ROUTE 66 TRAVEL GUIDE TO MILLER MISSOURI
Big Mike, your Route 66 travel guide, here! Route 66 travelers, let’s talk about Miller Missouri, and a hidden gem just down the road from Springfield that’s a must-see for any Route 66 enthusiast: Spencer Station. I’m comin’ at you from Route 66 Road Relics in Seligman, Arizona, to tell you about this genuine piece of Mother Road history.
SPENCER STATION IN MILLER MISSOURI
Now, Spencer Station has been around since the early days of Route 66. They built the general store back in 1926, then they added a garage in ’27, and a cafe and barber shop in ’28. It is one of the most complete examples of what early Route 66 had to offer, and it was all built because of the Mother Road. In 1925, this fella named Sidney Casey walked 55 miles to buy the whole town of Spencer for just 500 bucks! The station sits about 24 miles west of Springfield and 50 miles east of Joplin, and only 1.6 miles west of Gary’s Sinclair Station in Paris Springs. And get this – it’s right on an original, untouched, unpaved section of Route 66 concrete. How cool is that? I-44 bypassed Spencer in 1961.
Back in June of 2022, Ed Klein from Route 66 World bought the property. He’s got big plans to fix it up and let folks visit, but probably just on weekends to start. The general store’s gonna look like it did back in the ’30s, but with a gift shop, too. The barber shop is gonna be a museum with stuff from way back when, and the diner’s gonna be fixed up like it was in the ’30s and ’40s.
They’re usually only open on weekends, but you might be able to book a weekday visit if you’ve got a big group. Anything you buy from their online store helps with the restoration, so that’s a good thing. If you’re thinkin’ about a photo shoot, a car show, or just gettin’ a bunch of folks together, give ’em a call. Lots of folks stop at Spencer Station these days, especially to snap a pic of those classic Phillips 66 gas pumps.
So, listen up, if you’re headin’ down Route 66 near Springfield, Missouri, make sure Spencer Station is on your list. It’s a real trip back in time, and you can feel the history in the air. This is what Route 66 is all about!
Catch ya later, and keep on cruisin’!
Route 66 Attractions in Miller, Missouri
- Spencer Station A Route 66 Gift Shop located between Springfield and Joplin Missouri on Historic Route 66. 19720 Lawrence 2062, Miller, MO, United States, Missouri 65707
