Historic U.S. Route 66 Byway in Missouri

Route 66 across Missouri stretched 317 miles and connected a variety of large cities and small towns, traversing rolling hills and valleys.

The Mother Road followed much of the Kickapoo, or Osage, Trail, an Indian trail that later became the Old Wire Road.

Like other Route 66 segments, the actual alignment varied over the years as engineering improvements were constructed.

We've driven much of Route 66, including multiple segments across Missouri, and visits to Joplin.

Route 66 Mural Park

Shown here is the mural in downtown Joplin, Missouri at Pearl Brothers Hardware Store. This is only one of many murals painted throughout the downtown area. 

The Route 66 Mural Park in Joplin features two nostalgic murals and an oversized 45-record imprint of "Get Your Kicks on Route 66". The upper mural is called "Cruisin’ into Joplin", and showing a vintage Buick arriving in Joplin on Route 66 from the west.

The lower mural is called "The American Ribbon", tracing the route of the Mother Road from Chicago to Los Angeles. Jutting out in three dimensions from the mural is a mock 1964 red Chevrolet Corvette. This is a favorite stop for Rouge 66 travelers in Missouri for photo-ops! The mural is located at 619 S. Main Street in Joplin.

Grand Falls

Known as the largest continuously flowing natural waterfall in Missouri, Grand Falls is a must-stop-photo-op for visitors. Located on Shoal Creek, just a few minutes downstream from Wildcat Park, “The Falls” plunges 12 feet down a 163-foot-wide ledge of solid chert before crashing into jagged crags and then flowing peacefully to the south.

The falls are located at 5400 South Riverside Drive Joplin, MO 64804

I-44 East Welcome Center

This official Missouri Welcome Center is located at Interstate I-44 East, Mile Marker 2. Visitors will find tourism brochures, maps and highway information, and a very knowledgeable staff. They will answer tourism related questions, provide driving directions to attractions, and offer suggestions on what to see and do in Joplin and throughout Missouri.

Picnic facilities, a playground, vending machines and pet walking areas are available. And don't miss a photo-op at the "license plate wall"!

"Butterfly Effect: Dreams Take Flight" Mural

Shortly after an EF5 tornado demolished many structures in Joplin in 2011, a sign of hope appeared on one building that had withstood the storm. More than 300 community volunteers came together to help award-winning muralist Dave Lowenstein paint an image of beauty amid the brokenness, a message of optimism for the city’s future.

A quote from Joplin native Langston Hughes is included in the mural: “In time of silver rain the butterflies lift silken wings to catch a rainbow sky and trees put forth new leaves to sing in joy beneath the sky.”

The mural is located at the northwest corner of 15th and Main Streets. Read about the many other Joplin murals at the Visit Joplin Website.

Downtown Joplin Scenes

The JOMO Mural ... Welcome to Downtown Joplin, Missouri

The Praying Hands Memorial

The Memorial was sculpted over a period of several years by local artist J.E. "Jack" Dawson, and dedicated in April of 1974. Its size is impressive: 220,000 pounds of steel and concrete, 32 feet high, sitting on top of a 40-foot-high man-made hill. Carved in stone in front of the statue are six simple words: “Hands in prayer. World in peace.”

Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center

Located at the confluence of Silver and Shoal Creeks, the center, operated by the State of Missouri, showcases plants and animals found on the chert glades and surrounding aquatic and woodland savanna habitats.

Read more about Wildlife Glades

Scenes Just East of Joplin ... In Carthage

One of the first concrete-paved portions of Missouri’s highway system was the stretch of road west of Carthage to Joplin, laid in 1920. In 1926, this route became part of Route 66.

Along the route today travelers find Kellogg Lake, Powers Museum, Carthage Municipal Park, Stone’s Throw Dinner Theatre, 66 Drive-In Theatre (below) and the 1939 Boots Court (right).

More Information & Resources about Joplin

City of Joplin

Visit Joplin - Official Tourism Website

Downtown Joplin

The Murals of Joplin

Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce

Weather Conditions at Joplin: Weather Underground

Route 66 Association of Missouri

We have included below a sampling of our collection of vintage travel postcards dealing with Joplin and Route 66.

What was Route 66 like in its earlier years, as visitors drove around Joplin? What did all the service stations, motels and public buildings look like when they were new?

What did the traveling public experience on the Mother Road? We wonder such things when we travel Route 66 today.

Those earlier times in the 1930s, 40s and 50s were not always captured on film. But the use of colorful postcards was common in those decades.

These portray the historic road in its prime and help us to visualize, and appreciate, "earlier times" as we drive Route 66 today in Joplin.