Ghost Towns of Route 66 (9 page)

AFTON AND NARCISSA

N
ARCISSA, A FORMER FARMING
community named after Narcissa Walker in 1902, was the proverbial wide spot in the road when Jack Rittenhouse rolled through in 1946. He notes, “Only one establishment on US 66: a gas station with a grocery and small garage.”

Even though Afton had a population of more 1,200, Rittenhouse does not have much more to say about this town than he does Narcissa: “Baker's Café, Northeast Garage, and Eagle Service Station garage; Acme Court.” Afton is another one of those places on Route 66 that do not fit the general ideal of what a ghost town should be unless viewed in the context of what once was there—or with a slow drive through town on Route 66. It teeters on the brink of revival and continued decline.

Bassett's Grocery, after serving the community for more than half a century, closed in 2009. The 1911 Palmer Hotel, its café, the old Pierce & Harvey Buggy Company, and the Avon Court and Rest Haven motels are now all empty.

Farming played an important role in the economy of Afton, but it was the railroad, and later Route 66, that gave it vitality. According to George Shirk, an Oklahoma historian, it was also the railroad that indirectly gave the town its name.

Shirk asserts the name was bestowed by Anton Aires, a Scottish railroad surveyor, as a monument to his daughter, Afton Aires. Moreover, the Afton River in Scotland was the inspiration for the naming of his daughter.

Growth in Afton was slow but steady. The post office opened in 1886, and by 1900, the population had surpassed six hundred. A decade later, the population had doubled; the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad had constructed a second line through town; and Afton was on the fast track to a very promising future. This trend continued through the teens. By that time, the town supported a large waterworks, a brick and tile plant, a creamery, several mills and grain elevators, two banks, two hotels, and a newspaper.

For a town heavily dependent on the railroad and agriculture, the post–World War I collapse of wheat, corn, and beef prices was devastating. Between 1920 and 1930, the population dropped by almost 20 percent.

Association with Route 66 did not ensure prosperity for a community, as evidenced by Narcissa, a town that in 1946 consisted of a combination gas station/grocery store/garage, a school, a grain elevator, and a few dozen homes.

In 1926, a ray of hope, signed with a shield and two sixes, shone on Afton. Service-related industries—from motels and gas stations to garages and attractions, such as the once legendary Buffalo Ranch—infused the economy with a vitality that lasted for decades. Adding to this new era of prosperity was the completion of the Pensacola Dam in 1940, which created the Lake O' Cherokees.

With the suspension of railroad repair in Afton in the late 1930s and the completion of Interstate 44, which left the town isolated on a forgotten stretch of highway, hard times returned to the town. Demolition of the roundhouse and turntable, closure of motels and cafés—all were symptomatic of a town in decline. But it was closure of the iconic Buffalo Ranch in 1997 that provided the clearest indication that Route 66 had been the lifeblood of this historic community.

Route 66 seems infused with a power to transform those who drive its broken asphalt and truncated alignments. In Afton, this transformation led Laurel and David Kane to purchase a defunct DX service station and give it new life as Afton Station, a time capsule that houses a vast collection of memorabilia and a collection of vintage Packards.

Afton Station epitomizes the new era of Route 66. As testimony to the passion and hard work of the Kanes, the business was recognized in 2009 as the Route 66 business of the year.

The empty cabins of the Avon Court Motel in Afton, Oklahoma, stand as silent monuments to the dream of John Foley, who established the facility in 1936.
Jim Hinckley

From Miami, drive south sixteen miles on U.S. Highway 69. For a one-of-a-kind Route 66 experience, inquire locally about the “Sidewalk Highway,” an original section of Route 66 that was only nine feet wide! Narcissa has the distinction of being the only community on this unique alignment.

The faded glory of the Rest Haven Motel on the east end of Afton is reflected in its weathered sign stripped of its colorful neon tubing.

An empty rocking chair and an equally empty street stand in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Afton a century ago.

WARWICK

T
HE WELL-WATERED LANDS
along Deep Fork River were what led David and Norah Hugh to homestead a farm, in 1891, on the site that would become Warwick. A collective of similar-minded farmers provided ample reason for the establishment of a post office in 1892.

In the early fall of 1896, the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad purchased a right of way from Hugh. A second right of way was deeded, in 1903, to the Fort Smith & Western Railway Company, and in the same year a town site was platted and lots sold.

Indicative of the nature of the people who settled here, a solid, modern stone building, built in 1909, replaced the little log schoolhouse that had also served as a church. Reflecting the town's agricultural underpinnings, the business district during rthis period consisted of a blacksmith shop, a veterinarian, a general merchandise store, a sawmill, and a saloon.

From the late teens through the 1930s, meeting the needs of motorists enabled the small town to diversify its economic base. It can be said with a degree of certainty that the year 1940 was the best of times and the worst of times in Warwick. A new schoolhouse reflecting the town's optimism was built, the railroads that gave rise to the community went bust, and the Burlington Northern Railroad picked up the pieces but discontinued passenger service. Postwar, nearby Wellston began siphoning an increasing share of Route 66–related business. By 1968, the Warwick school was consolidated with the Wellston school.

In December 1972, the post office closed, and little Warwick was on the fast track to becoming a ghost town. Surprisingly, a few remnants survived into the modern era and, with the resurgent interest in Route 66, are now treasured souvenirs.

Topping the list is the historic Seaba Station, a former machine shop built in 1924 that expanded into providing other services, such as gasoline and automotive repair, after the certification of Route 66 in 1926. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in the summer of 2010, refurbishment to house an antique motorcycle museum was completed.

Built in 1921, the Seaba Station in Warwick now appears on the National Register of Historic Places and is being refurbished as a motorcycle museum.

As evidenced by this stately old home, the historic Seaba Station is not the only hint that Warwick was once a prosperous community with a promising future.