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Discover Mid-America — November 2007

Halltown famed for
Route 66 antiques

When George Hall got his little settlement in southwest Missouri named for him in 1876, it wasn’t that much of a town. But the spirit of community development had gripped the small Greene County village. By 1879 it had a post office and several businesses, in addition to Hall’s store that later became a drug emporium. A telephone company with 200 subscribers was established in 1907, and in 1912 the Bank of Halltown was organized.

Matilda Winfrey, in her book Our Town, Halltown As I Knew It, stated: “In 1925 our town boasts three churches, three general stores, one drug store, one bank, one feed mill, one telephone exchange, one canning factory, one blacksmith shop, two garages, one lumber yard, two barber shops, nine filling stations, three private homes in which one can procure rooms and comfortable beds at reasonable prices, two cafes, and Harvey’s Chili Hut.”

However, the real sparkplug for Halltown came in the next couple of years with the construction of Route 66, often called the “Mother Road.”

The important cross-country route connected Chicago and the West Coast. Although only 800 miles of the route was paved when it opened, it was now possible for Americans to load up their cars and “hit the road,” creating a generation of “road trippers” with more to come. Route 66 ran directly through Halltown, bringing a parade of visitors that continues to this day.

Route 66 was built a generation before interstates, when many towns like Halltown would be relegated to a name on an interstate signboard with a brief notice of services offered at the next exit. But until then, when summer came families loaded into sputtering Model T Fords, Chevy’s, Dodges and other makes — all without air conditioning. As they passed through the small towns along Route 66, they welcomed the slightest excuse to refill the gas tank and enjoy a nickel Coke or blue plate special at the local café.

With the two-lane Route 66 passing directly through town, Halltown’s city fathers had an inspiration. Their town was already a nice place to buy antiques. They decided to capitalize on their already growing reputation and proclaim Halltown the “Antique Capitol of the World.”

The influx of tourism helped Halltown weather the Depression years, which began in earnest after the Stock Market Crash of November 1929. In 1933, unemployed men from all over the U.S. were put to work paving the route. By 1938, Route 66 was fully paved, the economy was recovering, and both the highway and Halltown were in their prime.

World War II created a new set of transport needs and “America’s Road” carried a heavy load, including troops and military supplies. Bobby Troup, a member of the Glen Miller Band and the U.S. Marine Corps, knew the route well. He penned a song, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” which was recorded by Nat “King” Cole in 1946. The route was now part of the pop culture. As soon as the war ended and Americans could buy gas again, they hit the road with a vengeance. Until it was overshadowed by the new interstate system in the 1950s, Route 66 was busier than ever.

During its prime, Halltown boasted 20-odd business places, most of which have now closed, the buildings fallen into disrepair and ruin. One of the oldest businesses, Whitehall Mercantile, has survived, although the building it occupies is dilapidated.

Featuring a false front and brick substructure, Whitehall Mercantile began life in 1900 as a grocery store and for many years served as Halltown’s primary source of antiques — bearing the heavy responsibility of maintaining the town’s lofty reputation as the Antique Capitol of the World.

Today Whitehall Mercantile still soldiers on, one of the town’s handful of false-front buildings. It’s piled full of antiques, including many items from local homesteads. There are curios, photographs and mementoes of the glory days of Route 66.

For 23 years, Thelma White ran Whitehall Mercantile, serving as the local Route 66 historian and one-woman chamber of commerce for Halltown. Health problems have forced Thelma to turn over most of the general store’s day-to-day operations to her husband Jerry, who continues the tradition as Halltown’s unofficial Route 66 ambassador.

On one August afternoon, with the temperature in the 90s, customers that warm day included tourists from Oslo, Norway — the first Norwegians that month, according to the registry. And there were other Scandinavians — Swedes and Danes — on the registry as well, along with French and German visitors.

After the Norwegians left, Jerry talked about Halltown on the front porch of the crumbling building, where there was a slight breeze.

“The building is owned by the mayor,” Jerry said. “We put our money into the antique business, not into the building. My great uncle ran the store in 1910.”

Jerry said he lived in the same farmhouse he was born in 74 years ago. He remembered when Halltown was booming.

“It was never bigger than now, 189 people or so,” he said. “Big landowners on each side kept it from expanding. But when I was a kid there were seven antique stores, each selling a different specialty.”

Jerry remembered a Mr. Combs, who built the stone building east of town that is a well-photographed ruin today.

“He built it as a general store,” Jerry said. “Sold buggies that he hauled in and out with a hoist above the front door. The building had collapsed by the time I came along, and he built another store in Halltown. Mama told us kids not to play in the old ruin, it was too dangerous. But of course we did.”

For some reason, much of the customers at Whitehall Mercantile are Europeans, especially French. “Used to be Germans mostly,” Jerry said. “Lately it’s been the French. A double-page ad about this area was run in a Paris newspaper, and they’ve been coming ever since.”

Jerry’s family members have lived in the Ozarks for generations. “My grandpa’s brother homesteaded in Ozark County. We’d go down there when I was a little bitty kid,” he said.

Jerry said he and his wife have traveled all over the country getting antiques for their store. But he said the best-selling items are the ones that promote Route 66.

Halltown is one of several historic sites that make up a “ghost trail” of abandoned and ruined buildings on old Route 66 west of Springfield. Between Halltown and Carthage are ghost towns, including Paris Springs Junction and Spencer. Abandoned stores, memorialize its passing. They also reward the many Route 66 enthusiasts that visit the area, searching for remnants of “America’s Road.”

Several websites offer insights. Visit www.theroadwanderer.net, www.historic66.com, www.legendsofamerica.com and others.

Ken Weyand can be reached at kweyand1@kc.rr.com

> Traveling with Ken Archive — past columns