - Mineola
Train Depot - Mineola - Mineola's railroad station was heavily modernized by the Texas & Pacific after World War II, but even this modernistic style is approaching 50 years of age and is historic in its own right. The depot faces Commerce Street and the downtown business district, a convenient location appreciated by past and present train travelers. A trackside gazebo provides an excellent site to relax and watch downtown activity, punctuated by the occasional passage of trains. Several former railroad hotels survive, including the Beckham Hotel which faces the railroad mainline from across Commerce Street. The Beckham is undergoing restoration as a bed and breakfast inn, with shops and a restaurant on the ground floor. Mineola's other railroad hotel, the historic Bailey-Carlton Hotel located just south of the depot, is abandoned and the imposing structure now faces an uncertain future.
Dairy Way Sign
Dairy Way Remnants
Deco Gas Station - Mineola
Dodley's Sport's Grill
Henry Hotel - Mineola (1933)
Bench - Mineola
Etched Glass - Mineola
Bowling Alley Sign - Mineola
Bowling Alley - Mineola
Abandoned Gas Station
Abandoned Gas Station - Close-up
