Text by Tammie

  A Civil War soldier gave “A Tourist’s View” of the scenic overlook in Blackburn Park, the bluff above historic Route 66 in Pacific, Missouri.   Pvt. Hawley V. Needham of the 134th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment described in his journal the bluff’s beauty.   Today, a historical marker at the site has Needham’s private-journal description of the scenic view he witnessed on Oct. 8, 1864.   “I think this is the most beautiful scene I have witnessed, that is of Nature's works, since my boyhood days in Old New England,” Needham wrote.   More here .

  A bootleg family established the “famous” Red Cedar Tavern in 1934 on Route 66 in Pacific, Missouri. Over time, the establishment became known as a restaurant. Business was so good by the 1950s that cars had a difficult time turning into the place. But the opening of Interstate 44 took the Red Cedar Inn’s customers. The building was kept in the family until the City of Pacific purchased the Red Cedar Inn after it closed on March 7, 2005. Today, it’s known as the Red Cedar Inn Museum & Visitor Center at 1047 E. Osage St. in Pacific. There’s a traveling exhibit on Route 66 there through Sept. 15, 2026. More here .

  In the late 1930s or early 1940s, a lunch counter in a gas station on Route 66 in Willowbrook, Illinois, began frying chicken. The rest, as they say, is history. The Chicken Basket, a historic roadhouse at 645 Joliet Road (Historic Route 66) in Willowbrook, has been famous for its fried chicken for decades. Today,  known as Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket,  it has even more food, including Mac n Cheese Balls and Corn Fritters; Sauteed Chicken Liver Dinner; Blackened Chicken sandwich, Fried Jumbo Shrimp Basket. And, of course, Famous Fried Chicken Basket. More information is available here .  

  A new exhibit in St. Louis, Missouri, is featuring things in the area that “used to be” on Route 66. The National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis will exhibit through the second week in October 2026 its “Roads, River, Rooms, and Reels” tribute to Route 66. Route 66 is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026, and The National Museum of Transportation is helping to note the milestone by its special exhibit that features modes of transportation and entertainment along the Mother Road that no longer exist: the riverboat SS Admiral, the “66” Park In Theatre and Coral Court Motel. The “Roads, River, Rooms, and Reels” exhibit is in the museum’s William R. and Laura Rand Orthwein Education and Visitor Center, for the most part. Vintage cars are in the Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center. More information is available here :

    Two historic highways – Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway– meet in Plainfield, Illinois, a village 35 miles southwest of Chicago.   The restoration of the 1940 Phillips 66 Service Station, where the two highways meet, will honor the two roads.   In 2024, the Plainfield Historical Society acquired the service station to anchor a new, local history museum complex. The museum will complement other historic sites in Plainfield, including its Downtown Historic District with some 50 properties on “both sides of Lockport Street between Division Street on the east and James and Main Streets on the west.”   More information is here .  

  Two businesses on Route 66 in St. Louis, Missouri, offering sweet treats have a following that’s “world-wide” because they are the “best.”   Ted Drewes Frozen Custard and the Donut Drive-In in St. Louis are down the road from each other on Chippewa Street (Route 66) in St. Louis.   Ted Drewes opened in 1941 on Route 66 and is known for its “World famous frozen custard.”   The Donut Drive-In opened in 1953 and was voted “best donuts on Route 66” by Food Network.   More information on how to enjoy both is located here :