Shell Gas Station - Totem Pole Trading Post - Rolla, Missouri, USA
N 37° 56.550 W 091° 47.547
15S E 606104 N 4200122
Rolla, Missouri: Totem Pole Trading Post - The last mom and pop used merchandise store left along Historic Route 66. Established in 1933 the trading post & gas station, has moved a several times as the old Mother road was periodically re-aligned.
Waymark Code: WMN9RK
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/27/2015
Views: 5
The signs in front of the business, on the now defunct Gas pumps, claim its the oldest business along the Missouri section of Route 66. This is another bit of Americana that may be disappearing from Historic Route 66 after 80 or so years, as the present owner, wants to retire.
I was told that they stopped selling gas about 8 years ago.
"The Totem Pole Trading Post & former Shell Gas Station in Rolla, Mo. is marking its 80th year on Route 66, although the current longtime owner may not hold to it for much longer." Reported the Rolla Daily News.
From Route 66 News:
"We are the last original mom and pop store left on this historic road,” said owner Tim Jones who literally grew up in the family store.
Jones’s father, Ralph, bought the business in 1933. It contained a gas station and some tourist cabins. It was located at that time nine miles west on Arlington Hill. Its namesake came from a homemade totem pole which stood atop the main building. When Interstate 44 came to town in the late 1960s, the plan had the highway running right through the Totem Pole." Text source: (
visit link)
"Rolla, Missouri is bookended by a pair of old-time Route 66 trading posts. If you're traveling east to west, then you've already seen the Mule Trading Post on the east outskirts of town. Here on the west side of Rolla you'll find the Totem Pole Trading Post.
This trading post has moved a couple of times over the years in response to re-alignments of U.S. 66 and, later, I-44. The original totem pole that attracted highway travellers in the early days from its prominent position outside has been retained and now adorns the interior of the building." Text Source: (
visit link)
Roadside Attractions Website: (
visit link)