Horror's Hallowed Grounds: Texas Chain Saw Massacre By: Sean Clark
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1973)
By: Sean Clark
The original idea for Chainsaw came from a combination of Tobe Hooper's experiences and ideas. First was Tobe's idea about solar flares and sunspots affecting people's behaviors. This is the reason the film begins with a shot of the sun, still playing with the idea that this could contribute to making people go mad and do inhuman acts. Second was an experience Tobe had in the hardware department of a Montgomery Ward's during the Christmas shopping rush. He was so sick of the crowds that when he eyed a chainsaw sitting on display, he imagined what it would be like to grab it and saw his way out of the store cutting through anything or anyone who stood in his way...
The third cause was his love for the old EC Comics. Tobe started reading them at age seven, which left a long lasting impression on his life. He loved how fantastical the stories were and that they were not in any way based on logic. Lastly was the fear of a story some relatives from Wisconsin used to tell him when he was a child. It was the story of a man who would kill people and then wear the skins of his victims. He would also make things out of his victim’s remains like lamp shades and furniture, sometimes even going as far as to eat their flesh. This story haunted Tobe all through his childhood. It wasn't until he was an adult that he discovered that this wasn't just a campfire tale but based on the true life crimes committed by Wisconsin's most notorious serial killer, Ed Gein. From these elements The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was born.
Unlike our last feature on John Carpenter’s The Fog (read that here), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was an independent film in every sense of the word. It didn’t have the budget or luxury to shoot on sound stages or studio back lots when needed. Geographically these locations were pretty true to life as to where they were in the film. So there wasn’t any Hollywood magic in the editing room as far as locations were concerned. The choosing of these locations was based on what they could afford or could use for free local to home in Austin, Texas. The original budget was supposed to be $60,000 but ended up costing $125,000 by the end. Filming began on July 15th, 1973, during one of the hottest summers to date.
The film opens with a shot of a corpse sitting atop a tombstone in a cemetery. This brings us to our first location, Bagdad Cemetery.
Bagdad Cemetery was established in 1857 with the burial of three-year-old John Babcock, whose father gave the tract of land where the cemetery now exists to the community. Other earlier burials were Civil War veterans.
This isn’t the easiest of locations to find because it doesn’t actually have an address as far as I know. It is located on North Bagdad Road near the intersection of Ranch Road 2243 in Leander, Texas. The cemetery itself isn’t very large so finding the tombstones used in the film is pretty easy. There are gravel roads you can use to drive through the cemetery, and the famous tombstones are right next to one of these roads. Both of these tombstones are over 100 years old. The tall one is dated 1865 and the smaller one 1897. The corpse you see sitting atop a tombstone is actually sitting on a fake tombstone right in the middle of the gravel road where it was placed for the shot. This location is open to the public, but be respectful; it is a cemetery. However, I think you have to take at least one photo of yourself doing your best impersonation of the corpse.
I was there when Bilbo’s was still open for business and the owners were quite proud of the fact that their little BBQ shack had been made famous by the film. They told me that at least once a day someone would come in and ask about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They said they had even considered changing the name to the Texas Chainsaw BBQ. Maybe someone will buy the place and make that a reality.
They were very cool about letting me take pictures and video of the entire place including the off limits employees only area which is where Sally Hardesty is beaten by the cook.
The room where the cook beats Sally has changed quite a bit. A wall has been added dividing the room into two separate rooms which makes the room barely recognizable from how it appeared in the film.
The gas pumps are no longer out in front. There is still a small island where they once stood.
This next section is for the diehard TCM fans only, and that is Quick Hill. Located next to Round Rock, Texas, this is the former location of the infamous family’s home. But don’t worry because Leatherface and family’s house has not been destroyed; it has been moved to another location which we will cover later in this article. Located off of Old CR-172 most of the film takes place right around this area.
Head northbound on CR-172 from SH 45 and you will make a right on Hester’s Crossing. Immediately to the right you will see Old CR-172 behind the first of two cattle gates. You will have to park and walk to all of the locations from here. Climb over the gate and begin making your way up the hill. Just so you know CR stands for Country Road and SH for State Highway.
Old CR-172 is the actual road where the film's finale takes place on. This is the road where Sally barely escapes, the Hitchhiker is run over, and Leatherface does his manic dance with the chainsaw knowing he let his victim escape.
At the top of the hill the road ends where Highway 45 crosses. The driveway to the family’s house is to the left.
