Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Archives of the best of past topics How To Questions and Answers Trying To Trace The Heritage Of My Service Station

When I bought my home and the service station somewhat attached to it, a few months ago I asked if the seller had any pictures of the station when it was built in the mid-1950's. The seller's family has owned the property since the 20's and were the builders of the service station.

The lady said she didn't know and if there were any her daughter would have them. The daughter said she may have recalled a few photos but with her mom's move everything is scattered.

By using paint chips from the exterior and interior could an educated guess be made?

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Jim

Jim, here are some links that you might want to look through. Sit down, and get comfortable. One link is gas signs. They are grouped by brand, so you can go right to whatever brand you choose. You might see what you're looking for there. The next one, is grouped by building design. That site will take longer. Grab a cup of coffee, and let us know what you find.
http://www.gassigns.org/
http://www.agilitynut.com/gas/1a.html

just thinkin..wouldn't there be "town hall records".. construction permits, license's,surveyor, design plans filed with the building commisionor, etc..that might be archived?...maybe on micro film?...

You might be able to find those things, but I doubt that it will include any photos or color specifications.

Another good source could be anniversary or Centennial/Bi-Centennial books that celibrate a towns history or an event. Often Fire Depatments/Emergency Squads issue them for years of service celebrations. If you can get an edition that has older pictures of the town it can be a real cool trip down memory lane. Town libraries usually have them.

Old phone books..lok at the yellow pages.. lirary may have them.

If not (or as well) run a small ad in paper looking for info/pics..you may be surprised!!

Find your old neighbors in all directions from your new house and ask them about it and if they have maps, signs, cans etc from the old station. You may be surprised what you can come up with right down the block. It has worked for me.Look for the old houses-garages and knock on the door.

I've had the best luck with City Directories. They're not phone books. Some people call them cross books. You can look up the address, and find the owner's info. Sometimes you can then look up the info you find in another section of the book.

Lots of times it just says "gas station," but, often, it will say "Stanford's Texaco" or somesuch.

They're found at almost any town's library.

Good luck,
Wes

Terry Flannery has the best solution, ask the older people in town.
Check with the local paper, for Grand Opening, might be something on micro film.
Check with city street division or Highway department, might have been a dangerous intersection.
db

He's looking for old photos, not the address, he already knows that! Phone Books?

Chris,
Jim wanted to know the heritage of his station. Phone books and city directories could help him find that info. Phone books could really be helpful if the station was advertised in them.

This works in smaller towns. Contact a few of your local churches/parishes; most have weekly or monthly newsletters. See if they will let you post a "History wanted: looking for someone or relative who worked at Johnson’s Texaco" type message. Usually someone who would have worked there has pics, especially if it was a hangout.

Good Luck & keep us posted.
Kim


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Chris , you be be amazed how many name changes or brand changes some stations have had.. and if you look at an old book say 59 or 69 and look at the garage addresses you may be surprised how many of those used to be a garage but you can not tell driving by quickly.. and some still have stuff.


When I went to visit a local lady who still lived beside where Bennys BA was.. I took the 1959 phone book with the ad in it.. Had a nice conversation and got a really nice lighter and matchbook.