Afton Station Packard Museum, a privately owned automotive museum on

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

Afton, Oklahoma Afton is a town in northeast Oklahoma in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 734 at the time of the 2020 United States census. History Afton developed in this part of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory after the ...

, was situated in a restored 1930s Eagle D-X

filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

. It housed a showroom, 18 Packards & other vintage automobiles plus a collection of Route 66 memorabilia, including items from the now-demolished Buffalo Ranch Trading Post. A restored set of historic D-X fuel pumps stood in the old station's forecourt and the red and white on blue " Approved Packard Service" dealership logo was proudly displayed atop a signpost. As a Route 66 information stop for travelers, who came from as far afield as Europe, Australia, and Asia, the station/welcome center distributed maps, guidebooks and memorabilia as well as word-of-mouth information about The Mother Road.

History

Afton, established 1886 and named for

River Afton The River Afton (or Afton Water) is a small river in Ayrshire, Scotland, which flows north from Alwhat Hill in the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills, through Afton Reservoir and then for eight miles down Glen Afton before joining the River Nith at ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

by a railroad surveyor, was once home to a railroad repair facility, turntable and roundhouse. The locomotive repair facility closed in the 1930s, soon after the 1926 designation of

in the area. The Eagle D-X station opened in 1933 and has sold various brands of fuel under different owners over the years. In its 1940s heyday, it was one of three stations in a four-block section of US 66. A 1981 photo shows the station as a tin-roof structure with three modern D-X fuel pumps in the forecourt. The town depended on Route 66 as its economic lifeblood until the construction of

Interstate 44 in Oklahoma Interstate 44 (I-44) is an Interstate Highway that runs diagonally through the U.S. state of Oklahoma, spanning from the Texas state line near Wichita Falls, Texas, to the Missouri border near Joplin, Missouri. It connects three of Oklaho ...

in 1957 sent the community into decline. Various motels and cafés closed their doors forever; the Buffalo Ranch Trading Post closed upon its owner Aleene Albro's demise in 1997 and was demolished in 2002. Laurel and David Kane purchased the former D-X station in 1999 to be restored and used to house an existing Packard memorabilia collection. The once-vibrant town, long bypassed by the

Interstate highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

system, had been reduced to 800 people and a handful of local stores. Afton Station was recognised as the "Route 66 Business of the Year" at the 2009 International Route 66 Festival in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...

. Following the deaths of Laurel Kane in 2016, and that of David Kane in 2018, Afton Station's collection of Packards and other memorabilia were sold. According to the station's website, the property is expected to be sold in a public auction scheduled for June 29, 2019.

References

External links

official website
{{Authority control Gas stations on U.S. Route 66 Museums in Ottawa County, Oklahoma U.S. Route 66 in Oklahoma Automobile museums in Oklahoma 1999 establishments in Oklahoma Packard Museums established in 1999

History

See also

References

External links