| <- Southbound |
| Waggoner (5 miles) |
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Farmersville, IL |
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Northbound -> |
Gardner (9 miles) |
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 County: Montgomery,IL
Population: 768
Two-Lane: 1930-19??
Four-Lane: 19??-1977
Landmarks:
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Art's Motel and Restaurant still operates to this day on the east edge of town just off of I-55. The classic neon sign was restored in 2007. |
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Old stretch of two-lane pavement used as frontage road and city street along the west side of the four-lane 66.
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Farmersville is another one of those small Central Illinois towns that just barely hugs the side of Route 66, residing on the west side of the Mother Road at the top of the panhandle of Montgomery County about twenty minutes south 
of Springfield. Just to the south of the overpass that gives the town access to Interstate 55 is Art's Motel and Restaurant, a classic diner that was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 1995. The business features a classic neon sign that had rusted almost into oblivion until the Route 66 Association of Illinois came to the rescue in 2007 and restored the south face of the sign to pristine condition (the north face is up against the overpass and is impossible to view from the road.)
The downtown area of Farmersville is a few blocks removed from the Mother Road and features a nice town square that plays home to the town's Irish Days Festival each June.
The original two-lane alignment dating back to 1930 that followed 3rd Road is gone with the exception of a very small portion that remains southeast of town by Macoupin Creek. The four-lane bypass was built just to the east of the old two-lane, and the northbound lanes were destroyed with the construction of Interstate 55 (Farmersville-to-Mount Olive was the last portion of I-55 completed in Illinois.) The southbound lanes remain as a Montgomery County highway and frontage road, and follow their Route 66 alignment exactly with the exception of slight deviations to the west to avoid I-55 overpasses and a rest area south of Waggoner. In Farmersville the lanes curve into town to avoid the exit 72 overpass, intersecting with the cross highway and then curving back towards Interstate 55.
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<- Southbound |
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Northbound -> |
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Farmersville, IL |
Divernon |
5 miles |
9 miles |
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of Springfield. Just to the south of the overpass that gives the town access to Interstate 55 is Art's Motel and Restaurant, a classic diner that was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 1995. The business features a classic neon sign that had rusted almost into oblivion until the Route 66 Association of Illinois came to the rescue in 2007 and restored the south face of the sign to pristine condition (the north face is up against the overpass and is impossible to view from the road.)
