Cobble Rock Station
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Vernal Auto Company
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"A Splendid Specimen of Architecture"

Cobble Rock Station, also, Vernal Auto Company, also, "A Splendid Specimen of Architecture". . , Cobble Rock Station , As manager of Vernal Auto Company, T.G. Alexander was responsible for constructing the Cobble Rock Station, a complement to the company's new showroom, garage, and automobile storage facility, two doors down South Vernal Avenue. It was situated on this corner of the city's main intersection. , , The drive-in station, which first went by the same name as its parent company, was equipped with every modern convenience its builders could devise. Diagonal driveways ran past gasoline pumps which were fronted by three beautiful cobblestone arches. Air, water, and oil were conveniently available. On the Main Street side of the station, grease and wash racks were built. A tire room, accessory storage, vulcanizing and battery shop were located in the back of the building. Even a lunch counter graced the business. Perhaps the most revolutionary feature in the station, however, was the ladies' room, touted as being the only public restroom for women between Salt Lake and Denver. , , In the days when providing superior customer service was of utmost importance, station operators also supplied the motoring public with free tourist information and continuously updated road condition reports. , , When it opened in April 1926, the Vernal Auto Company service station was declared to be one of the finest in the state. Although there were many changes in subsequent ownership, the Cobble Rock Station, located in the heart of Vernal, attracted residents and travelers alike for over thirty years. , , (photo captions) , Vernal Auto Company manager T. G. Alexander supervised construction of a new showroom, garage, and automobile storage facility on South Vernal Avenue in 1925-26. Their new service station, faced with cobblestone, was built on the corner immediately north of the showroom. , , The new Vernal Auto Company service station opened for business in April 1926. Manager Lynn Richens was dedicated to providing superior service. The station included all the standard service equipment plus a lunch counter and the only women's restroom between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Colorado. Note the World War I Doughboy statue in the middle of the main Intersection. It is now located one block east in the memorial park at the Uintah County Building. , , Vernal's Main Street was a lively place in the 1920s. Parked cars lined the street while shoppers patronized numerous downtown businesses. Cobble Rock Station is located just left of center in the background. , , Vernal Auto Company , Terbert M. Snyder operated the Cobble Rock Station for one year, 1927-1928. During his tenure, he changed the name from Vernal Auto Company to Snyder Service, moved the gas pumps so they were more visible, and uniformed all the station employees. , , A well-known Vernal family changed the business name again, and, with Howard Woolley as manager, operated Ashton Service from 1928 until 1930. They finished the "car wash room,” complete with pressure washing machines, and became a leading local seller of Goodyear tires. , , Lawrence Carter and Mick Batty ran the station briefly before Tom Karren took over in January 1931. They gave the place its final name: Conoco Service. The station's Triangle Café was then a major attraction. Chuck Henderson purchased Karren's lease the next year and continued as manager until 1936, when Claude Banks took over. Banks stayed with the business for the next twenty years, including a break for military service during World War II. , , After Banks quit Conoco to become Vernal City Police Chief in 1956, the station sat empty until Herb Snyder, one of its first operators, leased the building to use as headquarters for his Vernal Cab Company. By the time he retired, the old community gathering spot was in poor condition. It sat empty and boarded up until 1970, when owner N.J. Meagher razed it to pave a parking lot. , , (photo captions) , Herbert M. Snyder operated the service station under his name in 1927. He later served as Vernal City Marshal and Uintah County Sheriff. , , From 1928 until 1930, Vernal's prominent Ashton family owned and operated the station. It was then called Ashton's Service. , , When Lawrence Carter and Mick Batty took over the station in late 1930, they re-named it Conoco Service, the last name by which it was officially known. Chuck Henderson managed the place from 1933 until 1936. He began to advertise it as Cobble Rock Station; the nickname is still used today. Claudius Banks was the last station operator. With time off for military service, he ran the business from 1936 until it closed in 1956. , , "A Splendid Specimen of Architecture" , The first building erected on this site was considered a "splendid specimen of architecture" for its time and housed general mercantile stores. Jim Mease operated a store briefly, then Lycurgus Johnson moved his business here from its original Ashley Town location, four miles north. Named L. Johnson and Sons, the mercantile sold a little bit of everything for the pioneer farmer and rancher, from dry goods to "Queensware," gents' furnishings, and notions. , , After Johnson relocated his business directly north across the street in the late 1890s, Joseph W. and Annie Blythe Pieronnet opened the East End Saloon in the building. They cut in a corner door, perhaps hoping to lure some of the nearby Exchange Saloon's patrons into their establishment. , , In 1903 partners L. H. Woodard and Walter McCoy took over the saloon and ran it for about three years. Then they made a major career move, selling all their saloon fixtures and opening a furniture store. In 1909 Woodard and McCoy consolidated their business with E.W. Davis and moved into Davis' building a few doors down South Vernal Avenue. , , By August 1910, Uintah State Bank had opened in the old building, the first competition the Bank of Vernal had. Four years later, Uintah State moved into new quarters across the street. Soon afterward, Vernal Auto Company opened a garage in the old building. It was in continuous operation until 1925 when the foundations were poured for the Cobble Rock Station. , , (photo captions) , Lycurgus Johnson opened his general mercantile in the Hatch building, originally constructed by Jeremiah Hatch, who homesteaded this property in 1879. The building was later called a "splendid specimen of architecture." , , Lycurgus Johnson and his sons sold everything the pioneer farmer and rancher could need in newly settled Uintah County. This advertisement appeared in the January 21, 1892, issue of the Uintah Pappoose, the forerunner of the Vernal Express. , , After Johnson moved north across Main Street, Joseph and Annie Pieronnet opened the East End Saloon in this building, cutting in a corner door. It also housed a furniture store and Uintah State Bank before Vernal Auto Company bought it for garage. This photo dates to about 1924.