Joseph City Arizona on Route 66

1876 Pioneer Museum

 

Joseph City, Arizona fits comfortably between exits 274 and 277 on Interstate 40.  Joseph City was founded in 1876 by LDS pioneers and it currently has almost 1,400 residents.

 Welcome sign: "Welcome to Joseph City", "A Pioneering People", "Since 1876".  This is the sign on the west side of town.

I'm not quite certain what this is or was, but I'm pretty sure it was a Harley dealership.  It looks like at one point it might have been a cafe or convenience store.  In the middle is a mural with Betty Boop bending over and various landmarks identified. There are a number of Betty Boops scattered across Arizona along Route 66.  The You Are Here says it is "Trader Joe's", though I suspect it was not an outpost of the well-known grocery chain.

1876 Pioneer Museum

They have a pretty large outdoor museum with lots of old farm implements. It is only open Saturdays and Holidays, so I couldn't go in, but you can see a lot from the road, so it is worth a stop regardless.

Pioneer Museum car
Under a carport is this 1925 Maxwell car. It only has two doors, but it looks like there were two rows of seats.  You can see various farm-related equipment in front of it.

Next stop: Geronimo Trading Post, Arizona; Prior stop:  Jack Rabbit, Arizona. You can see all my Route 66 posts here.   
 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Williams, Arizona on Route 66

Image
One of a couple of signs at the eastern end of Williams, this one celebrating the Route 66 centennial, which is this year. Williams is a decent sized town of 3,200 people and lots and lots of hotels. It also is where the Grand Canyon Railway starts, allowing you to take a day trip to the Grand Canyon. Of note, Williams was the last place on Route 66 that was bypassed by Interstate 40. ( Williams on Wikipedia ) Bearizona There's bears, its in Arizona, what more could you want. Oh, you want bear cubs climbing a tree? The sign has that too.  Just to the right of the sign are a couple of vestigial remnants of Rt-66, and, if you continue down past the Bearizona entrance the road becomes E. Mountain Man Trail, which was Rt 66 from 1926-1931. Grand Canyon Railway  A train on the Grand Canyon Railway departing for the Grand Canyon.  Most days there is a single train in the morning that returns in the late afternoon, but some days there is a second morning train.  This was ...
Read more

Hackberry, Arizona on Route 66

Image
  Hackberry General Store Hackberry, AZ is effectively just the general store and a few acres of land around it. It is very much worth a stop for a drink and to look around. I went there twice, once in the evening on my drive east, then again when I came back west. The store is a low building that has it's front wall covered in stickers. There is a good sized parking area there. The address is 11255 E. Hwy 66, Hackberry, AZ 86411.   It used to be a gas station and there are at least 7 gas pumps out front, however, they are not all the same kind so they are probably not all from there (or at least not all active at the same time). There are also a few picnic tables out front if you want to stay for a while If you are traveling Route 66 you should know about the Route 66 passport. some visitor centers will give it to you free, other places charge a nominal fee. It has photos of various places along Rt-66 with a few bullet points about them.  For many of them there is also s...
Read more

Bellemont, Arizona on Route 66

Image
  Richfield gas station, side view   Bellemont is really small, and, the interesting part (from a traveling Route 66 perspective) is even smaller. It is really just one or two places. Get off I-40 at exit 185 and go towards Camp Navajo. Once there, take a left.  You'll drive  less than two miles then you'll get to the main stop (for me, anyway).  Richfield Gas Station / Pine Breeze Inn is our stop.  It's the white building with a sign saying "Richfield" on the front.   Here's the side view. Note the ghost sight, above the gold bar it says "Pine Breeze Inn" (not that you can read it) and below the gold bar it says "All Credit Cards Accepted" (I'd suggest using one that expired in the 1960's).  There is a single gas pump remaining on the pump island under the overhang.   This old Ford It is rare to see a car in such bad shape. I wasn't sure it was even a Ford, but that is what it says on the step by the driver's door.  I suspe...
Read more