US Highway 290

Built in 1927, US Highway 290 was built entirely in Texas from San Antonio and three hundred miles west to meet US Highway 80. US 290 was the main artery until Interstate 10 was completed during the 1970s.

US 290  became an important economic factor for communities like Calera, Toyahvale, Balmorhea, Brogado, Ft. Stockton and other towns and cities on the way to San Antonio. Unlike Interstate 10 , Hwy 290 ran smack through the middle of these communities. Like the famous Route 66, tourist camps and service stations were built all along the route.  Calera had their own tourist camp.  It was the tourist camp that attracted some unsavory characters during the 1930s. The famous John Dillinger  gang laid low at Calera.