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

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