The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership recently announced “a new, more accurate” history of Route 66 has been published by Oxford University Press’ Research Encyclopedia on American History.
The work was a collaboration between members of Route 66 Road Ahead’s Research and Education working group, Dr. David Dunaway and Dr. Stephen Mandrogoc of the University of New Mexico.
“Their analyses will not match other histories of Route 66, for their intent was to move beyond stereotypes to tell the
stories of groups often left out of the road’s history,” a news release from the partnership stated.
According to Dunaway, “The world has long needed an accurate history of Route 66. Many books tell the story but
not always with accuracy.”
The work spans the changing eras of America’s mother road, including the origins and early use of Route 66. The
role of the historic freeway during the Depression and the Postwar Era leads to the popularity of the roadway as a
family vacation destinate in the middle of the 20th century. The article further documents the decommissioning of
the legendary highway and its recent revival.
Classic photos and links to other works punctuate the story of the changing eras on this historic trail.
In a follow-up email, Dunaway said the history is 11,600 words, or equivalent to about 40 pages.
Looking over the history, among the angles this new Route 66 history delves into is the adverse effects the highway had on Native Americans, African Americans and other minorities due to discrimination or dislocation
(An image of cars on Route 66 during the 1920s via the National Park Service)