The Mother Road Museum

The Mother Road Museum

Clinton, Oklahoma

Two Hours Between Gas Stations

When you’re traveling through the northeast stretch of Oklahoma, gas stations can be sparse. We learned that the hard way. After our “Moriarty miscalculation,” we adopted a new rule: stop every two hours. It serves two purposes — one, to switch drivers before the road’s hypnotic rhythm lulls you into a nap, and two, to avoid running out of gas somewhere between nothing and nowhere.

So we stop. Every two hours. If there’s an exit with a town. Wouldn’t accomplish much if there wasn’t.

Cruising the I-40

The rural interstate speed limit on I-40 near Clinton has recently been raised to 75 mph, but we’re not quite that brave. Sixty-five feels fast enough.
Yup — that’s us, the couple everyone’s honking at.

Our first stop after leaving Poteau was Okemah, a tidy little town with a Sonic Burger and a gas station. Everybody likes Sonic Burger. We fueled up, checked the oil, grabbed snacks, and headed west through the Sandstone Hills. It was Mary’s turn to drive, which meant it was my turn to nap — a system that works beautifully until the map starts to look like a dream.

Hunting for Lunch, Finding a Town

When I woke up, it was my job to find lunch. Two hours west of Okemah, the land turns dry and lonely, but eventually a name appeared on the map: Clinton. They had a Phillips 66, so that settled that.

Mary asked if Clinton had a Wikipedia page — she’s the researcher of the pair — and sure enough, it did. We learned the town straddles Custer and Washita Counties, named for Judge Clinton Irwin, and grew up around the railroads in the early 1900s. By the 1930s, it was already a key stop on Historic Route 66.

Median home price: about $112,500.
Chances of being a victim of violent crime: 1 in 270.
Chances of property crime: 1 in 88.
CrimeGrade ranks it a “D-” for property crime; AreaVibes says it’s 4.5% higher than the national average.
We decided this might be a quick stop.

A Building That Leans Into the Wind

Across the highway sat the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum — a low-slung building of steel and glass, hugging the wind. It has that clean, mid-century feel, with hints of Streamline Moderne and a trace of International Style clinging to the façade. Inside, it’s like stepping through a nostalgic looking glass.

A bright red 1964 Chevrolet Corvette gleams in the lobby, and a jukebox hums “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.” Two friendly docents hand us a map and point us toward the main exhibit. We step through the entrance, leaving the gift shop behind and entering the road’s long memory.

A Road Trip Through Time

The museum unfolds in four eras:

• 1920s–30s: Early travelers

• 1940s–50s: The heyday — diners, motels, neon signs, jukeboxes

• 1960s–70s: Decline and decommissioning

• Modern Era: Revival and remembrance

Each section mixes artifacts, re-creations, and glowing audio-visual displays — a road trip through time. The sound of engines, laughter, and wind surrounds you. You can almost feel the dust of the highway on your skin.

Memory and Motion

Walking through the exhibits, Mary and I felt that tug of nostalgia we’ve both carried — some of it lived, some of it inherited from our grandparents.
As a child, I traveled the Mother Road in a non-air-conditioned 1964 Ford Custom from Illinois to California. I don’t remember much beyond the heat and the sense of isolation. Over the last forty years, Mary and I have revisited fragments of that same road, piece by piece.

The museum deepened that memory. It reminded us that Route 66 wasn’t just pavement — it was promise. A way west. A chance. The ghosts of all those travelers — farmers, soldiers, families, wanderers — are captured here in black-and-white photographs and fading postcards.

Route 66, I realized, is more than asphalt. It’s a conversation between motion and memory — between where we’ve been and what we still hope to find.

Worth Every Mile (and Dollar)

General admission is $7.00, but seniors pay $5.00. Honestly, after the experience, it felt like we were cheating the museum — it’s worth far more.
A solid 10/10 stop.

When we stepped back outside, the Oklahoma wind was humming across the plains. The old alignment of Route 66 cut west, weathered but unbroken. A green sign read “Amarillo 176 miles.”
As we drove off, we watched the highway fade behind us and thought: some roads never really close — they just wait for someone willing to keep going.

If You Go

• Museum: Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, 2229 W. Gary Blvd., Clinton, OK

• Hours: Typically 9 AM–5 PM (closed Sundays and major holidays)

• Admission: $7 adults, $5 seniors, children under 6 free

• Parking: Ample and easy access for RVs and trailers

• Tip: Visit mid-morning to beat the bus tours — the jukebox sounds sweeter when it’s just you and the Corvette.