Believe it or not, there are people out there who love anything related to old gas stations. If you search the Internet for petroliana, you’ll find many collectors of vintage gas-station-related items. Some people even like to restore old gas stations.
My recent trip down US 50 turned up a small but remarkable set of old gas stations. This one is on Main Street in Aurora. It clearly hasn’t been restored; it looks like the building is used as a repair shop today. If I had to guess, I’d say this is a former Gulf station. Check out this photo of another Gulf station from the same period – the details are the same.
This one, obviously restored, is in tiny Hayden, which is about seven miles west of North Vernon. The highway has bypassed Hayden for many decades now. If you didn’t know that the country road leading in and out of Hayden was once the highway, you might be surprised to find this gas station in a little country town in the sticks.
Whoever restored this station placed these Sinclair pumps here, but who knows what brand of gas it originally sold.
The third and final old gas station is in Dillsboro. It’s my favorite simply because it is still in operation. The pumps are marked “full service,” a real throwback.
I found two old gas stations on the National Road in Terre Haute, Indiana. Check them out!
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