100 years of Route 66

Memorial Day has a funny way of flipping a national switch. One minute we’re scraping ice off windshields, the next we’re pricing coolers, arguing over playlists and fighting for the bag of Doritos in the backseat. Summer road-trip season is officially back.

And this year, America’s most legendary highway is getting ready for a milestone birthday.

Route 66, known as the “Mother Road” stretching from Chicago to Santa Monica, turns 100 in 2026. For nearly a century, the highway has served as America’s rolling scrapbook: a ribbon of neon signs, dusty motels, quirky attractions and enough pie counters to fuel a thousand family vacations.

But Route 66 was never just about sightseeing.

During the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, the highway became a symbol of hope for families heading west in search of work and a fresh start. Later, it evolved into the beating heart of the American road trip, where the journey mattered just as much as the destination. Every faded postcard motel and blinking “VACANCY” sign still carries a little bit of that mythology.

Even after the Interstate Highway System bypassed much of Route 66 and the road was officially decommissioned in 1985, Americans refused to let it disappear quietly. Preservation groups, local communities and road-trip diehards kept the spirit alive one restored vintage gas station at a time.

Now, as the centennial approaches, celebrations are already ramping up across the country with festivals, museum exhibits, restoration projects and nostalgia-fueled road rallies.

Route 66 represents something increasingly rare in modern America: staying power. Route 66 was built to connect America through craftsmanship, grit, and mobility — values that still matter to companies like Hamilton proudly manufacturing in the U.S. today.

Besides, after 100 years, the Mother Road is basically the heavy-duty caster of highways: built tough, made to last, and still rolling strong.