Monument dedicated at Sidewalk Highway site near Afton

A new Will Rogers Highway monument was dedicated Saturday afternoon at the site of the historic Sidewalk Highway of Route 66 near Afton, Okla.

Laurel Kane of Afton Station reported this on her Ramblings of a Route 66 Business Owner blog:

The weather cooperated (except for a strong wind that didn’t really bother anyone except those, like me, who were wearing skirts). The crowd was bigger than even I anticipated, about 70 for the monument dedication, maybe 40-45 who came back to Afton Station for the reception, then while many were still there, the group of 24 from the Eastern OK Mercedes Benz Club arrived in their neat old cars. It was party, party, party all day! […]

We had Route 66 folks from Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri attend. Quite a few local citizens came too, including the Mayor of Afton. Brad Nickson, our OK Route 66 Association’s Eastern VP, gave a great speech telling a bit of the history of the Ribbon Road and the monument program and thanking all the appropriate people.

There were also 11 other “drop in” travelers who came for a visit. They were from Wichita KS, Modesto CA, Riverton KS, Yukon OK, and Nottingham England.

Here’s a shot of the crowd during the ceremony:

In case you can’t read the marker, here’s the text:

In 1922 a new nine-foot-wide roadway was completed between Miami and Afton, OK. Because no standards existed and so few roads were paved, it’s width was not unusual for the era. It consisted of a concrete base and edges with a surfaces of rock asphalt. In 1926 the “Sidewalk Highway”, as it would be known, was adopted by US 66.

Rt. 66 was paved piecemeal from 1926-1937. Since the Miami-to-Afton section was paved, it became the last segment upgraded to the standards established in 1930. It was also realigned and included a new bridge on the Neosho River.

On Sept. 13, 1937, the opening of the bridge completed the last segment of Rt. 66 paving in Oklahoma. The “Sidewalk Highway” thus became one of the early stretches of the Mother Road paving to be bypassed and today is the only Rt. 66 roadway of its type in existence.

“Columbus discovered the New World. But the old Tin Lizzy has made us discover America.” — Will Rogers.

Erected 2010 by the Oklahoma Rt. 66 Assn.

An explanation about the marker’s dedication date: The monument had been finished for some time, but getting the permits to install it took longer than anticipated.

Afton Station also hosted a reception after the event.

In case you want to see the monument for yourself, its approximate location is here.

(Photos courtesy of Laurel Kane)