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The History Behind Route 66 in Kingman: How the Mother Road Helped Shape a Mohave County Community
By The Mohave Insider
KINGMAN, AZ — For many Kingman residents, Route 66 is simply part of the landscape. Its familiar shield appears on signs, businesses, murals and souvenirs throughout the city.
But the road running through Kingman represents much more than nostalgia.
Route 66 celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026, marking a century since the highway was officially established in November 1926. For Kingman, the Mother Road became an important transportation corridor that helped bring travelers, businesses, workers and economic activity through northwestern Arizona. (AP News)
Today, Kingman remains one of the communities most closely associated with Arizona's surviving Route 66 heritage.
Before Route 66, There Was Already a Road West
Kingman's transportation history began long before travelers saw the famous Route 66 shield.
When Route 66 was established in 1926, its original path through Kingman followed portions of the earlier National Old Trails Road, according to the National Park Service. (National Park Service)
Kingman itself had already developed as an important railroad community. Its location between the Cerbat and Hualapai mountains made the area a natural transportation point for travelers, mining operations and commerce.
But the arrival of a nationally designated highway created a new opportunity.
Americans were increasingly traveling by automobile, and Route 66 offered a continuous connection between the Midwest and the West Coast.
Route 66 Is Born
Route 66 was officially designated in 1926 as part of the nation's new numbered highway system.
The approximately 2,400-mile highway eventually connected Chicago with Southern California, passing through eight states along the way. (AP News)
Arizona became a major part of that journey.
Travelers coming through northern Arizona passed communities including Holbrook, Winslow, Flagstaff, Williams, Seligman and Kingman before continuing toward California.
For Kingman, its location near the western end of Arizona made the community an important stop before travelers crossed the desert toward the Colorado River and California.
The Road Helped Kingman Grow
The National Park Service notes that Route 66 helped boost Kingman's economy after its designation. (National Park Service)
More automobiles meant more travelers needing gasoline, food, lodging, repairs and supplies.
Businesses developed along the highway to serve them.
Gas stations, restaurants, motels and roadside businesses became part of the Route 66 experience across America. Kingman was no exception.
Route 66 wasn't simply carrying tourists.
It was carrying customers directly through town.
That relationship between highway traffic and local business helped turn the road into an important economic artery for communities throughout northern Arizona.
The Great Depression and the Road West
During the 1930s, Route 66 took on an entirely different meaning.
The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl devastated families across parts of the Great Plains. Thousands traveled west searching for jobs and a new beginning.
Route 66 became one of their primary routes.
John Steinbeck later famously referred to Route 66 as the “Mother Road” in The Grapes of Wrath, a name that would become permanently associated with the highway. (AP News)
Many of those westbound travelers passed directly through Arizona and Kingman on their journey toward California.
For some, Route 66 represented tourism and adventure.
For others, it represented survival.
Hoover Dam Brought Even More Activity
Kingman's location also became important during construction of nearby Hoover Dam from 1931 to 1936.
The National Park Service notes that federal activity surrounding the dam contributed to Kingman's economy during this period. (National Park Service)
One surviving piece of that history is particularly interesting.
Kingman's historic Powerhouse was originally constructed in phases between 1907 and 1911 and helped provide electricity to Kingman and surrounding mining operations. It later supplied power during the construction of Hoover Dam until cheaper hydroelectric power became available from the dam itself. (Explore Kingman)
Today, that same building serves another purpose closely tied to the city's history:
It houses the Arizona Route 66 Museum.
World War II and Route 66
Route 66 also became strategically important during World War II.
Across the West, the highway helped transport military personnel, equipment and workers as the United States expanded military and industrial operations. (AP News)
After the war, America entered a dramatically different era.
More families owned cars.
Americans had more opportunities to travel.
Vacation road trips became increasingly popular.
And Route 66 entered what many people now remember as its classic era.
The Golden Age of the American Road Trip
The 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s helped create the Route 66 imagery still recognized today:
Neon motel signs.
Roadside diners.
Gas stations.
Classic automobiles.
Trading posts and roadside attractions.
Families traveling west on vacation.
