Glenrio, TX

Glenrio is a ghost town, but it's worth stopping to see.

It was first settled as a farming community in about 1905. In 1906, the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway established a station in Glenrio to ship cattle and other freight.

Half of the town was in Texas and half was in New Mexico, which fostered some interesting business practices. There were no bars on the Texas side because it was in a dry county. There were no service stations on the New Mexico side, because New Mexico had higher taxes on gas than did Texas.

By 1920, the town had a hotel, a hardware store, a post office, a land office, several grocery stores and service stations and a newspaper. The establishment of Route 66 helped Glenrio prosper; however, when I-40 bypassed Glenrio, it went into rapid decline. The railroad depot closed in 1955, and by the 1980s, only two residents remained.

Part of The Grapes of Wrath was filmed in Glenrio. Poignantly, Glenrio was an actual stopping point for Oakies traveling West during the depression.

After you see the Glenrio ghost town, turn around and follow our directions to San Jon. You will go by Russell's Travel Center (in present day Endee NM). It is a modern store that will have any provisions you might need. There also is a terrific museum with many antique cars and lots of Route 66 memorabilia.

There is an optional route to San Jon through the now defunct Endee. You can take this road through San Jon and continue all the way to Tucumcari. You will have to cover several miles of dirt road on this route. While this road is a bit bumpy, it is passable in a car; however, I found it was rough going on a motorcycle, so I suggest you skip that option if you are on two wheels. Follow our suggested route down I-40.