The Boots Court Foundation received the Golden Hammer award from Carthage (Mo.) Historic Preservation for its work in preserving the Route 66 motel.
The organization also honored the Phelps Country House — the first time it gave out two awards in one year.
Steve Wagner, co-chairman of the preservation group, talked to the Joplin Globe about the Boots Court:
“The Boots Court is so high-profile, it’s right there, just about anyone coming into Carthage is going to see it,” Wagner said. “We just really wanted to reward them for taking that property to another level. It’s a no-brainer that they were going to be one of our choices either this year or in a near future year. The Phelps Country House is outside the city limits, and we talked a little bit about how far out of town we wanted to go in choosing award winners. The connection between the Phelps House … and the Phelps country estate, it’s so great that we felt that we wanted to recognize it.”
The story picks up from when sisters Deborah Harvey and Pricilla Bledsaw bought the Boots in 2011 and began initial restoration work:
In 2021, the sisters sold the property to the nonprofit Boots Court Foundation, which also purchased the adjacent homes and former Sinclair gas station on the corner of Garrison Avenue and Olive Street. The homes were removed and the gas station was restored to become the Boots Court Visitors Center and offices for the motel.
The visitors center opened in 2023 and work continues to improve the space between the motel and the visitors center. Also planned are a number of RV utility hookups behind the visitors center.
Artists Alexandra Burnside and Cheryl Church are working on a mural on the billboard immediately south of the visitors center.
The Phelps Country House was built in 1903 by Col. William Phelps on what now is County Road 100.
The Boots Court was built in 1939 by Arthur Boots. One of its rooms was where movie star Clark Gable overnighted during cross-country trips from his native Ohio.
(Image of the Boots Court in Carthage, Missouri, by Jeff Kays via Flickr)