Legendary Archer City Bookstore Now Owned by Chip Gaines

A huge piece of Archer City now has a new owner and he's a pretty famous name himself.

I can't think of anyone that had a bigger impact on Archer City the past couple of decades than Larry McMurtry. The highly regarded author helped bring a lot of attention to Archer City. One of his books even had a movie based off it that shot on location in Archer City.

Sadly, Larry McMurtry passed away back in 2021. Back in 1987, he opened up a bookstore in Archer City called Booked Up. This attracted a lot of people to Archer City to come see their favorite author throughout the years. According to a report from the Archer County Times, Chip Gaines was purchasing the property. Now this news broke last year, but it looks like all the final paperwork was completed this week.

Now Chip Gaines does have a connection to Archer City, Texas. In an interview with Cowboys and Indians Magazine, Chip Gaines talked about how his parents grew up in Archer City.

"We would spend the summers at my granddad’s place there just outside of Wichita Falls in little bitty Archer City. And I don’t know what it was about it, but it certainly got in my blood at a very young age." - Chip Gaines

In the Gaines' book they shared the story of their engagement ring purchased in Archer City. Apparently the ring was completed designed by Joanna Gaines with the help of local Archer City jeweler Billy Holder. Joanna says all these years later, she has no intention of ever upgrading her original Archer City ring.

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So the Gaines do have an amazing connection to Archer City and we will see what the future holds for the bookstore in Archer City. If you're a fan of Larry McMurtry, an estate sale is taking place in May for some of his possessions. The sale will include books signed by the author, a pair of well-worn cowboy boots, typewriters, and the author's grand piano, among other items. The entire list of everything going in the estate sale will be published on May 5th, with the auction on May 23rd.

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