Gas Station, Medicine Mound, Texas

You almost have to be going to Medicine Mound to wind up there. It can be easily reached from the north or east, but, because of rough breaks and the Pease River to the south and west, it is really not on a through route to anywhere. Medicine Mound is above the breaks on a relatively flat plain. Just to the west, looking eerily out of place, are four dolomite hills called "Medicine Mounds". Supposedly, Comanche and Kiowa indians that camped in the area believed the hills had healing properties.

People began to move into this area in the1870s and, at its peak, Medicine Mound had about 22 businesses. In 1927, brothers-in-law Lon Cabb and Ira Hicks opened a general merchandise store. That store along with the rest of the town was destroyed by fire in 1933. This station and the store were rebuilt from cobblestones hauled from the Witcha Mountains in Oklahoma. However, the town never really recoved from the fire and the depression and only these two buildings remain.

I love places like Medicine Mound because I hate crowds -- especially when I'm trying to do photography. I set up my heavy tripod in the middle of the street knowing that there probably wouldn't be any traffic and, if someone did come along they would most likely pull around me and wave like they do when you meet them highway. There's not a lot of road rage in Medicine Mound.