The Route 66 Marker is made of polished pink granite. The text explains the significance of the Mother Road, Ozark Trail, Will Rogers Highway, Route 66, or Main Street America, whatever you wish to call it. It also gives information on a nearby Roadside attraction known as the Arcadia Round Barn. The text ends with the History of the building of Route 66.
The Marker Text reads:
"Whether motorists called Route 66 the Ozark Trail, Will Rogers Highway, Main Street America, or the Mother Road, all remember Arcadia's Round Barn. The well-known landmark was built in 1898 by W.H. Odor.
The route was designated a national highway in 1926, improvements were made to the 1917 roadbed. The original road between Edmond and Arcadi was constructed by convict labour. The highway through Arcadia was paved in 1929.
Many Arcadia businesses catered to travellers needs with gas stations, cafes, lodging facilities and a grocery and general store."
Information on the nearby Arcadia Round Barn.
From the National Parks Web site:
"Sitting atop a low terrace overlooking the Deep Fork River, the Round Barn in Arcadia has been a center of community activity and curiosity for over a century. William Harrison “Big Bill” Odor arrived in Oklahoma County in 1892, and shortly after, in 1898, oxen cleared the ground for construction of his barn. He built a barn 60 feet in diameter and 43 feet high with a local red Permian rock foundation. Local burr oak timbers were soaked in water until soft and then banded into the mold to create the rafters. Mr. Odor apparently designed the barn himself, though no one knows how he chose the round design.
After its construction was completed in 1898, the barn housed hay, grain, and livestock, but almost from the start, it served as a community center. During the barn’s construction, three young workers, realizing what a fine place it would be for dances, persuaded Mr. Odor to let them pay the difference between planed rough flooring and hardwood, which was more suitable for dancing. From time to time for the next 25 years, barn dances drew crowds and musicians to Arcadia from a wide area. Mr. Odor compared the barn’s acoustics with those of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, and it became a popular rallying point while Arcadia flourished.
With the U.S. Highway 66 alignment through Arcadia in 1928, travelers along the Mother Road were only a stone’s throw from the architectural curiosity. The barn quickly became a Route 66 landmark." Text Source: (
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From Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia:
"The Arcadia Round Barn is a landmark and tourist attraction on historic U.S. Route 66 in Arcadia, Oklahoma, United States. It was built by local farmer William Harrison Odor in 1898 using native bur oak boards soaked while green and forced into the curves needed for the walls and roof rafters. A second level was incorporated for use as a community gathering place. The town of Arcadia developed and prospered with the arrival of the railroad and in the 1920s the newly commissioned Route 66 was aligned through the town, passing next to the Round Barn. Over time, the barn became the most photographed landmark on Route 66.
With the reduction of traffic along Route 66 following the arrival of the Interstate, Arcadia and the barn likewise declined. In 1988 the 60 foot diameter roof collapsed. A team of volunteers led by Luther Robison worked to rebuild the structure, and restoration work was completed in 1992. Today the old barn is a tourist attraction and visitors admire the architectural and engineering details of America's only truly round (as opposed to hexagonal or octagonal) barn." Text Source: (
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Address of Icon:
107 Highway 66, (East Edmund Road) Arcadia, Oklahoma, USA.