Route 66 - Part 1
Day 4 Pontiac, IL to McLean, IL
Not long after the riders got back on Old Route 66 after leaving the Super 8 Pontiac, they entered the town of Chenoa, and this is the first road sign I saw... interesting
Day 4 Pontiac, IL to McLean, IL
9/25/2012
52 miles / 689 elevation
Chenoa
Not long after the riders got back on Old Route 66 after leaving the Super 8 Pontiac, they entered the town of Chenoa, and this is the first road sign I saw... interesting
Matthew
T. Scott Home - 227 N. First Street –
It is a historic house that was the home of Matthew T. and his wife Julia Green Scott, Julia being one
of the founders of the Daughters of the American Revolution.I t was built in two parts; the first section of the house was built in 1855 in a form known informally as a Kentucky Cat Slide and it is the caretakers living quarters. The second section, the front section was built in 1863 in the form know as Georgian. The house features three period rooms, a Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) room, and a Chenoa room. The house is significant as an example of a home from this time period. The house was often visited by Adlai Ewing Stevenson I and his cousin James Stevenson Ewing, U.S. minister to Belgium. Adlai Stevenson and Letitia Green were married here and had their first child, Lewis Green Stevenson in this house in 1868. The house was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 1983.
Lexington
This town offers a wider view of the life and times of Route 66 in
Illinois. Watch for the red neon LEXINGTON sign erected to pull travelers in
from the four-lane bypass. One section of that bypass has now been closed and
rededicated as Memory Lane, a
walking trail. You can walk right out on a one-mile stretch of the old
pavement, where you will find period billboards, Burma Shave signs, etc.
Patton Cabin – A log structure, parts of which date from
1829. Originally located about a mile and a half to the southeast, the cabin
was reassembled in the Lexington Pool Park in 1969.
Towanda – “Dead Man’s Curve” where Jackson Street bends sharply onto
Quincy. The town has made good use of a portion of the abandoned westbound
lanes of a former 4-lane 66, creating a Walking
Tour along the defunct roadway. Titled Historic
Rte 66 “A Geographic Journey,” the trail is complete with displays honoring
all eight states and “Burma Shave” signs. The tour begins at Jefferson Street
and ends at Boyd Wesley Park.
Bloomington/Normal
Beer Nuts - 103 N. Robinson Street [800-BEER-NUT]
Well-known American snack-food brand with its headquarters in the Route66town
of Bloomington. There is a gift shop on premises and visitors can view a video
of the manufacturing process.
Adlai Stevenson I
Hometown of politician Adlai Stevenson - (901 N. McLean)
TV's
M*A*S*H
Colonel Henry Blake played by actor McLean
Stevenson (11/14/1927 - 2/15/1996) grew up here.
American author, artist, philospher and publisher Elbert Green Hubbard (6/19/1857 - 5/7/1915) perished on the RMS Lusitania was from the area
Pawnee Bill, aka Gordon W. Lillie who
produced Wild West Shows in the first decade of the 1900s, similar to the shows
Buffalo Bill became famous for was born here.
Bloomington is also the birthplace of the Republican Party, which was organized
at a convention in 1856. It is also called GOP (Grand Old Party)
Bloomington is the Corporate home of insurance company
State Farm.
Bloomington is the birthplace of the
Midwest-based burger chain Steak and
Shake started in 1934.
Lucca Grill - 116 E. Market Street [309-828-7521] Serving
pizza and pasta dishes since the 1930s.
Nestle Candy Factory – 101 S. Lumber – formerly Beich Candy
McLean County Museum of
History - 200 N. Main – Old
1093 Courthouse
David Davis Mansion
State Historic Site - 1000 E. Monroe
Street – 1872-era Victorian masterpiece.The David Davis Mansion, completed in 1872, combines Italianate and Second Empire architectural features and is a model of mid-Victorian style and taste. Known as Clover Lawn, it was the home of David Davis, the friend, mentor and campaign manager for Abraham Lincoln. As President, Lincoln appointed Davis as United States Supreme Court Justice in 1862.
Prairie Aviation
Museum - 2929 E. Empire Street – Exhibit includes a meticulously restored
DC-3 and a collection of Ozark Airlines memorabilia.
Shirley
Funk
Prairie Home - 10875 Prairie Home
Lane – The home was originally built in 1863. Located on the same 27-acre
property, the Funk Gem Rock &
Mineral Museum is a collection of gemstones, fossils and petrified wood
accumulated by Lafayette Funk II.
Funks Grove
Fair warning before you miss it!
Sirup - [309-874-3360]
Idiosyncratic spelling of "syrup" used by the Funk family of Illinois
to describe their maple product which they have been making since 1891. You can
still visit their store and grove of maples near the village of Funks Grove,
IL.
McLean
Dixie Truckers
Home - it is almost as old as Route 66 itself. In 1928 J.P. Walters and John Geske rented a quarter of a mechanic's garage on Route 66 to sell sandwiches to truckers and passing motorists. The fledgling restaurant has a counter and 6 stools when it began. By the mid 1930s things had changed. For many years a tiny hallway in this truck stop served as the
Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame, with several display cases of photos,
souvenirs, and other keepsakes. The Hall of Fame was moved to Pontiac, IL, upon
the opening of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum in an old
firehouse in 2004. The Dixie is still reputed to be the oldest continuously
operating truck stop on Route 66.
The day ended at the Super 8 McLean, IL
The day ended at the Super 8 McLean, IL
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