Halltown

About Halltown Missouri

Facts, Trivia and useful information

Elevation: 1,168 ft (356 m). Population 173 (2010).
Time zone: Central (CST): UTC minus 6 hours. Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5).

Halltown is a town on Old Route 66 on the northwestern part of Lawrence County, in southwestern Missouri.

History of Halltown

Learn more about the history of Halltown in our Springfield, Missouri page.

Lawrence county created in 1845 was named after James Lawrence a naval officer in the 1812 English-American War.

The area was settled in the 1830s, after the Osage natives were displaced from the territory into reservations in what is now Oklahoma.

Halltown Cemetery or Rock Prairie Cemetery was established in 1838. Civil War soldiers of both sides were buried here. It is located 0.7 mi. south of town along State Highway Z (Map with directions).

George Hall arrived in the 1870s and opened a grocery in 1876. He platted the town on his land in 1887. A post office opened in 1879, named Halltown.

Located on the Springfield to Carthage stage road, it was chosen for the alignment of the Ozark Trails in the 1910s, and when Route 66 was created in 1926 it adopted the Ozark Trails highway as its alignment through Halltown. The town catered to US 66 travellers and it had several grocery stores, garages and a hotel.

The town was bypassed by I-44, which had opened in 1958 between Joplin and Oklahoma City, and then went east along what used to be US-166, south of Halltown towards Springfield.

Getting to Halltown

Drive along historic Route 66 and Interstate I-44 to Halltown, those highways link it with Tulsa and Oklahoma City in the west and with Springfield and St. Louis in the east. U.S. Route 71 (overlapping I-49) links it with Fort Smith, Arkansas and Kansas City.

Hotels close to Halltown, Missouri

There is no accommodation in town, but you can find plenty of hotels and motels close to Halltown in neighboring Springfield.

> > Book your hotel in Springfield

More Lodging near Halltown along Route 66

Weather in Halltown

Location of Halltown on Route 66

The seasons are clearly defined in Halltown, which is located on the northern limit of the humid subtropical climate in the U.S. which provokes very humid weather in late summer.

The average summer (Jul) temperatures are: high 89°F (31.6°C), low 68° (19.8°C); the average winter (Jan) high is 43°F (6.1°C) and low is well below freezing with 22°F (-5.3°C).

Annual rainfall is around 45.6 in. (1.160 mm), and it experiences 17 in. of snow (43 cm) yearly.

Neighboring Springfield is said to be the city with the most varied weather in the United States.

Tornado risk

Halltown is located within the infamous "Tornado Alley" and Lawrence County has an average of 8 tornado strikes per year.

Tornado Risk: read more about Tornado Risk along Route 66.

Map of Route 66 in Halltown

1926-60 Alignment

From Springfield, at the junction of US 160 and W Chestnut Expressway on the western side of Springfield, Route 66 followed what is noow MO-266 into Halltown. See this Map 1926-60 US66 Springfield to Halltown.

1960 - 1978 alignment

After 1958 Route 66 was realigned together with the brand new I-44. The overlapped and then west. On the south side of Halltown they split. At what is now Exit 57, I-44 headed to the southwest, and US-66 forked to the NW into Paris Springs and then west towards Carthage (Map 1960-78 US66 Springfield to Halltown).

Halltown

So Halltown was bypassed in 1960 and the road east of Halltown into Springfield then became MO-266.

Route 66 Sights in Halltown

"The Antique Capital of the U.S."

Historic context, the classic Route 66 in Halltown

In his 1946 book "A Guide Book to Highway 66" Jack DeVere Rittenhouse describes the "classic" Route 66 during its heyday. He mentions the town.

Halltown... 15 or 20 establishments line both sides of the highway here: gas stations, cafes, antique shops, stores. Rittenhouse (1946)

At that time the town had 168 residents. He does not mention Plano, 4 mi. east of Halltown.

A Tour of the landmarks in Halltown

We will start our tour at the eastern side of town and drive west through it along MO-266 (Old Route 66) heading west towards Paris Springs.

Below is a "Then and Now" image sequence from the 1950s and nowadays of Route 66 on the eastern side of Halltown.

A 1950s photo entering Halltown from the east along Route 66

Same spot nowadays, entering Halltown from the east along Route 66 (same barn marked with red arrow).

Old Skelly Service Station

1978 aerial photo Halltown Skelly.
Click to enlarge

On the northeast corner of Route 66 and North Dogwood St. This is at the easternmost tip of town. It is a 1930s gas station on Route 66.

Oblong box style, built with blocks, it has a single service bay. Its empty pump island is there, and the pole of its sign too.

The aerial photo from 1986 (click on it for larger image) shows that it was a Skelly gas station.

