JUNK BOAT TRAVELS: Shamrock

19 March 2026

November 2012 - Shamrock TX
March 2013 - Shamrock TX

We drove through Shamrock on our west and east bound trips IN 2012-2013.

Shamrock got its name from the first postmaster of the town; an Irish immigrant named George Nickle, in 1893.

The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café is located along historic Route 66 in Shamrock. Built in 1936 by J. M. Tindall and R. C. Lewis at the cost of $23,000, this gem of a building got its start in the dust when John Nunn drew his idea for the station on the ground with an old nail.

With its Art Deco detailing and two towers, the building was designed and constructed to be three separate structures. The first was the Tower Conoco Station, named for the dominating four-sided obelisk rising from the flat roof and topped by a metal tulip. The second was the U-Drop Inn Café, which got its name from a local schooolboy's winning entry in a naming contest. The third structure was supposed to be a retail store that instead became an overflow seating area for the café. The Tower Station was the first commercial business located on the newly designated Route 66 in Shamrock, and is one of the most imposing and architecturally creative buildings along the length of the road.

Until about the late 1970s, the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café was light brick with green glazed tiles. Now refurbished with light pink concrete highlighted by green paint, it still looks much the same as it did during the heyday of the Mother Road. The towering spire above the service station still spells out C-O-N-O-C-O, a reminder of the booming business that the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café once saw.

18 March 2024

2024 Road Trip - Day 5 Tulsa OK to Amarillo TX

March 15 2024

Click here for:

Day 1 Toronto to Fort Wayne

Day 2 Fort Wayne to St. Louis

Day 3 St. Louis

Day 4 St. Louis MO to Tulsa OK

Weekly Recap Casey Coffee Co.

Departure 8:15

Weather cold overcast. Temperature went from 12C/54F and then dropped to 7C/45F with rain.

Arrival 4:30 GPS took us to a wrong location.

States Oklahoma and Texas

We've been to locations along the route before and an overnight in Oklahoma City before. Click here for links to other stops in Amarillo.

Dec 2012 Clinton, Elk City, Shamrock, Canute, Groom, Amarillo

We had a quick bite in the hotel, yogurt, bananas.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel, Elk City and drove through Clinton.

Oklahoma toll system doesn't help the roads!

Not a clue what this is!

We've also passed this before.

Oklahoma City 2012 includes other links.

Oil country

Large funeral.

Clinton OK Nov 2012

Elk City OK 2012

This has been enhanced since our last visit. But it was cold! I ~~will do~~ did some separate posts for Elk City as there are murals and lots more photos!

Located on Route 66 in historic Elk City, Oklahoma. The complex includes the National Route 66 Museum, a National Transportation Museum, the Old Town Museum, a Farm and Ranch Museum, a Blacksmith Museum, and many outdoor displays.