The driveway to the family’s house is still there. Several scenes were shot on this driveway which include Franklin’s death, the Cook’s disciplining of the Hitchhiker, and the chasing of Sally Hardesty by the Hitchhiker and Leatherface after her second escape from the house. The driveway is very hard to make out these days due to greenery growing over most of it. At the end of the driveway you will come to where the house once stood. Still visible today are the stone columns that served as the foundation of the family house and the back door stairs.
To the back left of where the house once stood is where the shed, water tower, and windmill used to be.
Behind the house was a barn and corral where you see Kirk and Pam discover the graveyard of victims' cars. It is also no longer there today.
Behind where the house, barn, and corral once were is the dry creek bed where Kirk and Pam stop to rest. It is very hard to find because there has been a lot of growth in this area on top of 30 years of natural erosion. It is near the base of the east side of the hill.
Right across Old CR-172 from where the family’s house was is the location where the grandparent’s house used to stand. This is the rundown abandoned home the kids visit that is referred to as the old Franklin place.
This location burned to the ground in the late 1970’s but some remnants of limestone used to make the house can still be found there today. State Highway 45 now goes right next to where the house used to stand.
For the record I have no idea how much longer any of these locations at Quick Hill will be around. The development company La Frontera has built all around Quick Hill and is getting closer and closer every day. If these locations are something you really want to see, I highly recommend you go as soon as possible. Here is a little map I put together to try and help you find these locations if you decide to visit Quick Hill.
Lastly we get back to the family house.
In the summer of 1998, the family house was purchased by Dennis & Barbara Thomas and moved from Quick Hill to Kingsland, Texas about seventy miles away. Currently located at 1010 King Street, it was recently a restaurant called the Four Bears, and you could actually eat BBQ in the real Chainsaw house! You just had to be cautious of those hard-shelled peppercorns. I was lucky enough to have had the chance to do it, but sadly the restaurant closed and the house is vacant.
As you can see the chicken room appears to be a little more sanitary to eat in nowadays.
You can have dinner right where Leatherface has a mini breakdown!
As you can see at the rear of the house there used to be a porch enclosure in front of the back door. This is where Sally lands after jumping through the upstairs window.
Leatherface looks down from the window as Sally tries to escape. You can see the window in the previous photo. Here is a look at the window from the inside.
Sally meets the grandparents.
The people that own the restaurant are quite aware of its past and have embraced it. In fact several Chainsaw reunions have been held at the restaurant. If you are coming from out of town, I highly recommend you stay at the Antlers Inn which sits right next to the house. It is great little place with affordable rates. Make sure you ask for a room with a view of the Chainsaw house! Check out their website here.
I hope you enjoyed our look back at Tobe Hooper’s classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Until next time, happy hunting!
- Sean Clark">here), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was an independent film in every sense of the word. It didn’t have the budget or luxury to shoot on sound stages or studio back lots when needed. Geographically these locations were pretty true to life as to where they were in the film. So there wasn’t any Hollywood magic in the editing room as far as locations were concerned. The choosing of these locations was based on what they could afford or could use for free local to home in Austin, Texas. The original budget was supposed to be $60,000 but ended up costing $125,000 by the end. Filming began on July 15th, 1973, during one of the hottest summers to date.
The film opens with a shot of a corpse sitting atop a tombstone in a cemetery. This brings us to our first location, Bagdad Cemetery.
Bagdad Cemetery was established in 1857 with the burial of three-year-old John Babcock, whose father gave the tract of land where the cemetery now exists to the community. Other earlier burials were Civil War veterans.
This isn’t the easiest of locations to find because it doesn’t actually have an address as far as I know. It is located on North Bagdad Road near the intersection of Ranch Road 2243 in Leander, Texas. The cemetery itself isn’t very large so finding the tombstones used in the film is pretty easy. There are gravel roads you can use to drive through the cemetery, and the famous tombstones are right next to one of these roads. Both of these tombstones are over 100 years old. The tall one is dated 1865 and the smaller one 1897. The corpse you see sitting atop a tombstone is actually sitting on a fake tombstone right in the middle of the gravel road where it was placed for the shot. This location is open to the public, but be respectful; it is a cemetery. However, I think you have to take at least one photo of yourself doing your best impersonation of the corpse.
Next stop is the family gas station and BBQ shack. Formerly called Ryan’s Hill Prairie Grocery, it had been closed for several years. However, it reopened in 2004 under new management and is now called Bilbo’s Texas Landmark and yes, they serve BBQ! It is located at 1073 State Highway 304 in Bastrop, Texas. They are open from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, Monday – Thursday and 8:00 am to 11:00 pm, Friday – Sunday. For more information call (512) 321-2049.
