City Spotlight: Borger
Borger is a small, unheralded town in the middle of the Texas Panhandle, just north of Amarillo — an area few ever drive through. But like all Texas towns, it’s worth the stop if you can make the haul through the rough country.
From Buffalo to Boomtown
The town of Borger traces its roots back to the 1920s oil boom when a business owner named Ace Borger bought up a 240-acre lot after learning it was rich with “black gold.” Within a few months, his little enterprise became home to tens of thousands of wildcatters, roughnecks, speculators, and other industry folks flocking to profit off the oil boom.
Ace Borger named the boomtown after himself, which isn’t surprising. What is surprising is what happened next: After making a fortune in oil, Ace formed his own gang and orchestrated crooked elections to keep his cronies in city offices. With the mayor and sheriff in his pocket, Ace Borger and his group got involved in all kinds of dirty crime for the next year. Long (and violent) story short, it took the Texas Rangers enforcing martial law to bring peace and order to Borger in 1927. Until there’s a movie about all of this (which would be awesome), you’ll have to check out the Hutchinson County Historical Museum in downtown Borger for all the details on this grisly era of the Panhandle oil boom.
The museum will take you even further back in time to the 19th century when the area was a battleground between settlers and neighboring native tribes. American history buffs will be familiar with the Adobe Walls battles of 1864 and 1874, the latter of which was fought between Comanche and Texan buffalo hunters. You can tour the actual Adobe Walls battlegrounds through the museum in Borger. It was a bloody chapter in Texan history, but the museum does a great job telling the story of not only the battles but of Comanche culture, the buffalo trade, and the settlers’ way of life.
Borger’s Burgers & Burritos
Once you’ve had your fill of history, head to Borger’s cultural district for a couple of delicious lunch options. The first is a can’t-miss burger joint called Onions Cafe. Through my daytripping adventures, I eat a lot of excellent burgers, but hands down, Onions made one of the best burgers I’ve had. Their signature burgers are smash burgers grilled on a flattop with seared caramelized onion fused into the patty. The joint’s kind of like a Borger museum itself: It’s been around for 30 years, and the walls are filled with knickknacks and antiques. Don’t leave Onions without a slice of their homemade pie, which most folks gobble down while waiting for their table.
Another excellent spot in town is called Jesse’s Burritos. They stuff homemade flour tortillas with every Mexican topping imaginable, such as slow-roasted asada pork, green chiles, red chiles, and picadillo. Don’t expect Tex-Mex — Jesse’s is the real deal.
Beyond Borger’s Border
Just west of Borger is a natural paradise waiting to be explored. The two natural areas are directly adjacent to each other, so making a visit to both is totally doable during your day trip.
The first is the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area. Lake Meredith looks like someone flooded Caprock Canyon, complete with turquoise water, red rocks, and truly stunning views. You can go boating or fishing on the lake or explore the off-road trails. It’s also one of the few national parks where you can ride four-wheelers, dirt bikes, and even Jeeps around the beautiful lake. But my favorite way to experience it is on two wheels, as the park boasts some of the best mountain biking trails I’ve encountered in Texas.
Right by Lake Meredith is the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, where native tribes who lived in the Panhandle harvested flint nearly 13,000 years. The flint here has a distinct red-gray marbling, so geologists have been able to track flint all over the country back to the Alibates quarries. The park has an awesome flint museum, and you can even hike the surrounding trails to look for some of your own flint.
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