Luling is the land of oil wells. Although this area’s heyday as a boomtown are gone, pumpjacks are still seen throughout town, and the barbecue joints are still pumping out their own version of black gold.
This central Texas oil town started out as a stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad and became an important shipping point for cattle. In those days, Luling gained some notoriety as a rowdy place which attracted gunslingers like John Wesley Hardin.
The discovery of oil here in 1922 has dictated the town’s development ever since and even now nearly 200 oil wells are located within the city limits. Many of the pumpjacks over these wells have been decorated in whimsical fashion.
Table of Contents
Barbecue
The best known spot in town is the City Market (633 David St.) This is small-town barbecue the way it ought to be: served up in a no-frills smoky meat market, with ambiance replaced by plenty of local atmosphere. The Luling City Market has been in business longer than anyone can remember, turning out smoked brisket, sausage, ribs, and mutton.
If you’ve ventured down to Houston, you’ll know that the big city boasts its own version of the City Market, even using the same recipes as this small-town joint. But for the real thing you have to come to the source, where smoke-tinted walls and no-nonsense barbecue brings in both oil field workers and oil field owners.
Attractions
Luling Zedler Mill Paddling Trail. Work off some of that barbecue with a canoe paddle and a day of fun on the San Marcos River. This was the state’s first paddling trail and starts six miles upstream from Luling; you’ll come out at Zedler Mill inside within city limits. (There’s a dam beyond the mill, so be careful not to go beyond the mill.) Check the web site for information on local canoe rentals, shuttles, and GPS coordinates along the river. Info: Put in 5 miles west of Luling where US 90 crosses the San Marcos River; www.tpwd.state.tx.us. Free.
Palmetto State Park. Located six miles southeast of Luling toward Gonzales, this park is like a secret tropical hideaway tucked among miles of ranch land. Thousands of years ago, the San Marcos River shifted course, leaving a huge deposit of silt that eventually became a marshy swamp estimated to be more than 18,000 years old. Today that swamp is filled with palmettos as well as moss-draped trees, 4-foot-tall irises, and many bird species. The park has also has full hookups, tent sites, and plenty of picnic options. One precaution: those swamps mean mosquitoes during summer months! Info: 78 Park Road 11 South, Gonzales; www.tpwd.state.tx.us. Fee.
Pump Jacks. With nearly 200 petroleum pumpjacks in the city limits, Luling has painted and decorated many of these pumpjacks as everything from football players to butterflies to watermelon slices. They make good photo stops for a dog photo. The
Chamber of Commerce offers maps to the locations.
World’s Largest Watermelon. OK, it’s not really a watermelon but a painted water tower. (There are two water towers in town; you’ll want the one on the east side. Just look up…you can’t miss it.)