The Edmond (Okla.) Sun has a story about the history of a long-defunct Conoco gas station on Route 66 between Luther and Arcadia, Okla.
The station dates to 1926 — the very beginnings of Route 66. It also has a less-than-sedate past:
Unsolved mystery looms there where the body of a murdered man was found during the ’40s. Also, law enforcement broke up a counterfeit money ring a few years later. Counterfeit money was passed through a small window with curtains to a hidden room attached to the back of the building.
The station closed. Now, petunias grace the front window.
According to Route 66er Guy Randall:
There was no electricity here at that time and gas was dispensed from 55 gallon drums laid on their side on a wooden cradle. You could buy a cold soda only when the ice man had been by, and all lights were kerosene. […] The story goes that it closed when the owner was arrested for counterfeiting $10 bills in the “secret” back room.
(Photo courtesy of Guy Randall, the Road Wanderer.)