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 Adrian,
Texas
began in 1900 when the Rock Island Railroad established a station in
Oldham County. Calvin G. Aten, a former
Texas Ranger, first built a
dugout for his family west of the site. The town gained an
official status in the summer of 1909 when the railway was completed
through that portion of Oldham County and was named for an early
farmer by the name of
Adrian Cullen. Promotion by an Iowa based Town site Company quickly attracted
prospective farmers and businessmen.
By 1910
Adrian had a post office, a
school, a general store, a bank, a blacksmith shop, a pool hall, a
lumberyard, a brick factory, and a newspaper called the
Adrian Eagle. Just five years later the settlement had added two churches, a
drugstore, and telephone service. The Giles Hotel was a famous
landmark of early
Adrian, which later became
the
Adrian Mercantile and the
Adrian Community Center.
Though
populated with businesses,
Adrian’s
early years saw a slow growth in population due to severe droughts and
difficulties in maintaining sufficient water supplies.
But,
Adrian survived to become the
midpoint of
Route 66 between Chicago and Los Angeles, a popular stopping place
for Mother
Road travelers.
One of
the most popular stops in
Adrian
was, and still is, the MidPoint Café which was first constructed in
1928, a full ten years before paving of
Route 66
was completed through Oldham County. The original greasy spoon
was known as “Zella’s,” which was a one-room eatery with a dirt floor. Later the café was sold to Dub Edmonds and Jess Fincher, who moved
into a modernized the building next door and changed its name to
“Jesse’s Café.” Though it has changed hands many times over the
years, it is one of the few businesses still alive and kicking in
Adrian.
The town was not incorporated until 1953
and never maintained a population of more than a few hundred.
Today,
Adrian is home to just twelve
businesses and a little over 150 people. The Midpoint Café remains
open and provides a collection of
Route 66 memorabilia in the
original site of Zelda’s just next door.
The oldest continuously
operating café on the
Texas
Mother Road,
café's name has changed over the years, but the service has remained
the same where home-style cooking is served with a smile.
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