SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - You can’t argue the name and symbol of Route 66 is iconic and catchy!
“A lot of mischance,” is how John Sellars describes the naming of Route 66. Sellars is the Executive Director Emeritus at The History Museum on the Square in downtown Springfield.
You may not know that a telegram sent from Springfield, Missouri, in April of 1926, is what first proposed the now historic name. Sellars said originally the plan was for the 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, to be named Route 60.
“The highways that ended in zero were considered to be the most important,” shared Sellars.
Kentucky Governor William J. Fields said not so fast. Sellars said Governor Fields went to Washington, D.C., and pointed out that the Chicago to Santa Monica route didn’t go all