I have always had a love for nostalgia, I can’t drive past an old gas station canopy, a hand-painted store sign or a set of analog gas pumps without slowing down. These places tell a story just by still standing. Somebody pulled in here for gas in 1936. Somebody ran this counter for fifty years.
This map started at a car show at the Rice Gulf Museum, a Gulf gas station replica in a backyard in New Market, Alabama. I started thinking of the real ones I had driven past, the closed station on a back road, the faded store sign, the airplane over the gas pumps.
So I started writing them down. This guide covers old stores, gas stops and signs across Alabama and Tennessee, and it will keep
growing as I find more. Some still pump gas. Some are a repair shop or a detailing bay now. Some are closed, and a few are slowly falling down. All of them are worth a slow drive past.
Alabama stops
Sullivan’s Gulf, Cleveland (Repurposed). If you want to see what a Gulf station looked like in its prime, this is it. The blue-and-orange canopy, the round Gulf signs and the old pumps by the door are all here on AL-79. It no longer sells gas and now works as an auto repair shop, but somebody clearly loves the place. My 89 Mustang looked right at home parked under it.
Airplane Store, Vinemont near Eva (Open). This one has been around since I was a kid. A Marathon on County Road 1435 between Cullman and Fairview, with an airplane mounted on top. I found online it has been up there since 1976. I have always known it as the Airplane Store, and I’m glad it’s still pumping gas.
Prince’s General Merchandise, Estillfork (Closed). The sign alone is worth the drive. A bottle cap on each end, established 1943, and a hand-painted line that reads, “If we ain’t got it, you don’t need it.” Old photos of local people are still pinned across the front, which makes the building feel like a scrapbook. Next door, the brown E.R. Prince & Sons building carries the sign “It Is What It Was,” and I can’t think of a better description. These were accidental discoveries from a day of back road adventures, it is places like this that make a great road trip even better.
Bates Grocery, Plevna (Closed). An old country store on Winchester Road near New Market, closed for years. It’s the kind of place you imagine a lot of people stopped at on the way somewhere else. It’s been a favorite photo spot for car guys for years.
Trussville Standard Oil (Closed when visited). A vintage Standard Oil station in Trussville that was not open when I stopped. Call ahead or check social media first. Even closed, it’s worth a photo from the road. Inside there’s several classic cars and a few outside.
Southern Tennessee Spots
Cowan Texaco, Cowan (Open). A 1936 Texaco station restored in 2006 as the town’s welcome center, with old cars on display in the service bays, per Roadside America. It sits downtown on US-41A and is the easiest stop on the map. Sewanee Station, a former Esso and Gulf garage about 3 miles away, makes a good pairing.
Shelbyville Batwing Station, Shelbyville (Repurposed). Mid-century design at its best. A long V-shaped canopy sweeps out over where the pumps used to be, held up by a red lattice tower, close to the square on Lane Parkway. It now houses an auto detailing shop, and a car guy can appreciate that. The canopy is the draw, so shoot it from across the street.
Old Delina Country Store, Cornersville (Closed). A rustic country store near Fayetteville that served food when I visited and has since closed. An old Texaco sign hangs on the building, which suggests it may once have sold fuel. I took my boys there a few years back when it was operating as a restaurant. It was decorated with all sorts of antiques. The owner was very friendly and talked to us at length about being in the service and his career. The fried Bologna sandwich I ordered was great, I hated to hear of its closing.
I have a few more I will add as time goes by, so if you like to explore like we do please abide by these photo trip etiquettes.
Most of these buildings are private property, so look from the road. Stay off closed or abandoned property. Old structures can be unsafe, and many are owned by people who live nearby.
Ask before you go inside or onto private land, and always ask before you publish a private backyard museum’s address.
Pull over safely. Several of these stops sit on busy highways.
Call ahead for places that open by appointment or on special days.
Leave things as you found them, signs and pumps included.
Know of one I missed?
I have a Google map that is inthe works. If you know an old station, store or sign in Alabama or Tennessee, send me the town, the road and a photo if you have one. I’ll check it out and add it, with a last-checked date, so the map stays current. As long as these places are still standing, I want to keep finding them!
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