Vicinity of Seymour Texas
Submitted by: Myra Busby, Executive Director,
Seymour Chamber of Commerce
Area Locator (Baylor County)
Ride Description:
A good 2 to 3 hour scenic run in North Central Texas through rolling hills meandering through the breaks and back ways. Read full description, below!
Special Notes / Cautions: none
Distance: 160 miles
Time: Approx 3 hours
Start: Seymour City Park, Seymour, Texas
End: Seymour City Park (optional)
Ride Directions: see Google Map for more detailed directions [pending].
Route Highlights and detailed description:
Taking a break in “the Breaks”!
Looking for a good 2-3 hour scenic run in North Central Texas?
Beginning and ending the route at Seymour’s city park, you can gather at one of the many park sheds or just relax in the shade of its mature trees on the neatly manicured grass. The park is located at 800 E Morris, 6 blocks East of the Courthouse. Much of the rock walls, its swimming pool, and other rock projects around the community was part of Roosevelt’s 1930’s WPA projects. You might want to stop by the post office and take a peek at Seymour’s post office mural which is another WPA project.
The route is approximately 160 miles of rolling hills meandering through the breaks and back ways where dinosaurs, buffalo, and Indians once roamed and cowboys continue to work cattle on horseback today. You will find this route makes a whimsical figure 8 as it takes you to visit many unique spots not easily visible when just traveling the highways.
As you leave Seymour on Hwy 82 you turn at an intersection to head north on FM Hwy 1919. Just past the airport and the Y that goes to Lake Kemp on FMHwy 1919, you will find on the north side of the highway the famous Red Beds where paleontologists have been unearthing fossils since 1882, fossils dating millions of years before the dinosaur age. These Red Beds are neither open to the public nor accessible from the highway and if you want to see what’s out there you can go to the Houston Museum or the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC to see Dimetrodons and the Seymouria Baylorensis discovered at this still active and private digging site. A replica of the Seymouria Baylorensis can be seen in the Baylor County Free Library located in the courthouse in Seymour or in the Baylor County Museum. Other artifacts of the Red Beds along with our cowboy heritage can be found in the Baylor County Museum which is located downtown.
Bluebonnets will dot the highway along this route. Down in the bottom of the river bed you will find deer and turkey as you cross one of the forks of the Wichita River. Going approximately 45 miles you will end up in a small town called Crowell. Six miles north of Crowell you can make a little jaunt to the Copper Breaks Texas Park 6 where you will find a mini-museum on Cynthia Ann Parker’s capture by the Indians and a great deal of info about her son, Quanah Parker and his tribe who roamed this area. The mini-museum is free and located inside the entrance building to the park. If you do geo-cacheing you will find a couple of caches inside the park. 3RF Science is also located 14 miles west of Crowell where you can study the stars with expert volunteers who have made the site famous for its astronomy programs, observatory, and solar viewings (www.3rf.org.)
Coming back south out of Crowell on Hwy 6 about 20 miles you will turn east on FM1756 leading to a little Ghost town called Gilliland. A native citizen has refurbished the few remaining original buildings including an old bank and a couple of old churches which he has turned into hunting lodges. There is a character who frequents the area in a stagecoach.
From there, we send you south about 15 miles on FM 267 to a Germany community called Rhineland. It has a beautiful cathedral style Catholic Church which is a must see. You can tour the church at any hour as long as mass isn’t scheduled and I am sure you would be welcomed for that as well. This community has an annual German Sausage feed in the fall.
From Rhineland you continue south on FM267 to Munday, a quaint little town that has a chamber office located in the library where you can pick up information about their B&B’s and local events.
Heading out west on FM 222 to Knox City you will pass many little farms; note the sandy soil which is great for growing cotton, vegetables, and watermelons. In Knox City, you can visit “Peppers” located downtown, where you will find an old fashioned soda fountain in the back of their antique store. Take note of the farm art and murals scattered around the community.
Leaving Knox City Going north on FM Hwy 6 you will head toward Benjamin. Here you will pass over the Brazos River on one of the few remaining steel truss bridges left in Texas still allowed to be used by Tx DOT. Benjamin is the county seat of Knox County and houses a 1930’s courthouse, one of many built by the WPA program. This small town, population 200ish, holds much history. Be prepared to be detained if you visit the old jail which houses the art studio of the famous photographer, Wyman Meinser, or visit the new County museum. Benjamin also supports a beautiful war memorial located on Hwy 82 diagonally across from the courthouse. Turning back east on Hwy 82 you will pass a great rest area with complete facilities and a brief history of the breaks that might interest you and give you a little bit of a reprieve after your coke float at Peppers. Here you will be able to view the vastness of “the breaks” where the great Indian Chief Quanah Parker and his tribe once claimed.
Following Hwy 82 east out of Benjamin, you will come to the little community of Vera. To the north, almost parallel to the highway, you will find Ranger Creek Ranch which is a must visit. It is a great hunting lodge that offers a wrap- around veranda and gazebos that overlook “the breaks”. The lodge was once the owners’ old barn and silo. Now it is the envy of most eating establishments in the area and boasts of chefs who cook succulent rib-eye or Prime Rib. The menu is often open to the public especially during hunting seasons. You can pull it up on the internet to find exactly how to get there and when they are serving. There is also a vineyard (Generations Vineyard), a huge native plant nursery, and a nice covered community center located in this tiny ghost town called Vera.
About 5 miles east of Vera on Hwy 82 you will turn south on a FM Rd 266 meandering down on the creek bottom and back up to the community of Goree. Goree has a liquor store where you can grab a snack and a coke or a beverage of your choice and hop back on highway 277 heading northeast to Seymour. If one should want to make a longer trip, you can take the pavement going south from the liquor store and head out to a popular fishing lake called Miller Creek Reservoir. At Miller Creek you can fish off the docks and actually catch bass or crappy. It has free access to the whole lake and offers free camping grounds on every knoll, just no facilities.
Leaving Goree, head back east to Seymour on Hwy 277. In Seymour, you can take advantage of 14 lodges, B&B’s, and 2 motels. Hungry for BarBQ? Try Smokey Bros (pronounced Bro-long o) with inside or outside dining. Want to grab a pizza and take advantage of the city park? Try H-P Oil/Simple Simon Pizza. Want to eat at the famous Rock Inn Cafe and indulge in their signature chicken fried steak followed with a 4inch meringue cream pie? How about a hamburger at Copeland’s Café or a buffet lunch at the Maverick. Elizabeth’s Coffee/Deli serves early where you can enjoy a latte with a homemade kolache or their great lunch menu. 14 eating establishments service Seymour and a traveler should easily find something to whet ones pallet after the ride. Need a fill-up? Try one of our five main brand gas stations. Super Stop on the corner of Hwy 82/277 is known for its cleanest rest rooms from Dallas to Lubbock. In need of motorcycle supplies? Visit our Scooter Store located on Main Street.
Need some guidance or want to pick up some literature on any of these locations mentioned or more, stop by the Chamber office 400 N Main or call 940-889-2921 and give us a heads up. We might just join you in your ride. Thank-you for your interest in Seymour and Baylor Co. Myra
Myra Busby, Executive Director
Seymour Chamber of Commerce
400 N Main
PO Box 1379
Seymour, TX 76380
940-889-2921
scoc@nts-online.net
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