One of the more common sites along the western half of 66 was the red and yellow Whiting Brother's logo. Whether it was fuel, service, food, or lodging - you could find them from California to Texas. The family-owned chain started when the four sons of a lumberman opened a gas station in St. John's, Arizona in 1917. The brothers incorporated the company in 1926 - the same year the US Highway system and 66 were created - and moved their headquarters north to Holbrook, where Route 66 would soon run through. Whiting Brothers would rise and fall with US 66. At its peak, there were nearly 40 Whiting Brothers Stations along 66 from Lenwood, CA to Shamrock, Texas . Over time, the company built truck stops and motels. Many of the Whiting Brothers Motels were built next to an existing gas or service station. When much of Interstate 40 replaced US 66 in the 1970s, many Whiting Brothers stations began to close. Whiting Brothers were known to have "Most of the Best for Leas
Andrew Jackson shot and killed a man here once. In 1806, at a spot a few miles west of town on the banks of the Red River, Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson settled a lengthy and heated dispute over a canceled horserace and comments made about Jackson's wife. It takes a bit of research to find the spot where Jackson killed Dickinson, but the general area is the north shore of the Red River along Barren Plains Road. The general area where the Jackson-Dickinson Duel occurred. Off of Barren Plains Road - Adairville, KY. Though both men were residents of Tennessee, the Volunteer State had outlawed duels by 1806. Kentucky had not. The two men agreed on the site, date, and logistics of the duel. Twenty-four paces apart and Dickinson - a renowned marksman - shooting first. Indeed, Dickinson shot first - hitting Jackson in the chest but stopping before his heart. Jackson, though wounded, remained standing and fired a shot into Dickinson's abdomen. Dickinson would die one da