Marshfield opens Route 66 Plaza with historic gas station

Nearly 30 miles of Route 66 run through Webster County and one of the highest elevation points of the Mother Road east of the Rocky Mountains is in Marshfield, earning a “Top of the Ozarks” designation.

That route-related moniker is spelled out in red letters on a new Missouri Route 66 Centennial signature shield sign located at 360 W. Hubble Drive.

“The interactive Route 66 sign, there’s only 12 of those across the state and we were fortunate enough to get that one,” said Lyndall Fraker, a former lawmaker who lives in Webster County and is part of the Missouri Route 66 Centennial Commission. “It’s one where you can take your picture and look through the 66 and it will be where you can walk right up to it.”

Members of the Webster County Route 66 Initiative and volunteers toiling behind-the-scenes to pull off a slew of local celebrations in 2026 hope area residents and travelers will stop by the new Route 66 Plaza.

The sign is part of a new roadside attraction – envisioned as a photo op – installed on a hill overlooking the Hubble Road and Banning Street roundabout, just feet from the preserved and partially restored Niangua Filling Station.

The wooden, cottage-style gas station opened nearly a century ago on a rural stretch of the famed roadway, partway between Marshfield and Niangua. Picturesque with a pitched roof, the diminutive structure was erected next to a bridge constructed by M.E. Gillioz, who also built the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield.

Later repurposed as a home, it sat empty until it was relocated to the plaza.

“It was built around the same time as the highway, which was 1926. This little gas station was a 14-foot by 20-foot building down here by the Niangua River, east of Marshfield,” Fraker said. “It was built by the Phillips 66 Corp., as many were along the highway in the Midwest in those days and this one has withstood all these years. It was really in fairly good condition for its age.”

Organizers have added or refreshed Route 66 signage and plan to highlight road shields, related murals, and popular stops for anyone passing through as part of the centennial celebration. A portion of the original road has been preserved and signs have been stamped into the roadway.

The city, less than 30 miles from Springfield, has a packed calendar. It is home to the upcoming Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival and Marshfield’s 147th Independence Day Parade, which will also mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The City Route 66 portion jogs along Pine and Washington streets, and around the Marshfield town square, with its replica of the Hubble Telescope.

Linda Dickinson, director of the Webster County Historical Society and Museum, in a former Carnegie library off the square, hopes travelers will be interested in displays commemorating local stops along Route 66.

“It runs from one end of Webster County to the other … in an old town called Sampson, just outside of Conway, and it runs almost to Strafford, which at that time the town was called Holman,” she said.

She said local historians gathered descriptions – and, whenever possible, photos – of the spots. “There’s not many left,” Dickinson said.

Few of the motels, cabins and motor courts that lined the stretch of Route 66 inside the county are still standing. For example, the Abbylee Court built in 1940 originally had eight cabins and a restaurant.

“It was right there at the Niangua junction and it’s not a motor court anymore but people do still live in some of the little buildings there,” Dickinson said. “It’s still standing.”

She said volunteers have combed newspaper archives and other resources to find as many details as possible.

Along the route, there was a drive-in, gas stations, a golf course, and an airport.

“We’ve got a lot of the pictures of the original buildings,” she said. “We have a book that we’re putting together that we’ll be getting to the tourist information centers out on the interstate but that won’t be until July.”

The Hidden Waters Nature Park, near the new Route 66 Plaza, was formed in 2003 but its springs, small creek, native plants and trees are just off the route. Organizers hope to move the 1924 Pony Truss Bridge to that location.

Chris Davis, president of the Friends of Hidden Waters Nature Park, said Webster County wants to give Route 66 travelers a reason to stop and visit restaurants, shops and other attractions.

She said groups worked together and obtained a state grant to preserve and move the filling station to the plaza, which is a work in progress. Concrete was being poured this week, marked with a Route 66 stamp, and original Phillips 66 gas pumps have been refurbished and will be installed.

“We have the lights that will go on each side and then a sign in the center along with a little bell. Gas stations used to have that little bell,” she said.

Davis, chair of the 2026 celebrations committee, said work is ongoing to create and install a series of “old-fashioned billboards with information about Webster County, about Marshfield, and Route 66” plus interactive maps of the former motor courts.

She said city and county offices and local businesses have been hyped for Route 66 visitors and others who will flock to Marshfield for the Cherry Blossom Festival and the historic Fourth of July parade and annual reunion.

“We’re encouraging everyone to dress up their windows,” she said.