Oklahoma Route 66 Museum

The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton tells the story of the Mother Road with a strong focus on the people who traveled it and the decades through which it evolved. Exhibits move chronologically from the highway's creation in 1926 through Dust Bowl migration, wartime travel, postwar tourism and the decline that followed interstate construction. Period vehicles, signs, motel imagery, music and recreated roadside environments help visitors understand how the experience of Route 66 changed over time. The museum is particularly effective at placing Oklahoma within the national story, since a large portion of the highway crossed the state and Oklahoma promoters played major roles in its development. The Dust Bowl and migration era receives important attention because Route 66 was not always a road of carefree vacations. For many families it was a route west during economic crisis. Located in western Oklahoma, the museum fits naturally into a Route 66 drive through Weatherford, Elk City and smaller communities. It provides historical context that makes the surviving roadside architecture outside the museum much more meaningful.