Ghost Towns of Route 66 (4 page)
Read Ghost Towns of Route 66 Online
Authors: Jim Hinckley
COTTON HILL
ONE OF THE MORE INTRIGUING
and enigmatic ghost towns found along Route 66 is Cotton Hill, located near Springfield.
The quaint little farming village was large enough to warrant a post office by 1862, but its proximity to Springfield seems to have stunted its growth. By the turn of the century, the town was in decline, and in 1907, the post office closed.
Still, Cotton Hill clung to life by serving as a stop on the Illinois Central Railroad and, after the establishment of Route 66, by offering services to motorists scurrying between Chicago and St. Louis. With the creation of Lake Springfield and realignment of Route 66, Cotton Hill was razed.
Today, the siteâand the second alignment of Route 66, Cotton Hill Roadâis under the lake. Adventuresome explorers can still follow the old highway through the brush to the water's edge and, when water levels are low, get their kicks by splashing along old Route 66.
Old U.S. 66 leads to the shore of Lake Springfield, under which lies the site of Cotton Hill.
The church at Funks Grove dates to 1845. The general store and depot, relocated from another site, are faithful recreations that enhance the sense of timelessness. The gas station and café that Rittenhouse mentions in his guidebook are now closed and provide favorite photo opportunities for travelers on Route 66.
DON'T MISS
The Route 66 walking tour in Towanda provides a great opportunity to stretch the legs. Titled “Historic Route 66: A Geographic Journey,” the trail utilizes an abandoned section of the highway and features interpretive displays from all eight states as well as Burma Shave signs.
When Rittenhouse drove through Lawndale in 1946, he described it as “not really a town at all, since it consists of a couple of red railroad shacks, a few homes, and a pair of grain elevators.” This was not always the case. In
The History of Logan County Illinois
(1911), the entry for Lawndale indicates that, in June 1857, it was platted and surveyed “the next year after the Alton & Sangamon (now Chicago & Alton) railroad was completed to that point.” The town originally contained twelve blocks, but “Ewing's addition in 1864 added seventeen blocks more. . . . The village has never been incorporated. It is located in East Lincoln Township and has a population of about 200.”
Little has changed in Lawndale since the days of the Rittenhouse expedition. Even in the most popular modern travel guides, such as
EZ 66 Guide for Travelers
by Jerry McClanahan, the community warrants little more than a dot on a map.
From the inception of Route 66, a sign like this has pointed the way to Funks Grove.
In 1946, Jack Rittenhouse found a gas station and a café in Funks Grove, but these businesses survive today only as photo ops.
For more than a century, the Funks Grove sign has been synonymous with maple sirup.
An old brick wall serves as the backdrop for a sign proudly proclaiming Gardner's place on historic Route 66.
As this sign near Funks Grove indicates, the state of Illinois has done an excellent job of identifying the various alignments of historic Route 66.
Years before Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth U.S. president, Sunday services were held at the quaint little church in Funks Grove.
Shea's Gas Station Museum in Springfield presents a three-dimensional history of the American service station encapsulated in a former fuel center and vintage station relocated to the site.
The Realignment of Route 66
FROM SPRINGFIELD SOUTH TO GRANITE CITY,
there are two distinct versions of Route 66. There is the 1926â1930 alignment that was originally Illinois State 4 and the 1930â1977 alignment that is now generally Interstate 55 with Route 66 serving as a frontage road.
As with the section of Route 66 that lies east of Springfield, the alignments to the west are dotted with small, picturesque communities that have lengthy, colorful histories and an abundance of refurbished ghosts. Counted among the must-see ghosts are Art's Motel in Farmersville. In Litchfield, there is the SkyView Drive-In Theatre and the Ariston Café, the oldest continuously operated, one-family-owned café on Route 66, dating to 1931. Other stops of note include Soulsby Station in Mt. Olive, which dates to 1926, and the Luna Café, circa 1924, in Mitchell.
MISSOURI