Newsletter of the Cultural Resources Division !" Kansas State Historical Society

May - June 2003 !" Vol. 25, No. 3

Article on page 5.

Over the years, Route 66 developed a mythicalstature. While just over thirteen miles of the“Mother Road” cross through Kansas, the impact onthe commercial and cultural landscape is significant.

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During the summer of 2002, the Kansas StateHistorical Society contracted with Historic

Preservation Services, LLC (HPS) of Kansas City,Missouri, to inventory the resources historically associ-ated with Route 66 in Kansas. The roots of this projectlie in an initiative of the National Park Service (NPS) todocument and preserve the history of this importanttransportation corridor. The NPS 1995 “SpecialResources Study” of Route 66 describes the road as “aprime example of a historic transportation corridor —a linear cultural landscape comprising a historicallysignificant route along which people and/or goodshave moved.” The most significant, defining aspects ofthis cultural landscape are the public works and thecommercial architecture, as well as other distinctivestructures and landmarks not necessarily related to theroad itself but which, when combined with the naturalelements of the corridor, “endow [the road] with itsdistinctive character.”

The Route 66 survey in Kansas identified ninety-nine buildings and structures constructed during theperiod of significance, 1926-1953.1 Among thesewere public works (sections of road bed, bridges, andculverts); a wide variety of commercial resources (gasstations, restaurants, commercial and office buildings);and a few residences. Twenty-nine of these resourcespossess a clear relationship to the road and retainsufficient architectural integrity to merit listing on theNational Register for their associations with Route 66.

The archeological staff of the State Historic Preserva-tion Office also examined the corridor for the presenceof Route 66-related archeological resources and identi-fied five sites that might merit inclusion in the NationalRegister.

Following the completion of the survey, HPSprepared a National Register Multiple Property Docu-mentation Form (MPDF) for “Historic Resources ofRoute 66 in Kansas” and three National Register nomi-nations. The first nomination documents a historicdistrict that includes a section of historic roadbed eastof downtown Galena and a viaduct and several culvertsbuilt in 1923. This district is a rare example of thecultural landscape of the road as it appeared whendesignated as US 66 in 1926. The other two nomina-tions were for individual properties: “The WilliamsStore” (more commonly known as Eisler Brothers orthe Old Riverton Store) in Riverton and “The BaxterSprings Independent Oil and Gas Company Station”(now Groomers dog grooming parlor) in BaxterSprings. The nomination of the Williams Store recog-nizes a unique vernacular property in operation continu-ously since 1925, offering patrons gas, food, and generalmerchandise. The Baxter Springs Independent Oil andGas Company Station is an excellent example of a1920s cottage-style service station designed accordingto corporate design standards. The station is alsosignificant for its addition, which accommodated achanging demand for services.

The Cultural Landscapeof the “Mother Road”

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(Left) Williams’ Store (more commonlyknown as Eisler Brothers or the Old RivertonStore) in Riverton

(Below) Route 66, East of Galena. A typicalculvert is visible in the foreground and theviaduct across the Missouri Kansas and TexasRailroad tracks is visible in the background.

Route 66The name “Route 66” conjures

images of cross-country treks, journeys insearch of a better life, and adventure. InNovember 1926 the Federal HighwayCommission designated US Highway 66as part of a new national interstate high-way network. This famous road includesroughly thirteen miles through Kansas.

Efforts to create a national highwaysystem began early in the twentiethcentury spurred by two concurrentmovements. In the new age of the auto-mobile, the first movement sought im-proved roads for long-distance travel.The second sought better roads to en-hance rural economic conditions byimproving farmers’ access to regionalmarkets. By the early twentieth century,automobile enthusiasts nationwide lob-bied for the construction of permanent all-weather roads and the expansion of local,state, and national highway systems.