Route 66 became more than transportation. It became part of American popular culture through books, television, music and movies. (AP News)
Kingman found itself directly in the middle of that experience.
And west of Kingman was one of Arizona's most memorable stretches of the Mother Road.
Kingman to Oatman — One of Route 66's Classic Drives
The original Route 66 alignment southwest of Kingman traveled toward Cool Springs and Oatman before continuing toward Topock and the California border.
That historic route climbed through the Black Mountains on narrow, winding roadway very different from today's interstate highway travel.
A later alignment redirected Route 66 traffic south from Kingman toward Yucca and the Colorado River, following a path more similar to today's Interstate 40 corridor. (Route 66 Road Trip)
The older Kingman-to-Oatman route survived, however, and today remains one of the most recognizable historic drives in western Arizona.
Then Came the Interstate
Route 66's dominance couldn't last forever.
The development of America's Interstate Highway System created larger and faster highways designed to move vehicles around communities rather than directly through downtown business districts.
Interstate 40 eventually replaced Route 66 as northern Arizona's primary east-west transportation corridor.
The consequences were enormous for many Route 66 communities.
Businesses that once depended on a constant stream of highway travelers suddenly found themselves away from the main flow of traffic.
The final stretch of Route 66 to be bypassed by interstate highway in the United States was in Williams, Arizona, in 1984. The federal Route 66 designation was officially removed in 1985. (National Park Service)
For many highways, that would have been the end of the story.
Route 66 was different.
Arizona Helped Save the Mother Road
After Route 66 was bypassed, Arizona residents and business owners began fighting to preserve what remained.
A grassroots movement helped establish the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, encouraging preservation and renewed tourism along the old highway. (National Park Service)
Those efforts worked.
Arizona's Route 66 was designated an Arizona Scenic Byway in 1994, and in 2009 it received All-American Road recognition. (National Park Service)
Today, Arizona promotes approximately 385 miles of Historic Route 66, giving the state an extraordinary amount of surviving Mother Road history. (Visit Arizona)
Kingman sits near the heart of that experience.
The Powerhouse Keeps the Story Alive
One of Kingman's most visible Route 66 attractions today is the Arizona Route 66 Museum inside the historic Powerhouse.
The museum opened in September 2001 and contains vehicles, photographs, artifacts and exhibits documenting the development and history of Route 66. (Mohave Museum)
Visitors from around the world continue traveling to Kingman specifically because of the Mother Road.
What once brought travelers through Kingman as the fastest way west now brings many travelers who intentionally want to experience the slower road.
That is a remarkable reversal.
Route 66 Turns 100
In 2026, Route 66 reaches its centennial.
One hundred years after its designation, Americans no longer need Route 66 to cross the country.
Interstates can do it faster.
Airplanes can do it much faster.
GPS can calculate the quickest route within seconds.
Yet people still deliberately turn off Interstate 40 and onto the old highway.
They photograph the signs.
They visit the museums.
They drive through Kingman.
They stop in Oatman.
They follow the road through Peach Springs, Seligman and other Route 66 communities.
They aren't looking for the fastest route.
They're looking for the story.
More Than a Road Through Kingman
Route 66 carried Dust Bowl families searching for a new life.
It carried workers, military personnel and equipment during periods of enormous national change.
It brought tourists into Kingman businesses during the golden age of automobile travel.
And when the interstate threatened to make the highway disappear, Arizonans helped preserve it.
Today, the Route 66 signs running through Kingman aren't simply decorations designed for tourists.
They mark a road that helped shape the city's economy, identity and connection to the rest of America.
One hundred years later, the Mother Road is still running through Kingman — and its story is far from over.
Editor's Note: 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of U.S. Route 66. Historical information for this article was reviewed using records and materials from the National Park Service, Arizona Route 66 resources, Kingman tourism resources and the Mohave County Historical Society.
The Mohave Insider — Stay Informed. Stay Involved.
For generations, Route 66 has carried travelers through Kingman and helped shape the city’s identity, businesses and connection to the rest of the country. From the early days of the Mother Road to its role in tourism today, Kingman remains an important part of Arizona’s Route 66 story.
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