Premier Photos
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| Left, from John Cirillo | Middle, 40s/50s from David Aldred. | Right, 1960 from David Aldred |
A Premier sign at Aubrey, Texas.
Taken in March, 2005 by David Aldred.
A well-preserved Premier sign in Gordon. Texas.
Taken on May 24, 2005 by David Aldred.
Lollar's Premier, west of Lake Worth, TX on Jacksboro Highway.
Taken around 1984 by John Cirillo.
Premier's final logo for the years 1963 to 1983.
From David Aldred, Oct. 2003.
Premier/Freeway map. This was the last logo used by Premier stations
during their run as a DX subsidiary brand.
Freeway was used in areas outside Premier traditional marketing area.
From David Aldred, Oct. 2003.
A Premier oil can from David Aldred's collection.
This Premier sign stands just outside Ranger Texas. These signs can still be seen at
several abandoned locations along old route 80 between Longview and Abiliene.
The red logo seen here was used until about 1963 when DX and Vickers bought Premier.
They reversed the colors as seen in the other picture on this page, and used a white
sign with red letters through the sixties (these were either porcelain or
internally lit plastic, depending on the pre-existing sign). Around 1970, Vickers sold
their interest to DX and Premier began to use a red, white, and blue logo that was kept
until Mapco purchased the chain around 1983. The stations that were kept then converted
to the "Delta" name, at least in the Dallas/Ft. Worth (Texas) area. Eventually, these
were closed or sold off piecemeal. DX also used the name Freeway through the 70's for
lower volume DX stations, using the same logo design as the last Premier.
Freeway signs can still be spotted at abandoned stations in AR, MO, and MS at least.
From David Aldred, Oct. 2003.
A newer, digital close-up of the sign at the above Ranger, Texas location on
Old US 80. Taken May 24, 2005 by David Aldred.
Another old Premier sign near Ranger, Texas. This one is on the
west side of town, on old US 80. Taken May 24, 2005 by David Aldred.
Premier station in Rio Grande City, Texas. Taken Nov. 2003 by David Aldred.
Close-up of the sign at the above Rio Grande City, Texas site.
Premier sign (used from 1969 to 1983) on an abandoned station building.
Located on US 180 in Snyder, Texas. Photo taken in Feb. 2005 by David Aldred.
Some history on Premier from David Aldred:
Premier was first established as Cen Tex and later re-named Premier.
The original owners sold Premier around 1948 and the company was operated as an independent,
jobber oriented refiner and marketer of petroleum products until 1962 when it became a
secondary brand for the companies which purchased it (DX/Vickers). For many years,
the company used the trademark "Ranger" for its motor oil and gasoline products.
The red logo first showed up on the company's maps in 1950 (replacing Ranger motor oil),
although I have seen an ad for the company using this red logo in the 1948 Ranger (TX)
Junior College yearbook. According to the back cover of their '57 - '59 maps, Premier had a
credit card exchange program with Malco (including Valley, Star(??), and Numex as well).
I don't know if there was any more to "the relationship" than that.
In reporting the DX/Vickers purchase of Premier in 1962, NPN described Premier as "moribund"
giving a clear picture of the direction the company was heading at that time.
David Aldred.