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The Tee Pee Motel & RV Park, a vintage Americana roadside motel of 10 individual free-standing, walk-in teepee-shaped guest units just outside Wharton, Texas, off Highway 59. Originally designed in 1942 by George and Toppie Belcher (construction delayed by WWII rationing), the motel closed for over two decades before Byron Woods purchased and refurbished it, reopening October 30, 2006. The property was heavily damaged by Hurricanes Ike and Harvey but has been rebuilt. A popular stop for Houston-area bus tours (20-30 per year per the Wharton Chamber of Commerce), matching the established novelty-teepee-motel precedent (cf. Wigwam Village #2, Cave City, KY) of full-scale, walk-in teepee units functioning as guest lodging.
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Tee Pee Motel
This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.
Approximate location · 29.323° N, 96.118° W
FIELD GUIDE
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PRACTICAL
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WHAT TO EXPECT
A functioning, paid-stay roadside motel; individual teepee units are guest rooms, not freely open for casual walk-through.
ACCESS
Just outside Wharton, TX, off US Highway 59.
COMMUNITY
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TRANSPARENCY
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