Oklahoma
100 Years of the Mother Road: Wellston’s Route 66 revival
As we highlight the centennial of Route 66, News On 6 is taking a look at how one Oklahoma town fought for the Mother Road, suing when developers wanted to bypass it. Today, that court decision is still having an impact, as the community is seeing a resurgence 100 years in the making.
The midpoint of Route 66 in Oklahoma
Of the 400 miles of Route 66 in Oklahoma, one town sits right in the middle.
“We’re the midpoint of Route 66 in Oklahoma, which is kind of a cool thing to hang our hat on,” Route 66 Commission Chairman Thomas Tillison Jr. said.
The town of Wellston is halfway to Texas, halfway to Missouri and at one point in time was a key point along the Mother Road.
“We have photos of businesses down here — Main Street is packed. Every spot is full. Over time, it became less and less,” Andrew Steffenson said.
Like so many other small towns along Route 66, time ticked on, interstates moved in and people moved away. Wellston, though, faced an additional challenge: in the 1930s, developers almost took this town essentially off the map.
“As far as locally here, that’s a point of frustration for our small town, because it kind of crushed our small town,” Tillison said.
Tillison has lived here since 1980 and, like others here, is well versed on the town’s complicated history and strong resilience.
“We were a thriving community”
The year was 1932. Route 66 was six years old. Wellston was hotter than ever.
“We were a thriving community,” Tillison said. “We had multiple cotton gins, mercantile stores, car dealerships, pharmacies; our downtown was thriving.”
But federal highway planners wanted to straighten Route 66 in spots by creating a shorter, more direct path west. In Wellston, that meant a new alignment south of town, which became known as the “gap.”
“When they bypassed us, we look at more of a bypass than a gap,” Tillison said.
Knowing what it would do to traffic and the local economy, locals quickly fought back. By 1933, residents filed several lawsuits, which eventually made it all the way to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
The Court sided with the town, meaning the highway department was ordered to pave and maintain the loop through Wellston. But despite the victory, the gap was paved as well.
“It just has slowly deteriorated since we were bypassed because we weren’t the main thoroughfare anymore,” Tillison said.
By 1939, the number of cars on the gap exceeded the number on the loop.
Restoring Wellston’s History
Today, the town of Wellston is still a very unique spot along Route 66. There is Route 66, but a loop called 66B takes you into the town of Wellston.
Along 66B, Steffenson runs one of the few businesses on the loop and has old pictures in his office.
“It’s nice to see how Wellston was and how it could be,” Steffenson said.
He and many others in town are working to restore its history. New murals and landmarks are popping up, with plans for more this year. But perhaps the biggest draw to Wellston in recent years has to do with the smell of barbecue.
The Butcher BBQ Stand is a Wellston restaurant only open for lunch on weekends, but one that is gaining some fame outside of Oklahoma.
“Cutting meat and barbecuing on the weekends literally has been my whole life forever,” owner Levi Bouska said.
Bouska opened it in 2015 after growing up barbecuing with his dad and grandparents.
“When I first opened, it was just a 40-foot Conex, and everyone stood outside and waited in line,” Bouska said.
Word soon spread, and then people followed. And not just Oklahomans. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a line forms out front, long before the doors even open, with many of them taking Route 66 to visit Wellston specifically.
It’s something that’s been years in the making, and something people here hope is a sign of things to come.
Construction has officially begun on Oklahoma City’s new MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium.
Oklahoma City Leaders broke ground Monday afternoon on the site. The stadium, designed by Populous, will serve as the future home of Oklahoma City’s professional soccer teams and a United Football League franchise.
Officials said the venue will also host concerts, youth sports, graduations, and other community events.