Halltown former Skelly Service Station on Route 66

Former Cameron Antiques

Head west, and at 130 Main Street, to your right, it is a large two-story building built around 1930. It served as an antique shop, now closed.

Old IOOF Lodge

Whitehall antiques, former lodge. Click for St. view

Just ahead, on the NW end of the block, at W. Main Street and N. Park Drive. To your right.

The "Independent Order of Odd Fellows" or IOOF Lodge is also known now as "Whitehall Mercantile", then it was an antique shop.

It is a two-story wood frame building in Victorian style built ca. 1900. It has a very steep pitched roof behind a falsefront wall facing the street.

Originally it served as a grocery store and the IOOF lodge held its meetings on the second floor. The false front has been modernized -now sheet metal, formerly it was built in wood. See its image below.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a secret society without any political or sectarian orientation. It was founded by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, USA in 1819.

Las Vegas Hotel and Restaurant

203 Main St. and S. Park Dr (to your left) on the south side of Main, across the street.

The Las Vegas Hotel and Restaurant was built ca. 1930. The restaurant was on the first floor and the hotel rooms on the second floor. The small building to the right (west), was once a barbershop. It was built in Mission - Spanish Colonial Revival sytle. Now the hotel is an apartment complex.

Las Vegas Hotel & Restaurant, Route 66 Halltown Missouri

Goodman's station and garage

Pictured below, it was known as "Goodman's service station" and also "West's Hardware". At 208 Main St., on the right side of the road. It has a single-bay garage, with a single entrance and a nine-lite metal sash window. Built in 1925, one year before Route 66 was created.

Goodman's garage. Click for St. view

Cleo's shop. Click for St. view

Cleo’s Beauty Shop

Just ahead, at 218 Main St., to your right. It was built in 1933. It has a gabled roof and an awning porch, it is a small building also known as Robin’s Nest Family Hair Care was originally a Route 66 café and, after the 1970s a beauty parlor owned by Cleo Goodman. Pictured above.

Next to it was "West's Grocery Store" built in 1922, it housed the post office at one time. It was torn down in 2016, it had also been the local Cafe (2012 street view while it was still standing).

Main Street Service Station

Also known as Stone's Corner, it is listed in the 1993 Missouri Route 66 Survey. It was built in 1927 and is located at the northeast corner of Elm Street and Main (Hwy. 266). The rectangular building had a flat canopy supported by a central pillar. Until recently (see 2012 street view) it had a central door with a transom flanked by two large windows with double transoms. This front was altered and now the building is hardly recognizable (see "Then and Now" pictures below from 1993 and 2016).

Main St. station in 1993. Credits

Main St. station in 2016 Click to enlarge

Main Street Stone Building

On the next block, to your right, at 320 Main St. is an old building. It has two stories with a solid appearance, built with massive limestone blocks of different sizes. It dates back to 1907 and has arched windows and doors. At one time it served as a movie theater, now it is a vacant warehouse. Pictured below.

Richard’s Antiques

322 Main Street, Halltown. Adjacent to the stone warehouse, also to your right.

This wood frame building with stone and stucco walls was built around 1906. It has two rooms and served as a livery stable (a stable where horses are kept at livery- their owners pay a fee to keep their horses there), meat packing plant and more recently an antique shop.

It was altered lately, with bay windows with multiple panels of glass.

Richard’s Antiques store on Route 66

Halltown Bridge (1923)

Head west along MO-266 (Old Route 66), just west of town is an original narrow steel bridge. It was built in 1923 and carries Route 66 across Billies Creek. It is a riveted single-span Pratt Pony Truss. See picture below.

Steel Bridge, Route 66 Halltown. Click for St. view

Cabins at White City Motel, Route 66 Halltown. Click for St. view

White City Motel

Head west, and after 0.7 miles, to your right is a classic Route 66 motel, the "White City Motel" (map with directions).

Strategically located halfway between Halltown and Paris Springs. The cabins were built in 1950, and were not mentioned by Rittenhouse, who drove by before they were built.

The main building in the center is the office, facing the highway. It has a gabled roof and bungalow style; it dates back to 1935.

The motel has ten cabins located around it in a semi-circle (see picture above, red arrows), linked by a circular drive. They are single unit cottages with attached garages and hipped roofs of pyramidal shape. They are built in concrete block with a stucco facing. Two lack garages and are bigger than the other eight.

Not in very good shape. So visit it before it is torn down.

White City Motel, on Route 66 1 mile west of Halltown

This is where your Halltown city tour ends, head west to continue your Route 66 road trip in Paris Springs.

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Credits

Banner image: Hackberry General Store, Hackberry, Arizona by Perla Eichenblat
Jack DeVere Rittenhouse, (1946). A Guide Book to Highway 66
Architectural - Historic Survey of Route 66 in Missouri and Detailed Survey, Maura Johnson. 1993

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