<- Southbound Springfield (7 miles)   Sherman, IL   Northbound -> Williamsville (6 miles)

County: Sangamon, IL Population: 2871 Two-Lane: 1926-1940 Four-Lane: 1940-1977 Sherman on the Web: shermanil.org Landmarks: Carpenter Park Nature Preserve along the Sangamon River contains a short stretch original Route 66 pavement. Old 66 pavement/rest area near Interstate 55.

Sherman is known to most motorists as the northern end of the Springfield metropolitan area, where Business Loop 55 - one of the old pathways of the Mother Road - rejoins (or leaves, given your direction of travel) her interstate offspring. It's either a bittersweet reunion for the northbound traveler or a sigh or relief for the southbound wanderer, because the junction is one of several in Illinois where Route 66 explorers are forced to brave the high speeds and low appeal of the modern interstate as I-55 has completely conquered the Mother Road's old lanes up north to Williamsville (there are side county roads you can explore between the villages, but they are not old 66.)

The lure of Sherman - a modern suburb that echoes more the latter day chain restaurant mentality than that of a quaint yesteryear Central Illinois town - is not just to leave the freeway behind but also to see some of its beginnings. Route 66 crosses the Sangamon River here, and on the north side of the water is the Carpenter Park Nature Preserve, one of several spots in the county (along with Lake Springfield) where roadies can get a look at America's Main Street as she gets back to nature.

The park preserves not only the plant and animal life native to the river area but also a very early stretch of Route 66 pavement that winds from the park's entrance down to the river's edge. Looking at the roads to the north (as old 66/BL-55 eventually winds west into the same path) as well as early maps of the Mother Road this looks to be the original alignment of Illinois 4/US 66, and it's a fun place for the exploring motorists to jump out of their car and take a stroll under the canopy of some of the Prairie State's most lush greenery. Showing its age, the road here is not wide and weeds stick up through the cracks at times, but it is perfect for a brief, brisk walk and the sharp observer will notice remnants of its time as a busy corridor, especially by the river where it used to cross on its way south towards the capital.

Closer to the reunion with the interstate at the north of town lies more old pavement, this stretch not quite as buried as the nature walk. As the four-lane Business Loop curves out of the city there is an old rest area pull off still featuring a bench on the southeast side of the pavement, and you can once again stretch your legs and see where the road used to cross an old creek. More pavement is found on the north side of the crossing, separated from the rest area by the lack of a bridge.

After ducking under the I-55 overpass the northbound lanes are left by themselves, and as they curve to the north, resigned to their fate of rejoining the selfish freeway, the old, now unused southbound lanes are visable to the left, and you can see how the interstate, instead of taking additional land, merely lies on top of the original four-lane 66 alignment at this point.


Two-lane Illinois 4/US 66 took roughly the same route through Sherman as the four-lane now with one expception: for the first decade the southbound highway turned west onto Andrew Street and then south onto Old Tipton School Road to cross the Sangamon River and join the current path. For just a year the road followed Andrew Street further west until an intersection with modern day Illinois 29, which it took south into Springfield. Starting in 1938 the road followed its current alignment through Sherman.

The final two-lane route was expanded to four-lanes through the community, and with the corridor being marked as the northern end of Business Loop 55 all four lanes remain in use to this day. A small two-lane alignment remains as a rest area at the north border of town just before reaching Interstate 55, and an old tree-secluded stretch of pavement is found inside the Carpenter Park Nature Preserve along the Sangamon River.

Click on any image to expand full-screen. Press the left and right arrow keys to browse the entire album.