Day Two on Route 66 — All things Lincoln

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman
MotorwayAmerica

(June 25, 2016) — Back in the 1950s and '60s a great many people may have planned their Route 66 vacation to include a stop in Springfield, Ill., to visit President's Lincoln's house and the train station from where he left for Washington to begin his first term in 1861. So we took a day out of our hectic schedule down the old road through Illinois to look at all things Lincoln.


The difference between the '50s and '60s when hundreds of thousands of people came through the city on Route 66 is that today there is an outstanding Lincoln Museum and a Lincoln Library that were added in 2005.

The museum contains life-size dioramas of Lincoln's boyhood home, areas of the White House, the presidential box at Ford's Theatre, and the settings of key events in Lincoln's life, as well as pictures, artifacts and other memorabilia. A very unique feature and one not to be missed is the campaign of 1860 that includes modern-style television updates on the campaign's progress from the late Meet the Press anchor Tim Russert.

The buildings which now house the library and museum are in three separate structures. Each structure encompasses one city block.

On Saturday we will be back on the road covering 179 miles around St. Louis and on down to Cuba where we have reservations at the Wagon Wheel Motel, a stone tourist court now more than 80 years old. The motel brochure says the ozark stone buildings with the original wood doors, windows, and floors from the 1930's have been updated for modern comfort.

The famous Wagon Wheel neon sign still flashes a welcome to visitors from all over the world. Only facing the east, the unique neon was designed and built by John Mathis in 1947.

Source: Wikipedia

The Route 66 crew, on the left, Ted and Trudye Biederman, and on the right, Luci and Jim Meachen, with the Lincoln family