Hazelgreen

About Hazelgreen Missouri

Facts, Trivia and useful information

Elevation: 1,012 ft (309 m). Population n⁄a (2010).
Time zone: Central (CST): UTC minus 6 hours. Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5).

Hazelgreen is located on old US 66 in northwestern Laclede County, in the Ozarks in South central Missouri. (Map of Hazelgreen).

History of Hazelgreen

For the general history of the area check the History of Waynesville.

Hazelgreen is a small unincorporated community -a scattering of houses- on the original Route 66 alignment. The later four lane US 66 which became I-44 runs next to it, west of the old road. The freeway cut the town in two, and part of it lies next to Exit 145.

Settled in the 1840s (as shown by some tombstones in the Cemetery), the post office opened in 1858, and closed one century later, shortly after the freeway was built.

The "Wire Road" built during the 1860s to service the telegraph line from St. Louis to Fort Smith in Arkansas, passed near Hazelgreen, and would become the main road from St. Louis to Sprignfield and would become State Hwy. 16 in the early 1920s and U.S. 66 in 1926. Later during the 1950s, Route 66 was upgraded to a four-lane freeway and its alignment straightened out, it bypassed Hazelgreen.

Where to Lodge in Hazelgreen, Missouri

Accommodation and hotels near Hazelgreen...

More Lodging near Hazelgreen along Route 66

Motels and Hotels close to Hazelgreen

Weather in Hazelgreen

Weather widget for Waynesville the town nearest Hazelgreen to the east

There are clearly defined seasons in Hazelgreen. During summer, the average high (Jul) is 88°F (31.2°C), while the average low in 67°F (19.2°C). During winter (Jan) the average high is 42°F (5.6°C) and the average low is below freezing at 20°F (-7°C).

Rainfall averages 44.5 in (1.131 mm) per year and falls regularly each month in roughly the same amount; snowfall is around 9 in. (23 cm), and falls between Dec. and Mar.

Tornado risk

Hazelgreen is located in the "Tornado Alley"; Laclede County has some 8 tornado strikes per year.

Tornado Risk: read more about Tornado Risk along Route66.
 

Getting to Hazelgreen

Reach Hazelgreen using Route 66 or Interstate I-44 which link it with Springfield in the west and with Cuba to the east. US 160, 60 and 65 run to the west, through Springfield, US 63 runs through Rolla, to the east.

Route 66 Sights in Hazelgreen

Landmarks and Places to See

See the old Gasconade Bridge

• In Hazelgreen
• Tours & Itineraries

Hazelgreen and its Route 66 attractions

Hazelgreen has the ruins of an Old Phillips 66 filling Station and Tavern, and an old 1840 Cemetery, to the west is the Gasconade River and the now closed Route 66 Gasconade Bridge.

Historic context, the classic Route 66 in Hazelgreen

Jack DeVere Rittenhouse published his "A Guide Book to Highway 66" in 1946 and he mentioned the village: "Pop. 45; gas; store; small hotel..." he added that like many towns in the Ozarks its economy was based on fishermen and tourists that visited the area. They also sold pottery and handicraft. He mentioned that on the southern bank of the Gasconade River was "Eden Resort, one of the best accommodations in this region", and on the western side of the road were "public stone picnic tables".

Begin your tour at the northern side of town, at Exit 145 and drive westwards. To your right is I-44, to your right the remains of Hazelgreen, just 0.7 mi. from the exit is the Old Service Station and Tavern:

Old Phillips 66 Service Station

Route 66, Hazelgreen

To your left among the shrubs and trees.

This is probably the "gas" mentioned by Rittenhouse in 1946. The gas station has a triangular shaped canopy (known as "gull wing") with a red trim. There is a two-bay garage and the building was constructed in concrete blocks. Behind it a tall tower with vines growing on it. Typical Phillips 66 service station design of the 1960s, it was abandoned ca. 1971.

Next to the gas station (just west of it) is what used to be an old tavern, now in ruins. It closed during the 1990s.

