About two hours north of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is a quiet place called Archer City. The town's population is about 1,600, but for the past few months, visitors from across the state have made the pilgrimage there thanks to the work one nonprofit has undertaken to preserve a writer's legacy. 

Archer City is best known as the place where Larry McMurtry grew up. He was a prolific writer, penning dozens of novels in his lifetime, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Lonesome Dove," "The Last Picture Show," "Horseman Pass By" and "Terms of Endearment."

He also wrote screenplays, most notably "Brokeback Mountain."

In the 1980s, after he'd already made a name for himself as a writer, he opened Booked Up, an enormous rare bookshop in downtown Archer City that came to span four buildings. 

"It takes an audacious person to turn a tiny town that otherwise would be unknown into his version of the Welsh town Hay-on-Wye, where the streets are lined with books," said George Getschow, director of the . "He (McMurtry) grew up in a bookless town, in a bookless part of the state, something that always troubled him. And he decided to turn Archer City into a book town."

After Mcurtry died in 2021, Booked Up closed. In 2023, reality television duo Chip and Joanna Gaines bought it. But late last year, the couple sold it to the Archer City Writer's Workshop, a nonprofit run by Getschow. The nonprofit is now working to transform the space into a literary center honoring McMurtry's life and impact.

A treasure trove

The nonprofit's major task at hand is cataloging McMurtry's massive collection of books. Along with the books that fill the shelves lining nearly every wall of the former Booked Up, there are books that are still in boxes and on pallets. Getschow estimates there are 300,000. 

"We have books from every walk of life," he said. "Any interest can be satisfied here, whether you're a bird aficionado, a culinary person or astronaut."

The collection also includes rare books you won't find elsewhere — a signed first edition of Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Lonesome Dove in Czechoslovakian, a Japanese edition of The Last Picture Show.

"We're constantly coming across books where as rare and priceless as they are, they're in the bottom of a box," said Getschow. "We've got so many books that we haven't been able to actually pick up."

Kathy Floyd, administrator at the Larry McMurtry Literary Center, said working with Getschow on this mission is not something she expected from her life.

"It's unbelievable to be able to work and find things like this," Floyd said. "We're the stewards of one of the most iconic book collections in the country."

Getschow and Floyd are helped by a team of volunteers from across the state who are helping to catalog and repair the old building. Thanks to their help, the space is now open on the weekends for the first time since 2021. 

"We do not want to sell these books, we want to turn this into a literary center," said Getschow. "We're going to run it as a bookshop for about three or four years because we have more books than we have shelf space for."

Getschow said he thinks McMurtry would be pleased to see his treasured collection being taken care of.

"I can't speak for Larry, but I believe the fact that we are laboring, making sure his book collection will live on and will be alive and livable, and people will come and pick them up and cherish them as much as he did, I think that would mean a lot to him," said Getschow. 

Impact on Archer City

Since the Larry McMurtry Literary Center opened its doors on weekends back in March, foot traffic to the town has picked up notably.

"It's been very busy," said Kellie Fielding, an Archer City native and waitress at Murn's Cafe.

So busy that Murn's has recently had to hire extra help to keep up with the weekend crowds.

"We've had people come from Ireland, and we've had people come from Wyoming just to come down here and check out his books," Fielding said. "It's pretty amazing."

McMurtry's fans are now contributing to the economy of a town that first gained widespread notoriety through his novel, The Last Picture Show, which he based on his time growing up in Archer City. 

"The meaning of The Last Picture Show and The Royal Theater is embedded in Archer City because it portrayed the town in a way that was pretty stark, pretty harsh," Getschow said. "Small town life, the custom, the morays, the traditions, how people feel trapped."

Despite how McMurtry portrayed Archer City, it's a town he kept returning to and giving back to. 

"Archer City, in every way, gave rise to the greatest writer of the American West that ever was or ever will be," Getschow said.

You can visit the Larry McMurtry Literary Center every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Most books are available for a $25 donation.

• Books