You’d likely never guess it, driving through the City of Egan these days. But not that long ago, this quiet rural community was a hub of activity, busy with local families and travelers alike moving along Highway 34.
“My grandmother, Emma Babcock, who lived across the road from the Three Mile Corner Station, told me that the place to shop for clothes and especially groceries was in Egan back in the day,” said Roberta (Rob) Babcock, who grew up just outside of town.
“They would travel from their home by the Three Mile Corner, arriving in Egan by crossing over the bridge on the Big Sioux, passing the original Texaco Gas Station that Irv (Stombaugh) ran, just south of the school’s football field, then turning north at the corner of the Stombaugh house and Trent Road to get to Main Street.”
It was that old Texaco station — once run by her late grandfather-in-law — that recently came down. And for Babcock and others with deep roots in Egan, the demolition stirred memories of what once was: a bustling downtown now filled mostly with quiet homes in place of what used to be local businesses.

“For 24 years I was married to Irv Stombaugh’s grandson, Dennis Lewis who has passed away. He and his older sister Claudia, were raised by Irv and Emma Stombaugh because their mother Vergean was killed by a drunk driver on Memorial Day…”
Stombaugh ran the Texaco station near the football field for nearly a decade before relocating downtown in 1937 when Highway 34 was rerouted. A penciled-in date on an old newspaper clipping marks his purchase of the business as 1930. He owned and operated the downtown Texaco until selling it in 1967, continuing to drive school bus during and after those years.
“You can see the white picket fence in the background on the right where he planted red, white and blue flowers in the shape of a ‘V’ for victory at the end of WWII,” said Babcock of one old photo.
The building, long since used only for storage, had fallen into disrepair. The roof had been caving in for years. The current owners, the Servis family, not being from the area, weren’t fully aware of its history — nor did they realize how closely connected some residents still were to the old gas station and what it represented.
When it came time to take it down, it was members of another longtime local family, the Ehrichs, who stepped in to help. Leah Ehrichs, her father-in-law Tom, and her children Austin and Faith did the demolition work themselves and visited with many who stopped by that day to reminisce about their own memories of Stombaugh and the old Texaco.
It quickly became obvious through all of the stories shared, that what came down was more than a building — it was a piece of Egan’s story as well as a family’s legacy. Babcock, the Ehrichs, and others in town hope that by sharing recent events, it helps keep a portion of their history alive.