The historic Threatt Filling Station near Luther, Oklahoma, is offering a unique opportunity to visit the Route 66 landmark before it opens to the public, plus learning preservation methods.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s HOPE Crew are sponsoring the event at the station at 21940 Oklahoma 66 (map here), which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 11.
“Meet the descendants, learn about the history, and try your hand at several preservation trade methods used during the rehabilitation efforts at the station,” the invitation states. “Refreshments will be provided. Please bring a sack lunch.”
The online RSVP is here.
The Threatt family wants to open the long-closed station as an interpretive center by summer.
Built by Allen Threatt in 1915, the gas station remains one of the few surviving Black-owned businesses along Route 66. The bungalow-style station made of rock from the Threatt farm’s quarry was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Strangely, the Threatt station never was listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book, despite it being Black-owned for many years.
The Threatt Filling Station operated until the early 1960s or ’70s, when it was converted into living quarters.
In recent years, the station has received grants from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, plus a fundraiser led by Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell. The Threatt station in 2021 was named one of America’s Most Endangered Places.
(Image of the Threatt Filling Station in 2014 by Melodbit via Wikimedia Commons)