Historically, road construction inKansas reflected local needs and thedesires of the political establishment. Inthe 1860s, the Territorial legislature estab-lished a system that allowed counties todirect the design, construction, and mostimportantly the funding of their localroads and bridges. By the turn of the nextcentury, the legislature approved generaltax levies for road improvements as wellas the creation of special benefit districtsthat taxed adjacent property owners tofund road improvements. Creation ofbenefit districts was at the discretion ofthe local board of county commissioners.The larger counties (those with popula-tions exceeding 20,000) could hire acounty engineer to supervise all countyroad and bridgework. Counties could

also seek technical assistance from theState Engineer of Roads and Highways.

The first national vision for an im-proved highway system was realizedwhen President Woodrow Wilson signedthe Federal-Aid Road Act of 1916. As itsname implies, this legislation providedfederal aid to the states over a five-yearperiod for the construction of roads.Federal aid equaled 50 percent of con-struction costs, up to $10,000 per mile.State highway agencies recommendedprojects, but the final determination forfunding fell to the Secretary of Agricul-ture, who oversaw the Bureau of PublicRoads.

Implementation of the 1916 Road Actgot off to a slow start. America’s entryinto World War I the following yearplaced a strain on federal finances andlimited road-building materials and per-sonnel. However, cross-country militaryshipments during the war exacerbated thealready poor condition of existing roads

and emphasized the need for a nationalsystem of improved highways.

When the 1916 Road Act expired, theFederal Highway Act of 1921 created asystem of federal-aid highways thatincorporated portions of existing statehighways into a network of interstateroads. The 1921 Highway Act ushered inthe golden era of road building in theUnited States. In 1922 the states spent$189 million to build over 10,000 miles of

This article was prepared by Elizabeth Rosinof Historic Preservation Services under con-tract to the Kansas State Historical Society.The historical information was originallyresearched and compiled for the NationalRegister Multiple Property DocumentationForm on the “Historic Resources of Route 66in Kansas.” All photos are by Elizabeth Rosinunless otherwise designated.

Cover image and page five background arefrom The National Historic Route 66 Federa-tion Collection, www.national66.org.

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federal-aid roads. This more than tripledthe number of road-miles improved since1916. Typical projects produced graded-earth, sand-clay, or gravel road surfaces.

As the interstate highway systembegan to take shape, the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture appointed a Joint Board ofInterstate Highways in 1924. Represent-ing state highway commissions fromacross the country, the five-member boardnamed specific routes and developedinsignia for the federal highways. Thecommission linked segments of existingfederal-aid roads to create the new federalinterstate road system, devised theinterstate highway numbering system,and developed the now ubiquitousshield-shaped signage to help travelersreach their destinations.

The initial concept developed by theFederal Highway Commission’s JointBoard for a route from Chicago tosouthern California followed a coursethrough Missouri, Kansas, Colorado,Utah, and Nevada. One member of theJoint Board, Cyrus Avery, a businessmanfrom Tulsa, Oklahoma, successfullylobbied for an alternate route for thisparticular interstate that followed a moresoutherly route through Oklahoma, Texas,New Mexico, andArizona. Averycontended thatthis alignmentavoided the heavysnows in theRocky Mountainsas well as the longstretches of desertthrough Nevada.The flatter terrain,he argued, wouldalso make road building more cost-effective. On November 11, 1926, theFederal Highway Commission formallydedicated the 2,448 miles connectingChicago to Los Angeles, cobbledtogether from existing roads throughIllinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma,Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, andCalifornia, as US Highway 66.