1840 Cemetery in Hazelgreen on Route 66. Click on image to enlarge

Hazelgreen Cemetery

To your left on Old Route 66

The cemetery is on the eastern side of US 66 and dates back to 1840.

Head west to visit the old bridge. It is closed to traffic so you will have to walk to reach it.

Gasconade Bridge

Closed to traffic

Old Route 66 and Gasconade River, 3.5 mi. West of town.

This steel through-truss bridge predates Route 66 because it was built between 1922 and 1924 (U.S. 66 was created in 1926). Originally it carried Missouri State Highway 14 and was designed by the Missouri Highway Department. It has three spans and since the opening of the four-lane highway on Route 66 in the 1950s, was neglected in maintenance and repairs, deteriorating to such an extent that in 2014 it was permanently closed to traffic.

Above, at the top of the page are two Then and Now views of the old bridge.

There are plans to tear it down, but a group of Route 66 activists wants to save it (just as the bridge in Pulaski County at Devil's Elbow was restored and preserved). You can sign the Save the bridge Petition at www.change.org.

Tours & Itineraries

You can head south of Hazelgreen, but you must bypass the closed bridge -shown in Green in the Map above by using the freeway, shown in Red. Visit Lebanon, using Old Route 66 (get off I-44 at Exit 140).

You can also drive the 1926 alignment northwards, through Gascozark, Laquey and Buckhorn to visit Waynesville.

Old Route 66 in Hazelgreen

From Hazelgreen to Lebanon

The original trail along the divide in the Ozarks was probably created by roaming buffalo. Centuries later it was used by the Natives and after them by the trappers and explorers who named it the "Great Osage Trail" (after the Osage people who lived in the area). During the Civil war period (1860s), a telegraph line was laid from St. Louis Missouri to Fort Smith in Arkansas and it passed through Hazelgreen.

By the early 1900s cars became more common in the countryside but the dirt tracks used by carts were in terrible state: full of potholes during the dry season and muddy traps during the rainy period. John Woodruff lobbied for better roads throgh the Inter-Ozarks Highway Association he presided and this led to the creation of Missouri State Highway 16 built from Springfield to St. Louis, passing through Hazelgreen. Later, in 1926 Route 66 would be aligned along it.

Old Route 66: 1926-1957 Alignment in Hazelgreen

The original alignment is shown in the Map above in Pale Blue.

Alignment after 1952

In 1952 the Missouri Highway Department started work to improve Route 66 to make it safer and shorter, this meant eliminating the winding course in many sections in the county, it bypassed Hazelgreen and all towns in the area.

Missouri D.O.T. 1953 and 1958 Roadmaps, Route 66 from Rolla to Hazelgreen

The 1953 (bottom) and 1958 (top) roadmaps show the section from Hazelgreen to Rolla. Notice how it all became a four lane freeway (but still named US 66). Route 66 was bypassed from Hazelgreen through Waynesville to MO-17, but still ran through Hooker cut.

Eventually the whole of US 66 in this area was upgraded into a four lane highway with overpasses, and after 1958 it coexisted with the new interstate I-44 (a state petition in 1962 to name the highway I-66 was denied by the AASHTO). Finally in 1972 the whole of Route 66 had been replaced by the freeway and in 1974 it was decided that the whole of US 66 from Chicago to Joplin would be eliminated. However this was delayed until I-55 in Illinois was completely brought up to Interstate standards. The signs were removed in 1977 but the last segment of the old Route 66 to be bypassed was the section in Powelville, in 1981.

Sources

Banner image: Dead Man's Curve, Laguna New Mexico by Perla Eichenblat.

Jack DeVere Rittenhouse, (1946). A Guide Book to Highway 66.

The Ramsay Place Names File

Maura Johnson and John F. Bradbury, Route 66 Association of Missouri. 1993, Architectural ⁄ Historical Inventory Survey. Route 66 in Missouri