The History of Route 66

Route 66 was one of the original highways in the United States numbered highway system.  It was established on November 11, 1926 with road signs erected the following year.  The highway which became one of the most famous roads in the United States ran from Chicago, Illinois through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica, California covering a total of 2,448 miles!

It was recognized in popular culture by both the 1946 hit song, Get Your Kicks on Route 66 and the Route 66 television series which aired on CBS from 1960-1964.  Route 66 starred Martin Milner (1931-2015) as Tod and George Maharis (1928-2023) as Buz.  

These two young men full of adventure took to America's highways in their Chevrolet Corvette for 116 episodes which aired over four seasons from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964.  It was broadcast in black and white appearing on Friday nights on CBS.  Despite the name of the series, most episodes didn't take place on the historic road, but in 25 different U.S. states, all on location.  Television viewers were treated to episodes filmed in Carson City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Santa Fe, Reno, Tucson, Dallas and many more filming locales.  Numerous sites were used for filming such as an offshore oil ring, shrimp boats, a logging camp, an old ferry, Riverside Raceway and the Glen Canyon Dam none of which were actually on Route 66.  After appearing in 82 episodes, Maharis left the series during the third season citing health issues.  He was replaced by American actor, Glen Corbett (1933-1993).

A long list of well-known actors and actresses appeared on the series including Ed Asner, Peter Lorre, Barbara Eden, Jack Lord, Cloris Leachman, Tuesday Weld, William Shatner, Joan Crawford, Julie Newmar, Martin Sheen, James Caan and Lee Marvin. The television series featured an instrumental theme song written by Nelson Riddle (1921-1985). Riddle was an American arranger, composer and bandleader whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s.  He also wrote the theme song for such shows as The Andy Griffth Show, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, The Steve Allen Show, Sing Along with Mitch, My Three Sons and The Untouchables. 

Route 66 is one of the most popular highways in the country, if not the most-popular especially for car enthusiasts. Despite its popularity, there are a number of neat bits of information that not many people know about regarding The Mother Road .. 

Route 66 was constructed as an efficient way to travel between Chicago and Los Angeles.  By the end of the 1920s, car ownership grew to 23 million vehicles.  This mounting mobility by the American driving public resulted in increased traffic with people wishing to traverse the country.  The problem was that there was no easy-to-follow road between Chicago and Los Angeles.  The newly-formed U.S. Route 66 Association described the road as the "shortest, best and most scenic route from Chiaco through St. Louis to Los Angeles".

The "father" of Route 66 was a Tulsa businessman.  Cyrus Avery came to Indian Territory from Missouri in 1904 to work as an insurance agent.  He later expanded into real estate lending and invested in the oil and gas industry.  He moved to Tulsa in 1907 and in 1908 bought a farm near Tulsa.  Avery soon realized that a system of interstate highways would help Tulsa and was impressed with the Good Roads Movement in Missouri and in Oklahoma.  After working tirelessly for better roads,  he was elected president of the Highway Associations of America.  Eventually, Avery joined with businessman, John Woodruff to promote a single road that would link the Midwest to the West.  While he envisioned a highway spanning half the nation, his motives were actually more local.  By building a highway through Oklahoma, he surmised he could siphon traffic and traveler's money away from cities like Denver and Kansas City.  In 1925, the United States Secretary of Agriculture appointed him to the Joint Board of Interstate Highways which was tasked with disignating and marking federal highways.  In 1926, the Federal Highway System was approved by Congress, setting in motion the creation of  Route 66.

Roosevelt's New Deal helped complete Route 66.  Although Route 66 officially opened in 1926, it was not even close to being finished.  The Great Depression which started in 1929 put thousands of young men out of work.  As part of the New Deal, many of these men went ot work on roads.  Thanks to the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Project Administration, Route 66 was fully paved by 1938.

John Steinbeck coined the term "Mother Road".  In his iconic Great Depression-era novel The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck weaves a tale of a poor family who flees Oklahoma for California during the Dust Bowl.  The group travels west on Route 66 along with fellow migrants.  Steinbeck wrote 66 is the path of people in flight.  66 is the mother road, the road of flight.

Route 66 was almost Route 62.  During the numbering of routes regarding U.S. 62 and U.S. 60 and Kentucky threatening to leave the new highway system, Kentucky offered a compromise connecting their highway system with Avery's in Illinois and assign the number 60.  Avery could have his Chicago to Los Angeles highway if he would accept the number 62 which was originally assigned.  For some reason, Avery detested the number 62 and found out 66 was not being used.  He then designated the Chicago to Los Angeles higway as U.S. 66.

Black Americans were barred from many businesses on Route 66.  Most white-owned businesses along Route 66 refused to serve black people and half the counties along the route were white.  There were communities called "sundown towns" that erected signs warning Black Americans they had to leave the city liits before dark.  The few businesses that served black customers were listed in publications like "The Negro Motorist Green Book" which informed black travelers where they could safely stop.*  

*This disturbing information is not one that I wanted to include though felt it should be mentioned as it is part of Route 66's history.

Route 66 is sometimes called the "Will Rogers Highway".  Oklahoma's favorite son set out on Route 66 to pursue a career in Hollywood and he often wrote about it in his syndicated columns.  After Rogers' untimely death in a plane crash, a congressional resolution was introduced to name the highway in his honor.

Southern Illinois

Route 66