Hinton Junction Courts & Cafe

GPS: 35.536380, -98.346648

By September of 1946 Entz had sold the business in what the Hinton Record newspaper labeled "One of the biggest real estate deals in this area in years when G. B. Entz sold the Hinton Junction, cafe, service station and cabins, to Mr. and Mrs. Doss O. Danford".

1948 saw another set of new owners, the Allison's in April and then the Miller's became the owners by Christmas that year, The Millers stayed until 1951 before selling to Mr. & Mrs. C. L. Johnson and Mr. & Mrs. F. R. Barnhart. C. L Johnson was still the owner when the business was sold to Jack Sanders in March of 1962, a few months before I-40 opened in October of of that year. 1963 and 1964 each saw new operators reopen the cafe. My guess is that the opening of I-40 did to this once busy business what it had done to so many others along the Mother Road when they were bypassed. The opening of the Cherokee Restaurant a few miles east in June of 1964 probably didn't help either.

There used to be a large arrow that read "EAT" pointing straight down above the large square in the center of the building. Somewhere along the line the cafe and curios sections on the east end of the main building disappeared, compare the photo above to the 50s postcard below..

The house on the left in this photo is a private residence. The building on the right that faces the highway in this photo is what's left of a 4 units court/motel, the units were separated by garages. . There was another courts building with 6 units and garages just eat of the cafe/station building. I'm not sure which courts were built first.

The old "Truck Stop" sign still stands out front. The station sold Standard Oil gas and products. They also had a Curio shop in the the cafe building.

The old tourist court building is on the east side of the cafe and station and was somewhat visible from the road, but you have to look carefully to see them through the trees and brush. The court was a small affair with only 6 units separated by garages in a "L" shaped building. The building as shown in this 2015 photo is in fine shape compared to what it looked like when we went by in 2019.

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Vintage Advertising Highlights

HINTON JUNCTION COURTS & CAFE
Hinton, Okla., U.S. Hiways 66 & 281

Hinton Junction, located 50 miles west of Oklahoma City at Junction US 66 and 281. Modern Cafe, fully air conditioned, ten modern cabins with individual air conditioning and television.

NOTE: The ear;y undated Real Photo Postcard shows the 6 unit Courts building on the east side of the complex. The early 50s postcard includes what appears to be an early 50s General Motors car and also shows the different architectural finishes on the front of the building, stone on the gas station section and stucco on the cafe and curios section.
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Photo(s): 2015