Route 66 established

On November 11, 1926, federal and state highway officials meet in North Carolina and adopt a numbered highway system for the 48 continental United States. Among the newly designated interstate highways is the legendary Route 66. The 2,400-mile route linked existing roads and unpaved paths across eight states, stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica, California.

Cyrus Avery, an Oklahoma realtor and owner of a Tulsa-based coal company, is known as the “Father of Route 66.” He began acquiring oil leases in the early 1900s and identified the need for more roads, particularly one that could connect the Midwest to the West Coast. Avery teamed up with John Woodruff of Springfield, Missouri, to promote the idea of a highway that would follow a diagonal course and link hundreds of rural communities so farmers could transport grain and produce to consumers.

In April 1926, Avery and Missouri highway engineer B.H. Piepmeier sent a telegram to the Bureau of Public Roads in Washington, D.C., suggesting the route’s famous name. It was officially adopted that November.

Truckers started using Route 66 by the 1930s, and the iconic route became the country’s first fully paved highway in 1938. The following year, John Steinbeck dubbed it the “Mother Road” in his novel The Grapes of Wrath. In addition to serving Dust Bowl migrants, Route 66 became an essential thoroughfare for the U.S. military during World War II.

Thanks to heavy promotion, Route 66 became a major attraction for cross-country road trips in the 1950s, leading souvenir shops, gas stations, motels and auto camps to pop up along “The Main Street of America.” It inspired the 1946 hit song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” written by Bobby Troup and performed by Nat King Cole, and the early 1960s television series “Route 66.”

Among the most famous roads in U.S. history, Route 66 seemed a permanent national fixture. But, just like its name, its days were numbered. Between the mid-1950s and October 1984, modern, four-lane interstates gradually bypassed the route and allowed motorists to travel faster and more efficiently. The following June, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials officially removed Route 66 from the U.S. highway system.

Today, Historic Route 66 remains a beloved symbol, and some stretches have been designated as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads. Many roadside attractions and motels remain in operation.