The State Historical Society of Missouri is collecting items and stories about Route 66 so it can launch an exhibit during the highway’s centennial in 2026.
According to NPR in Kansas City, researchers hope to “fill in historical gaps” by recording the experiences — especially those of women, immigrants and Black Americans — who traveled or lived near the highway, said Sean Rost, assistant director of research at the historical society.
“People across different areas, rural and urban, were meeting and interacting. You had generations of people who lived and worked or traveled along Route 66, and it really just became this big icon … the tourist attraction was simply being on the road,” said Katie Seal, coordinator of the Rolla and Springfield Research Centers for the historical society.
To submit Route 66 stories, email the State Historical Society of Missouri at contact@shsmo.org.
Historical society researchers are building an archive and an exhibit that will open to the public in 2026.
(Image of a Route 66 Historic Byway sign in Missouri by Tony Hisgett via Flickr)