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Hamel, IL |
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 County: Madison, IL
Population: 570
Two-Lane: 1926-1944
Four-Lane: 1944-1977
Hamel on the Web:
hamelillinois.org
Landmarks:
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Scotty's Bar and Grill at intersection of US 66/IL 157 and IL 140. 2006 inductee into Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame. |
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Old Meramec Caverns Barn north of town on Interstate 55; one of two remaining on Route 66 in Illinois.
St. Paul Lutheran Church north of town featuring neon cross atop building.
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Hamel is where the two Metro East alignments of Route 66 part ways, the earlier path heading through Edwardsville and Mitchell towards the Chain of Rocks Bridge and the Show Me State. The later corridor heads further south towards Troy and Collinsville before heading into Missouri from East Saint Louis. The small town in northeast Madison County is the last vestige of the small Central Illinois farm towns along the Mother Road as either southern route will send the traveler into the sprawl of the Saint Louis region and a maze of interstates that speed through Madison and St. Clair Counties to the east of the Gateway City.
The town itself is a small farming community featuring a grain elevator just off of its main intersection where Route 66 - now the beginning of Illinois 157 - crosses Illinois 140 (marked as such because the state considered it a spur of US 40. On the southeast side of the intersection is Scotty's Bar and Grill, a business that has long served the community under a variety of names before opening under its current moniker in 2002. Originally built by the Cassens Family in 1937 as the Tourist Court, it was honored in the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2006 and often serves as a meeting point for the Route 66 Association of Illinois' annual motor tour and occasional meetings. Owners Jim and Pat Allen are some of the best supporters of the Association and the highway in Southern Illinois.
Two other familiar Route 66 landmarks sit just to the north of Hamel. Just beyond the city limits is Saint Paul Lutheran Church, a classic structure that features a neon cross at the top of its entrance that helps watch over the Mother Road and her travelers throughout the night. Across Route 66 and Interstate 55 from the church is one of two remaining Meramec Caverns barns in Illinois (the other resides in Cayuga.) The barn was restored by the Route 66 Association of Illinois preservationists in 2001 and, unlike the barn in Cayuga, is visable from the interstate...at least the southbound side.
A few miles south of town on Interstate 55 is the Homestead Rest Area run by the Illinois Department of Transportation. While the southbound rest area is just your standard Illinois rest stop, the northbound side features a manned tourist information booth with information about Route 66. In addition, the rest area is Route 66-themed with murals and etchings decorating the walls and a giant marble map of the Mother Road featured on the building's floor. While the rest area lies a few miles south of town, a few pictures are featured below to illustrate how the building honors the highway that preceeded Interstate 55.
Hamel was included on the original 1926 alignment of the highway, and the two-lane turned south from modern day Illinois 4 and followed the current I-55 frontage road through town to where Illinois 157 begins today. The road then followed IL 157 south to Edwardsville.
Starting in 1944 the four-lane Route 66 departed from the old two-lane alignment south of Mount Olive and east of Staunton, and the road followed the current Interstate 55 past Livingston towards Hamel. While the two rejoin each other between Illinois 4 and downtown Hamel, the old two-lane curves to the west south of town while the four-lane heads south towards Troy and Collinsville.
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Edwardsville |
Hamel, IL |
Staunton |
8 miles |
10 miles |
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The town itself is a small farming community featuring a grain elevator just off of its main intersection where Route 66 - now the beginning of Illinois 157 - crosses Illinois 140 (marked as such because the state considered it a spur of US 40. On the southeast side of the intersection is Scotty's Bar and Grill, a business that has long served the community under a variety of names before opening under its current moniker in 2002. Originally built by the Cassens Family in 1937 as the Tourist Court, it was honored in the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2006 and often serves as a meeting point for the Route 66 Association of Illinois' annual motor tour and occasional meetings. Owners Jim and Pat Allen are some of the best supporters of the Association and the highway in Southern Illinois.
Two other familiar Route 66 landmarks sit just to the north of Hamel. Just beyond the city limits is Saint Paul Lutheran Church, a classic structure that features a neon cross at the top of its entrance that helps watch over the Mother Road and her travelers throughout the night. Across Route 66 and Interstate 55 from the church is one of two remaining Meramec Caverns barns in Illinois (the other resides in Cayuga.) The barn was restored by the Route 66 Association of Illinois preservationists in 2001 and, unlike the barn in Cayuga, is visable from the interstate...at least the southbound side.
A few miles south of town on Interstate 55 is the Homestead Rest Area run by the Illinois Department of Transportation. While the southbound rest area is just your standard Illinois rest stop, the northbound side features a manned tourist information booth with information about Route 66. In addition, the rest area is Route 66-themed with murals and etchings decorating the walls and a giant marble map of the Mother Road featured on the building's floor. While the rest area lies a few miles south of town, a few pictures are featured below to illustrate how the building honors the highway that preceeded Interstate 55.
