East of the Cahokia Mounds and Collinsville, the first really interesting stretch of old Route 66 begins at
I-55 exit 41, and runs along the east side of the freeway for over a dozen miles. First stop is the hamlet of Mount Olive (pop. 2,126), which in the early 20th century was a bustling coal-mining center. It’s now a sleepy little community where the only signs of its mining past are in the Union Miners Cemetery, along old Route 66 at the northwest edge of town. Near the entrance is a granite shaft rising from an elaborate pedestal, which serves as a memorial to Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, the celebrated union activist who died here while helping with a miners’ strike in 1930. Famous for her passionate oratory, like the phrase “Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living,” her grave is nearby, marked by a simple headstone.
For old-road fans, Mount Olive is also home to the oldest surviving service station on Route 66, the immaculate restored (but no longer in business) Shell station downtown, long owned by Russell Soulsby.
North of Mount Olive, the old road continues for seven miles to Litchfield, another old mining center that is home to one of the best of the many good Route 66 restaurants, the Ariston Cafe (daily; 217/324-2023), right in the heart of town at the junction of old Route 66 and Hwy-16. The food is a step or two up from the usual roadside fare, and the white linen and refined decor have earned it a spot in the Route 66 Hall of Fame. The rest of Litchfield reeks of the old road, with cafés, motor courts, and old billboards aplenty.
Parts of the old road survive between Litchfield and Springfield, but the route is incomplete and confusing; I-55 makes much shorter work of the 25-mile drive.
