This cache is part of the Historic Route 66 Geocaching Project, a series created by the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and designated as an official Arizona Centennial Legacy Project by the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission.
www.az66geocaching.com
Remember the Bobby Troupe song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” and the line “Flagstaff, Arizona don’t forget Winona” well here it is.
Traveler services in Winona began in the 1920s when Billy Adams built a rock building on his homestead 16 miles east of Flagstaff at the edge of the existing main dirt road. This early Winona Trading Post had gas pumps and sold automobile supplies and some groceries to the few traveling motorists of the time. Once the road became Route 66 in 1926 and then paved in the 1930s traffic increased and Mr. Adams built a garage just west of the trading post building and hired a mechanic to perform vehicle repairs. It seems that the elevation climb of over 1000 feet for westbound drivers from Winslow to Winona was punishing on both the automobiles of the day and the travelers themselves, so business at the trading post was brisk. Some cabins and eventually a small motel were built on the property. But Route 66 was re-aligned and most of the old buildings were razed. A modern gas station now is just about all that is left of commercial Winona.
The road to the east is the original Old Trails Highway and Route 66 it turns to dirt about a mile east of here and is maintained for about 6 miles. At that point you can still see some of the old macadam, the first asphalt material used for paving Route 66.