Cattle ranches and cotton fields populate the high plains around Turkey, a tiny outpost four hours northwest of Fort Worth in the base of the Panhandle. Sparse and set away from the wiles of the world, the emptiness here has a certain allure. The conquistador Coronado trudged through the area in 1541 seeking the Seven Cities of Gold; centuries later the Comanche made it the geographic heart of their empire, the Comancheria. Today, gas stations and grocery stores are few and far between. Time seems to expand as the flatland stretches on. Approaching Turkey, you’ll come upon a metal sign that proclaims: HOME OF BOB WILLS — your first glimpse of the town’s claim to fame. It won’t be your last. By the time you depart, you’ll never forget where the King of Western Swing was from.
Fort Worth likes to claim this legendary bandleader and songwriter, who transformed American music during the Depression by inventing an entirely new genre: Western swing. After all, it was in Cowtown where he joined forces with Milton Brown and introduced the revolutionary sound inspired by big band jazz, blues rhythms, Tejano horns and German polka — all with a Western twang and plenty of fiddlin’ to boot. Wills and his group, the Texas Playboys, set dance floors on fire in Fort Worth and far beyond. Songs like “New San Antonio Rose” and “Spanish Two Step” propelled them to international fame, and Western swing went on to influence the development of honky-tonk, rockabilly, and rock ’n’ roll. Countless artists owe a musical debt to the trailblazing Wills, from Fats Domino and Chuck Berry to Elvis, Willie, and Waylon.
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Turkey, Texas
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Turkey, Texas
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EARL NOTTINGHAM
Caprock Canyons State Park
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Turkey, Texas
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Turkey, Texas
Western swing may have been born in Fort Worth, but it was conceived in Turkey, where Wills spent most of his childhood. He worked long hours in the fields alongside Black and Hispanic farmhands, soaking in the folk songs that he heard all around him. Fiddling ran in his family on both sides, and the talented Texan was performing at local ranch dances by the time he was 10. Wills arrived in Fort Worth in 1929, and his decades-long career took off, but he never forgot his Panhandle roots.
Turkey celebrates its hometown hero during Bob Wills Day every spring, a music festival that attracts 10,000 people (next up: April 25-27, 2024). Bands jam and fiddlers battle. Cheerleaders toss candy from parade floats. There’s a free concert on the old football field with the Texas Playboys, whose lineup has changed slightly since the 1930s. Everyone ends up on the dance floor at the high school gymnasium: small tots and awkward teens, young cowboys and white-haired veterans, church leaders and RVers — they’re all cutting a rug to the sounds of Western swing.
You can celebrate Wills’ legacy year-round in Turkey at the Bob Wills Museum, and you’ll see plaques and monuments to the bandleader and his Texas Playboys all over town (including a replica of their 1948 tour bus). Western swing may not pack many dancehalls beyond Turkey anymore, but in this part of the Panhandle, the immortal words of Waylon Jennings still ring true: “It don’t matter who’s in Austin, Bob Wills is still the king.”
Savor: Turkey Creek Winery is the new kid on the scene, an offshoot of J Welch Farms in Victoria. Pouring a dozen Texan vintages and fruity wine slushies, the hangout also serves sandwiches and charcuterie. Walk across Main Street for dessert at Tony’s Ice Cream, where you can order sundaes and snow cones with flavors like wedding cake and pickle juice (not recommended together). For something quick, Toña’s Mexican Kitchen food truck dishes up tacos, tamales, and gorditas for lunch and breakfast. Hotel Turkey’s restaurant offers popular daily specials including chili relleno plates and rib-eye steaks. Burgers, pizza, and fried fish round out the menu.
Shop: Established in 1916 and now operated by the fifth generation of the same family, Lacy Dry Goods is the local go-to for gifts, fringy clothing, and hand-tooled pistol cases. Nearby you’ll find the combination shop and café called Turkey Tracks Coffee, Tea, & Tee’s. It’s a great place to purchase a souvenir shirt and coffee mug — or a pot roast lunch and a cinnamon roll. Nine miles west of Turkey in Quitaque, you can pick up farm-fresh eggs and live chickens at Gettim Homestead and buy groceries at Merrell Food (good to note on Sunday evenings when no local restaurants are open).
Enjoy: Buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play at Caprock Canyons State Park (15 miles from Turkey), home to the Official Texas State Bison Herd. The ruddy bluffs and juniper groves set a dramatic stage for hiking and horseback riding. Visit the Comanchero Canyons Museum in Quitaque to learn about the distinct culture of the Comancheros, mestizo merchants from New Mexico who traded with Plains tribes in the region. Back in Turkey, keep an eye out for the 20-foot-tall arrow in the city park; it’s one of 80 in the Panhandle that mark important Comanche sites on the Quanah Parker Trail. Discover more local history at the Turkey Roost Museum and be sure to check out the restored Phillips 66 service station opened in 1928, the first one built in Texas.
Snooze: All roads lead to Hotel Turkey, a historic B&B from 1927 with authentic Western charm. Besides a couple of houses for rent on Airbnb, it’s the only place to stay unless you’ve driven your own home from Fort Worth. This singular institution piles on the nostalgic character and down-home Texas hospitality. Listen to live music on the patio every Friday and Saturday night, then wake up to a cooked-to-order breakfast. Rooms have comfortable beds and vintage furniture, and you can also stay in a converted shipping container (complete with a rooftop lounge for cold beers and stargazing). Sipping coffee in a rocking chair on the hotel’s porch, it’s hard to imagine that there’s anything wrong in the world.
How to Get There: Drive north from Fort Worth on Interstate 35 for about 30 miles, then take the exit for US 287-N. You’ll stay on 287 for 200 miles or so, passing through Bowie, Wichita Falls, and Childress. When you reach Estelline, turn left onto TX-86 W/Harper Street and follow it for 30 miles into Turkey.
