Route 66 is such an integral part of the City of St. Louis and surrounding areas as lifestyles changed throughout the 20th Century. There are amazing remnants of the colorful bygone days of Route 66 around us. You just have to find them!
Amazingly, Route 66 seems to have moved around several times on its journey from Chicago, Illinois, out to Santa Monica, California. This somewhat explains why pieces of the historic route can be found at numerous disjointed locations throughout St.Louis and surrounding areas. It apparently, at one time or another, crossed the Mississippi River into St. Louis on the Chain of Rocks Bridge, the McKinley Bridge, the MacArthur Bridge (at the time called the Municipal Bridge), the Martin Luther King Bridge, and the Poplar Street Bridge.
There are numerous Route 66 historic sites that can still be found in the St. Louis area, many of which are located along Chippewa and Watson Roads and heading west generally along Interstate 44. However, there was also at one time an “alignment” of Route 66 that followed Old Manchester Road (Route 100) out of St. Louis City, through Maplewood, and all the way out to Gray Summit *.
We followed this segment of Route 66 along old Manchester Road heading out through Wildwood, Grover, and Pond, zigzagging in broken segments along the newer stretch of Route 100 – and that’s where we found this special site!
Stovall's Dance Hall and Saloon was established and has been operating at this location since 1860. This establishment was added to Wildwood's historic registry in 2009. Through the years, the set of buildings at this site served as a tavern, dance hall, general store and post office. The site also functioned as a stagecoach/wagon train stop between 1845 and 1904. Known also as "The Rockhorse Saloon," it proclaims itself the "Home of Country Music since 1935."
Special thanks to Steve and Dennis, Owners, for permission to place this cache at this historic site along Route 66 / Route 100 / old Manchester Road.
Additional information about Historic Route 66 in Missouri can be found on numerous websites. Just search for "Route 66 Missouri".
* Reference: “The oldest Route 66 website: Where the Mother Road meets the Internet”
http://www.historic66.com/missouri/det-mo1.html
Congratulations to -WARLOCK-
for being First to Find
