1926

US  Route 66 (Will Rogers Memorial Highway) existed from November 26, 1926 -  June 27, 1985.  After it was officially removed from the US Highway  System on June 27, 1985 when it was replaced by the Interstate Highway  System, various states designated portions of the original road as a  National Scenic Byway known as "Historic Route 66".

Route  66 was the 20th century version of the golden road to the Promise Land.  It wove hundreds of miles through the Midwest (Illinois, Missouri,  Kansas) and across Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before  reaching California and the Pacific Coast.  Those adventurous souls who  migrated west looking for employment and a better life were the support  system that kept the businesses in the communities along the way  thriving and prosperous.  Route 66 well deserves the name "The Mother  Road" with its nurturing effect on both the travelers and the business  owners who experienced its glory over the years, both then and now.