Rolla welcomes visitors from all over the world for Route 66’s 100th anniversary

ROLLA, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Rain didn’t stop Steve Harris from rolling through Rolla, Missouri, on his Route 66 road trip. The city sits about halfway between St. Louis and Springfield and is welcoming visitors from around the world for the historic highway’s centennial.

“When Route 66 came through, was built 100 years ago, it really connected all of our communities,” said Stevie, a local tourism representative. “So it was a major player in making Rolla what it is today.”

Local artists have embraced the celebration, creating a concrete wall featuring individual postcard-style artworks representing each of the eight states along Route 66. Nearby, another display depicts local landmarks and features part of a car emerging from the wall.

For a bite to eat, travelers can stop at the Maid-Rite diner, which has sat just off Route 66 since opening in 1955.

Another longtime landmark is the Mule Trading Post, known for its sign with a mule’s flapping neon ears. The business has sold souvenirs and antiques since 1957.

Bobby and Nicole Caldwell bought the property in 2024, renovated it to preserve its Route 66 heritage and reopened it as Ole Mule Axes N Fun. Visitors can find NASCAR and golf simulators, axe-throwing lanes, farm-to-table food and Route 66 souvenirs.

“We get a lot of people coming in from France and Switzerland,” Bobby Caldwell said. “So we’ve met a lot of people the last couple of years from all over.”

Beside the Mule stands another eye-catching attraction: a 28-foot-tall hillbilly figure, complete with a corncob pipe and mechanical whirling arms. It’s one more landmark drawing travelers to Rolla along the Mother Road.