National and State Registers of Historic Places

Kansas Route 66 Historic District - North Baxter Springs

Picture of property North Willow Ave. / SE 50th Street
Baxter Springs (Cherokee County)
Listed in National Register 2015-04-14

Architect: Koss Construction Co. (builder)
Category: transportation
Thematic Nomination: Historic Resources of Route 66 in Kansas

This segment of Route 66 north of Baxter Springs, totaling 3.2 miles, are the extant remains of Route 66 between Riverton and Baxter Springs. The entire length of the historic Route 66 in Kansas totaled only 13.2 miles, entering Cherokee County near Galena and exiting south of Baxter Springs. Cherokee County opened bids for the construction of this portion of the road on March 12, 1923. This was part of a larger Federal Highway Project between Joplin, Missouri and Baxter Springs. The Federal Highway Commission designated Route 66 as part of a new national highway network on November 11, 1926. This section of road remained an integral part of Kansas Route 66 until a bypass was completed in the early 1960s. As a result, the road has largely served local traffic and tourists traveling the old route. The Kansas Department of Transportation designated this road a Kansas Historic Byway in 2011. It was nominated as part of the Historic Resources of Route 66 in Kansas multiple property nomination in the area of transportation. On January 11, 2017, the segment of the route from the Brush Creek Bridge to US-69 (along SE Beasley Road) was listed as a boundary expansion of the district.

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