This year’s Birthplace of Route 66 Festival will be held in downtown Springfield, Thursday, August 8, through Saturday, August 10. The State Historical Society of Missouri’s U.S. Highway 66 Collection continues to grow as we near the 100th anniversary of the historic route.
United States Highway 66 was a continuous route connecting Chicago to Los Angeles. The numerical designation 66 was approved in the spring of 1926, and construction began late fall that same year. The highway extended just under twenty-five hundred miles, linking hundreds of rural and urban communities throughout eight states. Entrepreneurs Cyrus Avery and Springfield’s own, John Woodruff, lobbied for the creation of the route and are credited with its establishment. As one of the main thoroughfares, Highway 66 became the main route for east to west migration and tourism. Increased traffic brought locally owned restaurants, motels, service stations, and roadside attractions along the highway.
The U.S. Highway 66 Collection contains brochures, maps, photographs, postcards, and memorabilia related to the people and places along historic Route 66 in Missouri.
To explore this collection and more, visit the Springfield Research Center inside MSU’s Meyer Library or find us online at SHSMO.org.