Route 66's diagonal trip through the Prairie State is a predominantly rural one, affording travelers on the Mother Road a chance to observe a wide selection of family farms. The original architecture of the restaurants and gas stations of the Midwest's cities were matched only by the often unintentionally artistic, classic barns that served as the hub of activity on the farm.

Ensuring those barns stayed in good shape meant keeping a fresh coat of paint on, and a man named Lester Dill had quite the solution for many farmers. Shortly after he opened Meramec Caverns along US 66 near Stanton, Missouri, the greatest marketer along the Mother Road crafted a plan to paint barns at no charge to the landowner, with only one condition: the barn carry the name and address of his business. The plan worked, and through the heyday of Route 66 one could not spend more than a couple hours on the highway - or many other roads, for that matter - without taking in an advertisement for America's Cave.

Today only two barns along Route 66 in Illinois still bear the name of Meramec Caverns. Many have been lost in the last several decades, including one just north of Pontiac, while many other more modern looking paint jobs are found on the sides of barns along other state and US highways throughout the Prairie State. In the early 2000s the Route 66 Association of Illinois helped preserve the the two remaining Meramec Caverns barns on the Mother Road in Cayuga and Hamel, ensuring one of the cutest bits of Route 66 history be visable to another generation of Midwest travelers.

An almost hidden treat just north of Pontiac in Livingston County, this barn sits back several hundred feet from Route 66 between the old US highway and Interstate 55. Freeway travelers are denied the gorgeous view of this classic rural homestead atop a rolling meadow that leads down to the Mother Road, while those crusing Route 66 are supplied a turn-out on the old southbound lanes in order to stop and partake in the beauty.

Meramec Caverns Barn Cayuga, Illinois For more information and photographs visit the Cayuga page.

Southbound I-55 travelers are able to catch a glimpse of the restored paint job on this barn about one mile north of Hamel in Madison County, but any real road warrior looks on from Route 66 which serves as the west frontage road here. An overpass just to the north of the barn provides an even better view of the makeshift billboard for the mid-Missouri tourist destination.

Meramec Caverns Barn Hamel, Illinois For more information and photographs visit the Hamel page.