Route 66 in KansasTo connect Missouri and Oklahoma,

a roughly thirteen-mile segment of Route66 crossed Cherokee County in the farsoutheastern corner of Kansas. Like mostof the new federal highways, this sectionof Route 66 followed a previously existingroad alignment. From the Missouri stateline about one mile east of Galena, it en-tered the state heading northwest. Afterpassing the Eagle-Picher Smelter, one ofthe largest active lead smelters in theUnited States, the road turned south on

vicinity of Galena and Baxter Springs.Improvements along the future Route

66 in Kansas occurred in 1922 and 1923,capitalizing on funds made available bythe Federal Highway Act of 1921. It wasat this time that the viaduct and otherstructures through the mining district eastof Galena were installed, as well as theMarsh Arch bridges east and west ofRiverton. In 1923 a group of Galenabusinessmen helped finance the pavingof the road to Riverton. An articlereporting the construction of a servicestation on the Brush Creek “RainbowCurve” in January 1928 referred to Route66 as the “Galena-Baxter Springs concreteroad,” suggesting that the route was fullypaved by this date.

After World War II, highwayengineers advocated straightening,widening, and bypassing older highwayssuch as Route 66. The 1956 federalinterstate highway plan, designed duringthe Cold War to move munitions andtroops quickly, mandated that future roadbuilding efforts focus on the constructionof new four-lane, limited access roads.When highway officials designedInterstate 44 in the 1960s to replace USHighway 66, they straightened thealignment, and the highway now by-passes Kansas completely.

However, the old road continued toserve the local population, and during the

Map showing original Route 66alignment and subsequentbypasses.

Main Street, pass-ing through theGalena businessdistrict. Route 66turned west againat 7th Street. Theroad continuedwest across theSpring River andthrough theQuaker commu-

nity of Riverton. Beyond Riverton, Route66 curved south at the Brush CreekBridge to Baxter Junction. In Baxter Junc-tion the road turned east and then southon the old military road. Route 66 fol-lowed Military Avenue south throughdowntown Baxter Springs to the Okla-homa state line with a small S-curve southof downtown.

When Route 66 was designated,some of the road segments were pavedand others were not. For example, theroad between Galena and Riverton beganas a cow path. Around 1910 a bridge wasconstructed across the Spring River.Prosperous early in the twentieth century,thanks to a thriving lead and zinc miningindustry, Cherokee County boastedpaved roads before many other countiesin the state, the region, and the nation.As early as 1904, the county used waste“chat” from the area mines to create amacadam-like surface on roads in the

To connect Missouri andOklahoma, a roughly thirteen-

mile segment of Route 66 crossedCherokee County in the far

southeastern corner of Kansas.

Bypa

ss

Original Route

ROUTE

668

early 1960s it also received a series ofimprovements.

• A bypass removed traffic fromdowntown Galena and from the old Route66 serving the industrial facilities east oftown. The “new” US 66 follows old US166 east along 7th Street, becoming a four-lane divided highway between Galena andJoplin.

• The addition of a second two-lanebarrel to the stretch of Route 66 betweenGalena and Riverton widened the road tofour lanes. A grassy median separatedthe directional traffic. This additionincluded the construction of a two-laneconcrete girder bridge across the SpringRiver, adjacent to the historic Marsh ArchBridge originally located just east ofRiverton. In the early 1990s the presenttwo-lane concrete girder span replacedthe bridge.

• A second bypass connectedRiverton and Baxter Springs, beginning atthe junction of US Highways 69/166/400and US 66 just west of Riverton. Ratherthan follow the old road west to the BrushCreek curve, the bypass makes a gentlearcing curve southwest to join MilitaryAvenue at 3rd Street in Baxter Springs.While this alignment is designed for fourlanes, only two lanes have been built.

• In Baxter Springs, a new sectionthat follows a wide, smooth curvebypasses the S-curve at the south end oftown. A McDonald’s and a Wal-Martoccupy previously open land between theold and new roads.

The final change to old Route 66 inKansas occurred in 1992 when theconstruction of a softer curve bypassedthe Rainbow Bridge at the Brush Creekcurve. After much discussion with theKansas Historic Route 66 Association,county officials agreed to leave the BrushCreek Bridge standing as a historiclandmark.2 Travelers can see the bridgein its historic setting from the bypass andcan choose to drive across the bridge,which is now limited to southboundtraffic.

