Historic Route 66

Cruise along historic Route 66 as it winds its way through the heart of Joplin via Main Street downtown, then toward the Kansas state line on 7th Street. Our city is even featured in the lyrics of the iconic song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66", and we have a park dedicated to Joplin’s place in the history of this major highway.
Known as the Mother Road, Route 66 was constructed in the 1920s and was established in 1926, reaching from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. By the 1950s, it was heavily traveled by vacationers making their way out west. While larger interstate highways have since made the trip out west more efficient, each year thousands of tourists - many of them from around the globe - still choose to take a more nostalgic journey on Route 66.