Route 66 could become part of Historic Trails

Clinton has stepped up to the plate, doing its part to further embellish the status of Route 66 as an historic part of the nation’s transportation system.
At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, a resolution was passed supporting the designation of Route 66 as a National Historic Trail. If granted, U.S. Highway 66 – which runs through the heart of Clinton – would become the country’s 20th National Historic Trail.
Others include such passages as the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Pony Express National Historic Trail, and the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. 
Melvena Heish, deputy state historic preservation officer for the Oklahoma Historical Society and a 2016 inductee into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame, requested the resolution be approved in an email to Pat Smith, director of the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. She in turn passed it along to the City Council which approved it unanimously before it was signed by Mayor David Berrong.
“The 19 current National Historic Trails follow as closely as possible and practicable the original trails or routes of travel of national historical significance,” states a release from the National Trails System. “They celebrate many aspects of our past, including early travels across the continent, the nation’s struggle for independence, the migrations of settlers to the West, and the movements and hardships of American Indians.
“The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers play key roles in administering and managing these trails, while the Federal Highway Administration has been an important source of funding for them.”
A brief biography of Ms. Heisch says she has championed Route 66 in Oklahoma for more than 40 years, “including a time early in the road’s renaissance when it seemed a lonely job indeed.”
She was inducted into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2016 at the museum here in Clinton.
Her biography says, “An item of note is Heisch was severely injured during the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995. But shortly after her release from the hospital, she used her knowledge to help repair or preserve dozens of historic buildings damaged by the explosion.”
Councilman Don Rodolph, who made a motion to approve the resolution, said his only question was that he “didn’t want to pass something that the federal government could come in later and say we couldn’t build something on” because of its historical significance. Others present did not think there would be any problem along those lines.
The resolution approved by the council reads as follows:
“WHEREAS, Route 66 was our nation’s first all-paved U.S. Highway System connecting the Midwest to California. In the 1930s, it was the ‘road to opportunity’ for hundreds of thousands of Americans escaping the devastation of the Dust Bowl, and provided thousands of jobs on road crews for workers who were unemployed during the Great Depression; and
“WHEREAS, Throughout World War II, critical troops, equipment and supplies were transported on Route 66 to military bases across the country. After the war ended, thousands of troops traveled Route 66 back home to their families and independence; and
“WHEREAS, Upon the replacement of Route 66 by the Interstate System, which led to its decommissioning in 1985, resulted in economic hardship for these local businesses that thrived on providing services to the Route 66 traveler; and
“WHEREAS, Route 66 has become an iconic symbol of America’s search for freedom, adventure, and prosperity which annually brings travelers from around the world who use it to discover America; and
“WHEREAS, a Special Resources Study completed by the National Park Service has determined that Route 66 meets all the criteria for federal designation as a National Historic Trail; and
“WHEREAS, the designation of Route 66 as a permanent National Historic Trail could have a significant economic impact in the eight states along the route and help spur preservation efforts; and
“WHEREAS, Route 66 would be the first National Historic Trail to celebrate motorized travel and America’s love affair with the automobile; and
“WHEREAS, Congress recognized the importance of the road by establishing the National Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program in the National Trails Office in 1999 to foster preservation, economic development and marketing through matching grants, which has leveraged more than $4 million in historic preservation investment; and
“WHEREAS, In addition to its historic significance, Route 66 has proven itself a major economic force for the communities it passes through. Designation as a National Historic Trail will help to increase the economic impact of Route 66 in hundreds of communities.
“NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by Clinton City Council that the City of Clinton, Oklahoma, fully endorses and supports the designation of Route 66 as a National Historic Trail.
“PASSED AND APPROVED this 19th day of June, 2018.”