From Savingplaces.org: While it’s not the oldest automobile highway in the United States, Route 66—a National Treasure of the National Trust—is likely the most enduring highway in America’s public consciousness. “The Mother Road,” as it’s often called, represents a significant moment in history that continues to define the nation’s identity: the rise of the automobile and its implications of freedom, mobility, and a uniquely American story.
The Historic Roots of the Route
Route 66 was officially commissioned in 1926 as part of America’s first federal highway system, but the hodge-podge of routes and roads it comprised had existed long before mass-produced automobiles. The U.S. Congress commissioned a transcontinental railroad in 1853, which became a network of wagon trails crossing the country from east to west. In 1857, Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale created another route between New Mexico and California that thousands of migrants later used to travel to the Golden Coast.
Some parts of the road follow even earlier migration routes such as the Trail of Tears, formed when 15,000-16,000 Cherokee people were forcibly removed from their homelands in the southern Appalachians in 1838. An estimated 3,000-4,000 people died as a result of the experience.
When the number of registered vehicles in the United States jumped from 450,000 in 1910 to 8 million in 1920, motorists demanded improved highways to travel across the country. Entrepreneur Cyrus Avery of Tulsa, Oklahoma, promoted the idea of an interregional link between Chicago and Los Angeles, where Route 66 runs today. The highway would be the shortest year-round route between the Midwest and the Pacific Coast, traveling through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. (read on to see some more great pics)