Commerce of Route 66Like other regional and national high-

ways, commercial businesses developedalong Route 66 to serve the needs of trav-elers and their vehicles. There were gasand service stations to keep cars running;restaurants, tourist courts, and motels toservice travelers; and various stands andshops that offered diversions.

The design of these buildings andstructures reflected popular styles andtrends and embraced the adventurousspirit of travel. For example, servicestations evolved from simple vernacular

Baxter Springs Independent Oil andGas Company Station, 940 Military

Avenue, Baxter Springs. Notice thatthe original cottage station mirrors the

IOG prototype shown at right.

(Right) Prototype Cottage-styleService Station Design for the

Independent Oil and Gas Company.(Citation: Phillips Petroleum Company,

“Painting Specifications forIndependent Oil and Gas Type “C”

Service Station,” [Bartlesville,Oklahoma: Phillips Petroleum

Company, 1932]. In the CorporateArchives of the Phillips Petroleum

Company, Bartlesville, Oklahoma.)

Willow Street Service Station, 145 North Willow Avenue, Baxter Springs, represents amodern streamlined design.

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buildings with pumps out front to moderndesigns featuring streamlined, curvedcorners. As the industry matured,gasoline companies developed standard-ized plans that made their stationsdistinctly recognizable to travelers. Theprototype design for an Independent Oiland Gas Company (IOG) station is anexact mirror of the IOG cottage stationbuilt at the corner of 10th Street andMilitary Avenue in Baxter Springs.

During this period lodging propertiesevolved from the humble tourist court tothe modern motel. At the beginning ofthe Route 66 era, the communities alongRoute 66 in Kansas had booming econo-mies that already supported a variety ofgas stations and restaurants. The changein the number of tourist courts and motels

during the period of significance mostdirectly reflects the commercial impacts ofthe road on this area.

The 1930 Baxter Springs Sanborn FireInsurance Company Map shows theSunbeam Tourist Camp at the southwestcorner of 2nd Street and Willow Avenue.This camp included eleven cabins, ten ofwhich had attached carports, a centrallavatory, and an office. This intersectionalso had three filling stations and oneauto repair shop. By 1942 a secondtourist court became part of the milieu.This property included an L-shaped bandof six attached cabins, separated bycarports, as well as an owner’s dwelling.Additional lodging was found at anothercabin court on the S-curve south ofdowntown, near a service station and

Murphey’s diner, a 24-hour establishment.After World War II the Capistrano Motelat 22nd Street and Military Avenue alsoprovided overnight accommodations.

The 1930 Sanborn map for Galenashows the development of the Camp Joytourist camp between Galena andRiverton. This complex included a fillingstation and five cabins with electric lightsand stove heat, all of which were arrangedin a row fronting Route 66. The Sanbornmaps show another small row of cabins inRiverton, on the south side of Route 66west of Military Road.

Another tourist amenity noted bylocal residents were rock shops that soldmineral samples to tourists passingthrough the area. One was located justwest of Galena and another was located inBaxter Junction.

As happened across the country, thecompletion of Interstate 44 drained manylong-distance travelers, both recreationaland commercial, from the local road. Thisreduced the volume of traffic traveling theold highway and led to the demise ofmany existing tourist facilities. A numberof the historic gas stations are extant, andwhile there are no historic motels leftalong Route 66 in Kansas, there areremnants of two cabin courts at the northend of Baxter Springs.

Route 66 ThroughKansas Today

Over the years, Route 66 developed amythical stature. In The Grapes of Wrath,John Steinbeck famously chronicled therole of the “Mother Road” in helping the

Marsh Arch (Rainbow Arch) Bridge at Brush Creek. (Photo by Cathy Ambler.)

Remnant of Saterlee’s Cabin Court, 124 North Willow Avenue, Baxter Springs. (Photo by CathyAmbler.)