On the Mother Road: McLean County’s Route 66 Centennial Series | Mayor Shane

As part of the Route 66 Centennial celebration, Chenoa offers travelers a glimpse into the heart of small-town life along America’s Mother Road. In this installment of our Route 66 Centennial series, Chenoa Mayor David Shane shares how the community is preserving its roadside heritage while welcoming new visitors and investment. Below, Mayor Shane reflects on Chenoa’s past, present, and the opportunities Route 66 continues to bring to his hometown.

I’m excited to draw Route 66 travelers to Chenoa to do business and visit, and equally happy to share Chenoa’s story. I grew up here — I’ve been here all my life, 66 years now. Here, everybody takes pride in saying that they’re on Route 66; it’s telling people the story of where they live and things going on here. Route 66 has always been there for me and my community.

Chenoa is full of quaint reminders of our Route 66 heritage — and the people here are excited to preserve these pieces of the past. Our downtown pharmacy had buses stopping there because of all the Route 66 memorabilia. It’s since been bought out by an insurance company, but the owner is trying to develop and keep that theme in front of the property. We’ve got another property that’s being revitalized — the owners of the former Kat-e-Korner, which was used as a doll and craft shop, are developing it as a brand-new Route 66 attraction.

Another development down the road is installing wayfinding signage to draw people in and direct them to restaurants and historic sites. In the summertime, thousands of vehicles a day come through Chenoa — 3,000 on Old Route 66 and 5,000 on Route 24. In the future, we hope the wayfinding signs show visitors where to go in Downtown Chenoa. We’re also reaching an all-new extension to the bike trail. With help from Patrick Dullard and Bill Wasson of Friends of the Constitution Trail, we hope to update the trail and have it extended closer to downtown. We’ve also planted about 125 trees this year alone along the trail.

In the meantime, Chenoa is full of sites and attractions inviting travelers to pull over and explore. We’ve got the historic Matthew T. Scott House. We have Silliman Lake, where people can fish, picnic, and camp. Leveraging the opportunities brought to us by Route 66 is an important part of sharing our city’s history and heritage; we’re excited to welcome travelers to our community and tell them our story.