“Today’s stadium groundbreaking reflects a city that is relentlessly investing in itself,” Mayor David Holt said. “We are perhaps the only top 50 city to lack a multipurpose stadium, and it’s kept us from opportunities in soccer and music, as well as in minor league football, collegiate and high school sports. In 2019, we decided to address that need. And even before we broke ground, we were already seeing new opportunities present themselves. We are also seeing this project become a catalyst for the parcel around it, which promises to develop into a vibrant new mixed-use district in the heart of our city. This MAPS 4 project continues our city’s incredibly successful philosophy. When we invest in our city, we always reap rewards.”
The project is expected to become a major hub for sports and entertainment in downtown Oklahoma City.
City leaders break ground on MAPS 4 multipurpose stadium in downtown Oklahoma City (Photo: City of OKC)
“This stadium will serve as far more than a sports and entertainment venue; it will be a community hub and a catalyst for a bold new cultural district in downtown Oklahoma City,” said Christian Kanady, founder and CEO of Echo Investment Capital. “As the future home of our professional soccer club, it will also host concerts, events, and gatherings that bring people together and deliver on our promise to create meaningful experiences for our fans, partners, and community. This project reflects Oklahoma City’s continued investment and its future, and we’re proud to partner with the City of Oklahoma City on such a transformational vision.”
The stadium will be operated by Echo and their professional sports platform, and built in partnership with Russell Westbrook, Nick Gross, the Chickasa Nation, Poulous, Fields and Futures, and Robison Park.
“The MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium is an investment in the future of Oklahoma City and the talent pipeline for our youth,” Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jamie C. Polk said. “This world-class venue will bring our community together while giving students a place to compete, perform, celebrate graduation, and dream bigger about their future right here at home.”
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Oklahoma isn’t done yet.
The Sooners’ bats kept them in the Atlanta Regional with an emphatic showing in the Atlanta Regional on Sunday.
Deiten LaChance’s grand slam highlighted OU’s eight-run fourth inning, which turned Sunday’s contest against No. 2-overall seed Georgia Tech on its head.
Prior to the fourth, it looked as if it was going to be the Yellow Jackets’ night.
The hosts plated five runs in the third inning to take a 7-2 lead, and a call went against OU in the bottom of the third.
How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Georgia Tech in the Atlanta Regonal Final
- When: Monday, June 1
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Channel: ESPNU
Trey Gambill had snaked a single through the Georgia Tech infield to plate a run and cut the lead down with two outs, but just before the pitch was thrown, the third base umpire raised his arm to indicate there had been a pitch clock violation.
Lucky to have just gotten out of the situation with a ball, Yellow Jacket pitcher Jackson Blakely struck Gambill out, which understandably did not go over well in Oklahoma’s dugout.
The setback only galvanized Skip Johnson’s Sooners, however.
OU responded by sending 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth, and the Sooners took a 10-8 lead.
It was an advantage they never relented.
Oklahoma added an insurance run in the seventh and four more in the eighth to ensure that the Sooners would head back to the team hotel with a decisive Game 7 of the Atlanta Regional on the mind.
Johnson will have a big choice to make in who starts the do-or-die contest on Monday afternoon (2 p.m., ESPNU).
In OU’s first game against The Citadel on Sunday, Johnson rolled with freshman Nick Wesloski.
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He pitched seven innings to get the Sooners into Sunday night’s contest against Georgia Tech. Oklahoma’s big offensive showing against the Bulldogs meant that Johnson could make any choice necessary in relief, so he threw Reid Hensley and Jaden Barfield for an inning each to seal the win.
Against the Yellow Jackets, OU started Cameron Johnson. He faced just three batters, allowing two runs on two hits, before Oklahoma turned to Jackson Cleveland.
Cleveland tossed three innings in relief. OU also used two innings of Gavyn Jones and LJ Mercurius picked up a save by pitching four innings on Sunday night.
The winner between Monday’s battle will meet 15-seed Kansas in next weekend’s Super Regionals. Georgia Tech would host the Jayhawks with a win, whereas the Sooners would head to Lawrence next weekend if they are able to oust the top seed left in the NCAA Tournament.
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Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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