Skip to main content

Route 66 Wednesdays; Jack Rabbit Trading Post

By
The famous Jack Rabbit Trading Post and billboard - Adam Prince, April 2010.

HERE IT IS!!!

On the western outskirts of Joseph City in Navajo County on the north bank of the Little Colorado River is an old US Route 66 stop known as the Jack Rabbit Trading Post.  Finding the Jack Rabbit Trading Post is obvious - given there is a giant billboard denoting the site.

If you have never stopped at Jack Rabbit, what "it is" is a large statue of a jack rabbit out front of Jack Rabbit Trade Post.

The Jack Rabbit statue - Tom Fearer, 2011

In operation since 1949, the Jack Rabbit Trading Post is the creation of Jim Taylor.  Taylor had a small statue of a black rabbit that tourists enjoyed taking photos of.  With a catch yellow and black billboard and a 'tourist attraction', Taylor set up shop in a former AT & SF Railroad Building. 

Jack Rabbit Trading Post - Tom Fearer, 2011.

The Jack Rabbit statue on site today is a fiberglass construction and has been replaced numerous times. Inside the trading post are numerous Route 66 collectibles and memorabilia. 

The Jack Rabbit Trading Post is located south of I-40/US 180 at Exit 239.  

US 66 Through Joseph City:

Old US 66 approaching Joseph City - Adam Prince, April 2010.

Regarding the routing of US 66 in Joseph City, it continued east over Manilla Wash and originally cut over the travel lanes of I-40/US 180 onto Main Street.  East of downtown, Main Street and US 66 crossed back over the travel lanes of I-40/US 180 and ran on the southern frontage road, which is sometimes called "Old Highway 66."  Joseph City was bypassed by I-40 in the late-1970s.

Interestingly Joseph City wasn't settled as a rail siding of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad.  Joseph City was settled by a Mormon party in 1876.  Joseph City was one of four settlements that the Mormons founded. The others were; Sunset, Brigham City, and Obed.  Joseph City is the only remaining settlement out of the four.  Brigham City and Sunset were located north of present-day Winslow. Obed was located approximately three miles south of Joseph City.


Site Navigation:

How To Get There:


Update Log:
  • Originally published - August 18, 2018
  • Updated text and photos from Adam Prince - January 8, 2023.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former California State Route 180 in Centerville

By
Centerville is one of the oldest communities in what is now Fresno County having been founded as Scottsburg in 1854.  The Centerville community has historically been tied to the history of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road and the Squaw Valley Road.  The Squaw Valley Road would later be known as Dunlap Road and became a component of California State Route 180 in August 1934.  By the 1940s the corridor was renamed Kings Canyon Road in reference to Kings Canyon National Park.  For the majority of the life of California State Route 180 in Centerville, it has not strayed far from Kings Canyon Road.  This changed in 2020 when California State Route 180 was relocated onto the Kings Canyon Expressway.  This blog serves as an overview of the history of California State Route 180 and general evolution of highways in Centerville.  California State Route 180 can be seen passing through Centerville and Minkler below on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Fresno Count...
Post a Comment
Read more

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
1 comment
Read more