I often wondered about its history so I decided to see what I could out. From my research I was able to find out that all the Mohawk gas stations ceased to exist in 1970 when the company was bought out by another petroleum company. I have to think that this Mohawk station kept the name after that existing as a independent gas station. The $1.99 price for unleaded on the old signage would lead you to believe that it may have been in operation anywhere between the years 2000 to 2003. To be honest I couldn't find anything online about the exact time period when this Mohawk station closed its doors.
The Mohawk Oil Company was a Bakersfield, California-based independent refiner as well as gasoline and motor oils marketer that was active from the 1930s through 1970, when it was bought out. Mohawk Gasoline items tend to feature a profile of a Native American man with a feather fixed in his hair, though some show him with a drooping feather instead of a raised one. The Mohawk Oil Company commissioned a wide range of merchandise, fixtures and fittings to support its products, from oil cans to gas pumps to promotional materials such as paperweights, usually dominated by a palette of red or orange hues. - Source
I can't help but think about another abandoned gas station here in Lecompte. Both the old gas stations here and in Oro Grande basically suffered the same fate. When the interstate highway system was built in the 1970s it killed all the businesses that relied on the traffic on the highways it replaced. Case in point, when Interstate 15 was built several miles to the east there was no reason for travelers to use old Route 66 through Oro Grande and therefor nobody needed the gas or any mechanical work that the Mohawk gas station and its adjacent garage provided. Likewise when Interstate 49 was built here in Louisiana hardly anyone traveled on old highway 71 anymore so the gas station here closed.
This very same story played out all over this country in the 1970s and 80s unfortunately.
It's kinda sad that I never got a chance to fill up at the old Mohawk gas station. I imagine that if I had pulled up to these pumps back in the day an attendant would have ran out to my car, asked me what kind of gas I wanted, pumped it for me, and cleaned my windshield. He may have even ran my credit card through that metal handheld gizmo with a carbon paper. Would I have gotten any trading stamps? That is anyone's guess.
All kidding aside, this old Mohawk gas station is a great piece of nostalgia that stands as a monument for period of history that has sadly passed away.
Map:
Here are my photos:
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