Skip to main content

Provine Service Station

Image
By
One of the more notable attractions along historic US Route 66 are the service stations that dotted the landscape along the length of the route. It may be due to the allure of the old road, or the classic roadside architecture, nostalgia for days gone by, or even the cast of characters who worked at the old service stations. Just east of Weatherford, Oklahoma in the small town of Hydro is the Provine Service Station, more famously known as Lucille's Service Station.


The Provine Service Station was built by Carl Ditmore in 1929 in a rural area about a 1/2 mile south of Hydro along historic US Route 66. Rural service stations like the Provine Service Station began springing up across the country in the late 1920s in response to increasing automobile travel. The building style of these rural stations was convenient for the traveler to get gasoline, pay the attendant, and go on their merry way.  Like other rural mom-and-pop owned and operated service stations of the time, this one was built with the living quarters on the second story, while operating the station downstairs. The Provine Service Station was built in the Bungalow Craftsman style with an open service bay supported by tapered piers and vintage gas pumps.

The service station was renamed Provine Station in 1934 when it was bought by W.O. and Ida Waldrop. At the time, a small motor court was also built next to the service station. In 1941, the Hamons family took over the operation of the station and Lucille Hamons ran the business for 60 years. Lucille, who quickly became known for her generosity and friendly assistance to motorists, earned the nickname "Mother of the Mother Road."

In 1971, the completion of Interstate 40 cut the service station off from direct access to the new highway, but Lucille kept the station running until the day she passed away on August 18, 2000. She had a beer cooler installed, which served the residents of nearby Weatherford, which was a dry town, along with the students of Southwest Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. While the service station is no longer in operation, the outside of the service station has been restored. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, the service station continues to attract passers-by, tourists, and Historic US Route 66 enthusiasts from around the world. There is also a Route 66 themed restaurant in Weatherford called Lucille's Roadhouse in ode to the Mother of the Mother Road.




Site Navigation:
Labels:
Location: Rte 66, Hydro, OK 73048, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

By
Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...
Post a Comment
Read more