Find & Book the Best Hotels in Gray County for 2026 | Expedia

This water tower slanted at an uncomfortable angle off the old Route 66 was an ingenious marketing ploy.

Despite a population of 574 residents and its location in the middle of nowhere, the town of Groom, Texas has nearly as many unique attributes as it does people.

These include a small stretch of the original Route 66, the site of the plot of Cross Canadian Ragweed’s song “42 miles,” the seventh-largest freestanding cross in the world (at 190 feet), and a strange leaning water tower slanted at an uncomfortable angle.

This water tower lies right alongside the former path of Route 66, which has since been paved over to create US Interstate 40. During the early and mid 20th century, passersby on the Mother Road were intrigued by the severe tilt of the tower, asking themselves what on Earth could have caused it. A crashing plane? An earthquake? A giant tornado?

In reality, it was the work of a heavy-duty vehicle and a bulldozer. Ralph Britten, a man who wanted to start up a truck stop and restaurant off Route 66 in Groom, bought the water tower from the town of Lefors as an ingenious marketing technique to attract new visitors. He towed the enormous thing 34 miles to Groom, wrote “Britten USA” on top, and then, using a bulldozer, elevated two of its legs off the ground, dangling them in midair without support, so that the water tower made an 80 degree angle with the ground.

This helped his business immeasurably. It would catch the eye of every passing motorist on the route for years, many of them becoming terrified that the tower was in the process of collapsing. This played right into Britten’s hand. Worried route-takers often swerved off the road and into his truck stop, shouting “watch out! That tower’s about to fall!” Britten responded that it had been like that for years, and then asked them to sit down and buy food and a drink.

Britten’s manipulation of the tower did, however, require sufficient knowledge of physics. If the water tower were completely empty or completely full, its center of mass would be directly in the middle of the can, making it topple when slanted. So Britten filled it only partially, so that the low level of water would place the can’s center of mass near its base, directly above the two supporting legs, keeping it aloft.

Unfortunately, after many years of success, Britten’s truck stop burned down in a devastating fire, closing down all sales. Despite this unfortunate event, the leaning water tower is still one of the most photographed oddities.

Change your mind
Book hotels with free cancellation
Treat yourself
Sign in to save 10% or more on thousands of hotels
Sign in
Be picky
Search almost a million properties worldwide

Top Cities in Gray County

Adobe

The Leaning Tower of Texas. Story goes the Tower was installed by Ralph Britten, who used it as a gimmick to get motorists on the old stretch of Route 66 to stop at his truck stop. If you're into roadside oddities it's well worth a few minutes of your day to stop, check it out and pop off a few pictures.

Our top choices for Gray County hotels

Indoor pool

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Pampa by IHG

Pampa

United States

Amanda

￥13,228 total

includes taxes & fees

Jan 24 - Jan 25

Lobby

La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Pampa

Pampa

United States

Gloria

￥17,782 total

includes taxes & fees

Jan 23 - Jan 24

Indoor pool

AmericInn by Wyndham Pampa - Event Center

Pampa

United States

Crystal

￥14,802 total

includes taxes & fees

Jan 28 - Jan 29

Traditional Single Room | Individually decorated, laptop workspace, bed sheets

Cactus Inn

McLean

United States

Jason

Exterior

Hampton Inn Pampa

Pampa

United States

Patricia

￥16,870 total

includes taxes & fees

Jan 27 - Jan 28

Lobby

Best Western Northgate Inn

Pampa

United States

Christine

￥15,339 total

includes taxes & fees

Feb 7 - Feb 8

Exterior

Quiet country home just outside of Pampa TX

Pampa

United States

Jesse D.

Living area

The Barn at Quail Creek Ranch - 2 Bedroom Peaceful Ranch Retreat

Wheeler

United States

Mark S.

￥49,450 total

includes taxes & fees

Jan 22 - Jan 23

View all properties

Save an average of 15% on thousands of hotels when you're signed in

Sign up, it's free

Top Gray County Hotel Reviews

Hampton Inn Pampa

Hampton Inn Pampa

10/10 Excellent

"I really enjoyed this stay! ill stay again. Very clean and breakfast was good! "

Explore a world of travel with Expedia

Explore a world of travel with Expedia

Top cities in Gray County

Explore more hotels

See a list of all hotels in Gray County

More ways to book

Book Hotels in Gray County on Expedia.com

Go further with the Expedia app

Save on select hotels and earn double points when you book on the app. Our app deals help you to save on trips so you can travel more and manage it all on the go.

Scan the QR code with your device camera and download our app

QR code to download the app

ff4fa0b7-75fd-455c-adc1-dc3db51c83e064bf4835-9b19-46da-a57c-aeb30624a02a