Decatur, Texas: Eighter From Decatur

On our latest adventure, we traveled up the 287 corridor and stopped in the county seats along the way. Our first stop was Decatur, Texas.

Wise county was established in 1856 and the county seat, then called Taylorsville after Zachery Taylor, named at the same time. Absalom Bishop, one of the early settler protested. In 1858, he arranged to have the name of the town changed to Decatur, named for Stephen Decatur. Stephen was a Commodore in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War.

Driving into Decatur, you can see the clocktower of the courthouse from most anywhere.

Another of the early settlers was a guy named Sam Woody. Sam was from Tennessee and moved to Decatur in 1854 when he built this cabin. It originally sat near Deep Creek, which is a couple of miles south of Decatur. Sam was part of a Texas Ranger unit that helped protect settlers. During the Civil War, he fought for the Confederacy. The cabin was moved to this site in 1976.

These are the remnants of what was once Decatur Baptist College and then the Wise County Historical Museum.

Decatur Baptist College was established in 1892. It was the first two-year college in Texas. Surprisingly for the time, it was also coeducational. In 1965, the college moved to Dallas and became Dallas Baptist College (now Dallas Baptist University). In 1967, the Wise County Historical Society took over the building and turned it into a museum. Tragically, in 2023, the museum caught fire and all that's left are the remnants from the first photo.

This is the Wise County Courthouse. It's gorgeous! It's made of pink granite and was built in 1896. Prior to that, they had a wooden courthouse. While we were there, it was undergoing a little bit of maintenance and that makes me happy. There are rumors that the courthouse has underground tunnels to various locations around the square, including the jail but I'm not sure which jail. Unfortunately, there were no confirmed findings of any tunnels.

This is the old Stone Prison (maybe this one had tunnels?) that was built by prison labor in 1859. It was the Sheriff's house. The prison cells were in the basement of the house. Meals were sent down via a dumbwaiter that was on the outside east end of the house. Weird. From 1888 to 1938 it was the home of the city waterworks. From 1938 to 1967, it was a private residence. That would be creepy to live in an old prison. In 1967, the Wise County Historical Society bought it. I wonder if they ever plan on doing anything with it, like making it a museum?

The Decatur town Square. The Majestic Theater is now the headquarters for the Wise County Historical Society. It opened in 1908 as a move theater. A fire in 1917 destroyed this whole section of the square but it was rebuilt. It closed in 1950. It was essentially torn down in 1954. A replica of the sign was installed in 2016. The historical society moved in after a fire destroyed the museum in 2023.

Can I just say Wow? I love these old murals. I'm guessing this one is maintained very well.

This cool looking building is the McMurray-Gettys Building. It was built in 1917 after that fire destroyed this section of the square.TJ McMurray and CT Gettys were attorneys that occupied the second floor of the building. The first floor was retail.

The Decatur Masonic Lodge is across the square from the courthouse and was erected in 1913.

This is an internet photo of El Castile, the majestic home of Daniel Waggoner. Waggoner was a rancher and built this house in 1883. It sits on the top of a hill surrounded by 13.5 acres of land. It has 16 rooms, eight fireplaces, marble bathrooms and stained-glass windows. I read that this house was the inspiration for the one in the movie Giant. In 1942, the house was sold to Phil and Clara Luker. It has since been sold again but, for some reason, it's been left to rot. It's not open to the public. What a shame. It's a beautiful house and part of the history of the town. The owners should sell it to the Texas Historical Commission if they aren't going to use it.

In 1927, E. F. Boydston built this gas station out of wood. In 1935, he covered it with chunks of petrified wood turning it into a tourist attraction.

In 1931, Boydston added these cabins that had garages. It's rumored (but unconfirmed) that Bonnie and Clyde stayed in these cabins. It's unconfirmed because back then there were no written records and people paid in cash but it seems like the kind of place they would stay. It's on the outskirts of town and the garage would help keep them hidden.

I liked Decatur. We stopped there on a Wednesday morning about 10-ish and there was a lot of traffic downtown! I was very surprised. The traffic made me feel a little rushed and I didn't spend as much time there as I would have liked.

There are about 6,500 people that live here. They have one of those Lowe's Markets that you find in small towns. That must have been their only option until the Walmart moved in. I'm surprise that didn't put the Lowe's Market out of business especially since they are almost neighbors. 

Surprisingly, they have all the hotel chains: Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield and Hampton. They have most fast food along with a Chili's. The biggest employers are Walmart and then a couple of manufacturing companies. But they are only 25 miles from Denton and an hour from Plano so many people could probably commute if they wanted the peacefulness of a small town.

I wondered about the "Eighter from Decatur" motto. In the dice game craps, an "eighter" is lang for rolling an eight, which is a "desirable outcome" when shooting dice. The rumor is that the Fort Worth and Denver railroad came to town in 1882, connecting the city to Fort Worth. The railroad workers would shoot dice and one of the guys said "Ada from Decatur", a chant for good luck when shooting the dice. It later became "Eighter from Decatur". The town adopted the phrase as their motto to harness good luck and because they liked the "playful" spirit associated with it.