Cherokee historians outline pre-Route 66 trails, railroads and early commerce

Former Cherokee counselor Keith Austin and historian Karen Shade traced the deeper transportation and trading history that predated Route 66. Austin described the Cooie Cooie District as a collection of towns that were once less connected and maintained a distinct local culture; he highlighted rapid early commercial adaptation, such as Leonard Bolin opening a grocery and adding a gas pump by 1923 to serve motorists.

Karen Shade emphasized older trail networks, including routes used by the Osage and cattle drives, and the arrival of railways like the St. Louis–San Francisco line that roughly followed the later diagonal Route 66 corridor. She noted that family-run trading posts—citing a Hammett family-run Indian trading post in Claremore—marketed authentic Cherokee baskets and arts to travelers, creating early opportunities for Cherokee artists to sell directly to the public.

Both historians argued that telling the Route 66 story without Cherokee perspectives leaves out essential context about who built and sustained the communities along the corridor. Shade said the upcoming exhibit Path of Resilience will try to present that continuity and the craftsmanship that travelers encountered on the route.