Book review: “John T. Woodruff”

Cyrus Avery of Tulsa is known worldwide as the “Father of Route 66.” Springfield, Missouri, is known as the “Birthplace of Route 66.”

John Woodruff never earned a tagline with his name. But a new book leaves little doubt he played a crucial role in developing Route 66 and Springfield.

Thomas A. Peters’ book is titled “John T. Woodruff” (Pie Supper Press, 336 pages, soft cover, photos, $18 list) with the subtitles “of Springfield, Missouri, in the Ozarks” and “An Encyclopedic Biography.” As indicated, the book isn’t a pure narrative of Woodruff’s remarkable life, but an exhaustive collection of facts, anecdotes, quotes and other data that will prove valuable to future historians.

Peters, dean of library services at Missouri State University in Springfield, explains why he chose the encyclopedic format and why he decided Woodruff was worthy of a book:

“I did not want to throw away, hid or gloss over anything I had found out about this remarkable individual. Documenting the depth and breadth of his efforts and achievements mattered more to me than producing a smooth and narrative flow. […]

“In the history of Route 66 and Springfield, Missouri, the efforts and accomplishments of John T. Woodruff are underappreciated — forgotten or only vaguely known by many people both in Springfield and beyond. Woodruff deserves to be remembered and appreciated.”

Woodruff remains mostly known as being among a group of highway advocates (including Avery) and engineers near the Colonial Hotel in Springfield when they sent a telegram on April 30, 1926, to Washington accepting the number 66 assigned to a federal highway from Chicago to Los Angeles — hence the reason Springfield boasts the “birthplace” tag. Lesser known is the fact Woodruff also became the first president of the U.S. 66 Highway Association.

But Woodruff also helped develop an impressive number of schools, hospitals, roads, businesses, hotels, resorts, dams and golf courses in southwest Missouri, mostly Springfield. He even founded a town — Camdenton, Missouri — after the county seat of Linn Creek became inundated by the newly created Lake of the Ozarks.

The “John T. Woodruff” book’s encyclopedic approach leaves no stone unturned about his history and musings, including family members, developments, faith, politics, art and his attitudes toward minorities and women. It even contains a chapter of the two dozen homes where Woodruff resided during his adult life.

More tidbits from the book:

— Woodruff was born in 1868 in rural Franklin County, southwest of St. Louis, and considered himself a son of the Ozarks. In addition to Springfield, he had family roots in the future Route 66 towns of Cuba, Bourbon, Stanton, Sullivan and St. Louis.

— Woodruff’s son, David, actually is better known in Springfield lore. He served as a juvenile officer for 32 years and was remarkably successful in lowering recidivism with young offenders.

— Although Woodruff worked his way up to corporate attorney for the Frisco railroad in St. Louis, he remained unfocused and uninspired until he relocated to Springfield at age 36 in 1904. Moving to southwest Missouri seemed to ignite his civic drive, and that lasted until shortly before his death at age 81 in 1949.

— Woodruff’s foresight showed during a 1916 speech in Union, Missouri, where he predicted a hard-surface road between St. Louis and Springfield as part of a highway between Boston and Los Angeles (he only got the eastern terminus wrong). He also predicted in 1922 the coming of four-lane highways. And, unlike Avery, Woodruff became a proponent of rail and air travel as well.

— Being a prominent part of the Good Roads Movement probably led to a few headaches. In addition to the well-known Ozark Trails Association and AASHTO, Woodruff dealt with myriad highway groups such as the Inter-Ozark Highway Association, Ozark Playgrounds Association, White River Trails Association, Capital Highways Association and Associated Highways of America.

— The relatively lengthy “Numbered Highways and the Birth of Route 66” chapter is one where Peters went with a more narrative format. It argues convincingly the approximate time and place where Woodruff, Avery and other highway officials in Springfield ended a months-long stalemate with the governor of Kentucky and accepted No. 66 for its Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway instead of No. 60.

Peters also tries to answer the question: Why is Avery better known in Route 66 annals than Woodruff? There likely are at least two reasons.

A big one: Woodruff carried a quieter personality. Newspaper accounts and biographers describe Avery as a spellbinding speaker with a flair for the dramatic. Avery also invited powerbrokers to his Tulsa-area farm for a few drinks and chat. Contemporaries described Woodruff as visionary and details-oriented, but with a more soft-spoken personality. And Woodruff wasn’t the type to chew the fat over a few fingers of whiskey.

Second, Woodruff wasn’t as motivated as Avery to land a Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway. Springfield already was slated for another east-west highway — the future U.S. 60. And Woodruff was more concerned about Springfield acquiring a big north-south highway, which became U.S. 65. Avery, on the other hand, knew a cross-country highway could be a make-or-break for the fledgling oil town of Tulsa and acted accordingly.

Peters’ book aims to raise Woodruff’s stature a few notches in Route 66 history and arguably succeeds. The rapidly growing Birthplace of Route 66 Festival in Springfield seems to be accomplishing this as well.

But the “John T. Woodruff” book also makes a persuasive case he was one of southwest Missouri’s most consequential figures of the first half of the 20th century. That alone may be enough to give him his due.

(The “John T. Woodruff” book is available at the History Museum on the Square, the PawPrints Bookstore in Plaster Student Union on the campus of Missouri State University, at the Rail Haven Motel in Springfield, or directly from the publisher. To order direct, send $18 in cash or a check made out to Thomas A. Peters to Pie Supper Press, 2338 S. Maryland, Springfield MO 65807.)