It was the depression years by the time progress demanded a better highway route connecting the east with the west. And a lot of different communities would be considered as a place where the later-to-be famous Route 66 would pass through. Shamrock, in Wheeler county in the Texas Panhandle, was one of those lucky towns selected. Soon, cars and trucks and RVs were passing right by the town, bringing with it loads of travelers who helped boost the sagging local economy. With the advent of the new super highway, new businesses began opening in Shamrock and other lucky communities, and old businesses expanded and added on to answer the demand for more services. According to the oldgas.com Web site, a wonderful site that chronicles the history of America's most famous roadside gas stations, in the 1930s it became clear that the newly established Route-66 would cut through the north end of Shamrock. The owners of the prime corner lot at the new crossroads of the Del Rio Canadian Road (83) and Route-66 were offered a deal. Sell the land and have a beautiful custom designed building constructed on the site for their own use. Needless to say, the owners jumped at the deal and one immediately grabbed a stick and sketched the building he wanted in the dirt for the prospective buyer. The drawing was transferred to paper and the station was born. The building was constructed as three separate businesses: 1. The Tower Conoco Station, so named for the tall tower gracing its roof. 2. The U-Drop Inn Cafe, named by a local schoolboy in a contest that awarded him $50.00 for his idea. 3. A retail store, never used as such, but soon taken over by the cafe folks for use as a ballroom and overflow dining room. The building was beautiful in its day; neon lighting, deco details and glazed ceramic tile walls. It gradually took a beating, the biggest hit coming in the 70s when it was painted red-white-and-blue and converted to a FINA station. The building operated successfully for most of its life, finally closing completely in the mid 90s. The Shamrock Chamber of Commerce is utilizing a federal transportation enhancement grant (TEA-21) administered by the Texas Department of Transportation to restore the building to its original grandeur. Soon the chamber will occupy the retail space as the Chamber/Tourism office. The Cafe will be restored as a stopping place for weary travelers to get a cup of coffee, a soda or just to play some dominoes and chat with local old-timers. The station is to be restored as, well, a sort of museum of itself; restored to what it looked like as an operating 1940 station so route-66ers and gas station buffs can stop and walk through. About Shamrock Shamrock was named by an Irish immigrant sheep rancher by the name of George Nickel when in 1890, the Irishman applied to open a post office at his dugout home six miles north of the present town site. Suggesting the name for good luck and courage, the post office never opened because Nickel’s home burned down, but the name stuck. Having gained approval for the name, another post office was operated nearby for a short time, but Shamrock did not get its official beginning until the Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway arrived in the summer of 1902. By August, town lots were being sold at the town site that went by the name of Wheeler. However, the railroad named the stop Shamrock in 1903, and so the town returned to the original name. In the same year a new school opened in the small settlement and the town began to compete with nearby Story and Benonine as local trade centers. By 1906, Shamrock had emerged as the leader and businesses from the other two small towns moved to Shamrock. Neither Story nor Benonine exist today. In 1938, the town bandmaster by the name of Glen Truax, started a St. Patrick ’s Day celebration on the weekend nearest March 17, complete with parades and entertainment, a tradition that continues to this day.