The twists and turns of Route 66 history resemble that of the original highway right-of-way. To be correct in any Route 66 fact, the exact time the fact happened must first be established.
Let’s study Rockledge, Texas a questionable but probable Route 66 site. Located on private property just south of mile 131, along Jericho Gap, this small ghost community has an interesting and violent past. Was it located on Route 66? That depends on if and when the Donley County dirt road running through the property became Route 66. No doubt this was the connecting road from Alanreed to Groom, but it was before the name Jericho Gap was coined. To date, nothing has been found to dispute or prove Rockledge was a Route 66 site. Why not relate the history of Rockledge and let the professional historians decide.
Rockledge was named for the land survey known as Rockwall School Land. The Rockwall name came from the many cap-rocks and rock walls along the canyons nearby. It was first established as a side-track for the Rock Island Railroad in 1901 because it was the only area of level land available along the track right-of-way for miles in each direction. The surrounding grasslands were parts of the Red River Cattle Company of Texas and the famous Quarter Circle Heart Ranch swindled into bankruptcy in the early 1900s.
The site is located only one-hundred yards inside the Donley County line and alongside the railroad tracks. A county dirt road parallels the track. Originally, a two-room clapboard house sat to the west where a Section Foreman lived. Water was provided by a cistern filled from train tank cars and supplies were housed in a dirt-topped shack built of used railroad ties.
In about 1905, two murders happened within seconds when a real estate agent from Amarillo met with a local rancher and his son to discuss a financial problem. The agent stepped off a train while the rancher and his son arrived by buggy. The local Section Foreman and his tie crew were working just west of the meeting site.
The two parties met, argued, the agent drew a pistol, shot the rancher and began running back towards the tie crew. The rancher’s son pulled a rifle from the buggy and killed the running agent. Both murders were witnessed by the work crew who flagged the next train and loaded the bodies on an empty boxcar to take to Alanreed.
In 1926, a ten-inch petroleum pipe line was installed through the Rockledge site with a “booster station” located there operated by employees living in six homes built at the site. Pump houses, homes, two huge storage tanks, two community garages and a storm cellar were built to accommodate the employees. This pump-station operated until radio controls evolved.
Two young men robbed a bank in Alanreed in June of 1939. Route 66 was paved and located just north of Rockledge on the present I-40 right-of-way today. The robbers took $3,000 and fled west towards Amarillo. Their car engine failed at Rockledge and they fled into the nearby canyons where a posse captured them a few hours later. Mysteriously, only half of the money was recovered.
Today at Rockledge, only one of the huge tanks remain and it is destined to be removed soon. Remote controls operate the pump station with an occasional visit by a pumper. A police radio tower dominates the landscape along with piles of cement foundations, dead trees, iris flowerbeds and overgrown sidewalks show where a once-prominent community stood. The county road allows access and permission to photograph can be obtained from this author.
Now, back to our original question of whether Rockledge is an authentic Route 66 site, the answer would hinge on the exact date this section of the Mother Road was commissioned. Also, another clue might be, what was the first known date the title “Jericho Gap” was established? Hopefully these questions will be answered someday by new findings. The answers would be interesting but probably would not affect the history in any way. In the meantime, let us enjoy the wonderful history of Rockledge as its location is close enough to Route 66 for most of us.