While I was there I spoke to the owners, who were quite proud of the fact that their little BBQ shack had been made famous by the film. They told me that at least once a day someone comes in and asks about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They even said they had considered renaming the place The Texas Chainsaw BBQ. I told them that they absolutely should!
They were very cool about letting me take pictures and video of the entire place including the off limits employees only area which is where Sally Hardesty is beaten by the cook.
I’m not sure if they are as accommodating to everyone so don’t expect them to let you see that room, but if you ask nicely they may oblige. If not, the room can be seen through an opening in the wall from inside the main area of the restaurant. It really isn’t much to see because the room is barely recognizable as to how it appeared in the film.
The gas pumps are no longer out in front. There is still a small island where they once stood.
This next section is for the diehard TCM fans only, and that is Quick Hill. Located next to Round Rock, Texas, this is the former location of the infamous family’s home. But don’t worry because Leatherface and family’s house has not been destroyed; it has been moved to another location which we will cover later in this article. Located off of Old CR-172 most of the film takes place right around this area.
Head northbound on CR-172 from SH 45 and you will make a right on Hester’s Crossing. Immediately to the right you will see Old CR-172 behind the first of two cattle gates. You will have to park and walk to all of the locations from here. Climb over the gate and begin making your way up the hill. Just so you know CR stands for Country Road and SH for State Highway.
Old CR-172 is the actual road where the film's finale takes place on. This is the road where Sally barely escapes, the Hitchhiker is run over, and Leatherface does his manic dance with the chainsaw knowing he let his victim escape.
At the top of the hill the road ends where Highway 45 crosses. The driveway to the family’s house is to the left.
The driveway to the family’s house is still there. Several scenes were shot on this driveway which include Franklin’s death, the Cook’s disciplining of the Hitchhiker, and the chasing of Sally Hardesty by the Hitchhiker and Leatherface after her second escape from the house. The driveway is very hard to make out these days due to greenery growing over most of it. At the end of the driveway you will come to where the house once stood. Still visible today are the stone columns that served as the foundation of the family house and the back door stairs.
To the back left of where the house once stood is where the shed, water tower, and windmill used to be.
Behind the house was a barn and corral where you see Kirk and Pam discover the graveyard of victims' cars. It is also no longer there today.
Behind where the house, barn, and corral once were is the dry creek bed where Kirk and Pam stop to rest. It is very hard to find because there has been a lot of growth in this area on top of 30 years of natural erosion. It is near the base of the east side of the hill.
Right across Old CR-172 from where the family’s house was is the location where the grandparent’s house used to stand. This is the rundown abandoned home the kids visit that is referred to as the old Franklin place.
This location burned to the ground in the late 1970’s but some remnants of limestone used to make the house can still be found there today. State Highway 45 now goes right next to where the house used to stand.
For the record I have no idea how much longer any of these locations at Quick Hill will be around. The development company La Frontera has built all around Quick Hill and is getting closer and closer every day. If these locations are something you really want to see, I highly recommend you go as soon as possible. Here is a little map I put together to try and help you find these locations if you decide to visit Quick Hill.
Lastly we get back to the family house.
In the summer of 1998, the family house was purchased by Dennis and Barbara Thomas and moved from Quick Hill to Kingsland, Texas about seventy miles away. Currently located at 1010 King Street it is now a restaurant called The Chariot Grill. You can actually eat BBQ in the real Chainsaw house! You just have to be cautious of those hard-shelled peppercorns. For more information and hours you can call the Chariot Grill at (325) 388-4280 or e-mail them at chariotgrill@verizon.net.
As you can see the chicken room appears to be a little more sanitary to eat in nowadays.
You can have dinner right where Leatherface has a mini breakdown!
As you can see at the rear of the house there used to be a porch enclosure in front of the back door. This is where Sally lands after jumping through the upstairs window.
Leatherface looks down from the window as Sally tries to escape. You can see the window in the previous photo. Here is a look at the window from the inside.
Sally meets the grandparents.
The people that own the restaurant are quite aware of its past and have embraced it. In fact several Chainsaw reunions have been held at the restaurant. If you are coming from out of town, I highly recommend you stay at the Antlers Inn which sits right next to the house. It is great little place with affordable rates. Make sure you ask for a room with a view of the Chainsaw house! Check out their website here.
I hope you enjoyed our look back at Tobe Hooper’s classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I would like to thank Tim Harden for his help with this article. Until next time, happy hunting!
