Eye Spy, Week Eight - Route 66 in Lincoln

[September 23, 2020]    Today will be the final day of the Lincoln Daily News Eye Spy game as we announce the solution for week eight’s game.

If you guessed that we were going for “Route 66 in Lincoln” as the theme for the final week you were right. We would have also accepted variations of the answer such as “Tourist attractions in Lincoln” or “Roadside attractions in Lincoln.”

This week the theme may have been a little harder than even we intended for it to be as Martha Simmons was the only reader who ventured a guess.

We asked readers to share their memories of some of the five places we visited this week and Martha was happy to oblige.

Martha wrote. “I have visited the Postville Court house once and was very amazed at how well cared for it was. I am also glad that the Railsplitter Festival can carry on there as well,

“I do remember a few times eating at the Tropics, how everyone would say that their fried chicken was the best.

“I am too young to remember much about the Mill, other than I do remember my dad referring to the Mill was one of the places to be on Friday nights back in the day.

“I have stopped by the covered wagon for photo shot on a couple of scavenger hunts before.”

As we wrap up the eight weeks, we want to thank all of those who played along and followed along. Based on our Facebook posts, we know that a number of readers checked out the clues each day, and perhaps they were too bashful to venture their guesses, or too busy to go grab a selfie. Nonetheless, we know you payed attention and hope that you learned something about our wonderful county.

When we set the clues for week eight we figured that the Postville Courthouse could throw readers a curve ball, as not everyone realizes that the courthouse is a Route 66 Attraction. The courthouse has the signage at the southeast corner designating it as such. It has also been one of the sites in Lincoln that has been entered into the Route 66 Hall of Fame by the Illinois Route 66 Association, along with the Mill, Railsplitter Wagon, and the Tropics.

The welcome garden downtown is the newest of the attractions and was the cooperative effort of Lincoln citizen Leslie Hoefle with the city of Lincoln and the Logan County Tourism Bureau. The garden project is on city owned property under long term lease to the LCTB. The layout of the garden was the brainchild of Hoefle and the objects found in the garden were paid for by the contributions of downtown businesses and other supporters. The garden was designed specifically to be cute and quirky, traits of many of the roadside stops along Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles.

The Railsplitter wagon is the world’s largest covered wagon and a very popular stop for tourists traveling through Logan County.

Both the wagon and the Postville Courthouse boast a unique position for Lincoln and Logan County, as we are among the only communities where the history of Abraham Lincoln intersects with the history of Route 66.

The Tropics was a very popular stop for travelers of the Mother Road. When the popular restaurant closed, it was a heartbreak for many people, and even more so, when the building had to be taken down. The signage was preserved through the efforts of a special committee and the financial support of a lot of our local residents.

It was returned to a location very close to the original spot and now it lights up the night in Lincoln, serving as a wonderful reminder for those of us who enjoyed lunches and dinners at the popular eatery.

The Mill was a great place to spend time in its hay day. Over the last several years, the Mill has undergone several transformations in order to make it a Route 66 museum in Lincoln. Thanks to the efforts of Geoff Ladd and the Route 66 Heritage Foundation, the building was brought back to life after being nearly lost to demolition. After years of work, it was opened as a museum. In early 2020, the foundation dissolved and the Mill became the property of the LCTB.

With the coronavirus the Mill was not opened to the public this year, but the LCTB is looking forward to next year, and sharing some improvements they have made to keep the Mill fresh and interesting for visitors and to preserve the structure for future generations.

In 2026, Route 66 will celebrate 100 years. With the golden anniversary of the Mother Road, it is expected that tourism interest will be at an all-time high that year. Millions of people are expected to travel the road and celebrate the anniversary with communities along the way.

In Lincoln, there is a Route 66 Anniversary Committee that is working toward doing some special things leading up to and during 2026. On a national level, motions are being made in Washington to have the road designated as a National Trail. Route 66 is also being recognized in our state.

Route 66 travels through Logan County via Atlanta, Lincoln, Broadwell, and Elkhart. In each of these communities there are Route 66 stops. In addition to the five you saw this week, there are several others in Lincoln. Lincoln hosts the burial spot of Coonhound Johnny, the ghost bridge and a stretch of original brick road, along with other attractions.

If you haven’t taken the Route 66 tour through the county, fall is a great time for a family drive and we encourage you to do so.

[Nila Smith]