VIRDEN, Ill. – Antique tractor collectors will take to the road on June 20, 2026, for an antique tractor drive in honor of the 100th anniversary of Route 66. The tractor drive will begin at the Litchfield Museum & Route 66 Welcome Center at 9:30 a.m. Drivers will travel a 35-mile route on three different sections of Route 66. The drive will continue to Staunton where tractor drivers will see some Route 66 sites and have lunch at the Dairy Queen. For those interested in this drive honoring the Mother Road, and agriculture along the route, contact Jim Niemann at 217-724-5574, or Keith Ladage at 217-971-5917.

In Staunton, drivers can view the former Gulf Gas Station and Café where farmers filled up with both gas and food. There is a farmers market that is set up May-October. Travelers will enjoy the Byway interpretive Exhibit.

Agricultural history at the Litchfield Museum & Route 66 Welcome Center is found throughout like Jim Stieren’s story with his champion stallion Pri that won the amateur Division and Open World Championship. He represented American Quarter Horses in this neck of Central Illinois. Even the very development of the route included agriculture like the mules Jack and Jenny in 1928 that were used to help build the highway. The mules were owned by grain farmers Cecil and Beulah Nettleship.

One fascinating use of tobacco took place around the Motherway Cigar factory where workers like Henry C. Buskahl hand-rolled cigars on the side porch of a home. He went on to become a tailor.

The Ariston Café, Route 66’s oldest continually operating restaurant, served migrants and farm workers family-style meals during the Dust Bowl. In the early 1930s, the Greek immigrant that founded it, Pete Adams, set up gas pumps offering fuel, and a revenue stream for farm families.

Girard, Ill., where Doc’s Off 66 is located, offers meals, a fun ice cream fountain and a pharmacy museum. This historical capsule offers insight into the medicine the Deck Brothers provided for farm families and farm animals. When they first opened in 1864, Lewis C. Deck operated a hardware and general store selling things needed on the farm.

Route 66 circles farmland near Nilwood, where in the 1920’s when pouring concrete for the Mother Road, a group of wild turkeys left their tracks behind, offering a one-of-a-kind Route 66 story with their footprints along an agricultural stretch of road.

Auburn, Ill., has a worldwide famous agricultural company, Dickey John, which manufactures planter monitors. The headquarters are just off Route 4, which was part of the original alignment of Route 66 from 1926-1930. The company was started by a farmer; Bob Dickey who developed his planter monitor after an accident in 1960 that affected his eyesight. In the accident, he lost his right eye. He could no longer turn around to check and see if seeds were planting in the row behind the tractor and planter. Working with his nephew Jack Littlejohn, they created the monitor at his home in Chatham, Ill., then established the company in Auburn.

North of Auburn is the Historic Brick Road along Route 66, a 1.4-mile original section of bricks laid over the concrete roadbed. Laid 1931-1932, this area winds through farm fields, and visitors can also see the mural on a grain bin owned by Farmer David Moose.

In Virden, a new drag racing mural reflects the unique history of racers Stan Lomelino and Joe Hendircks. While the main aspect of the mural is the drag racing history, it also includes ag as well. Lomelino was a talented welder and blacksmith, and he and his two sons Dan and David, worked in his blacksmith shop along with Stan, where they fixed agricultural equipment and kept farmers up and running. Stan also developed a piece of equipment that helped pick up downed corn that many farmers used. Because of this agricultural history, North Mac FFA served as the fund-raising arm, and an FFA section is included in the mural.

These are only a few of the ag connections to Mother Road celebrating the 100th anniversary this year. There are celebrations all year long. Springfield, Ill., is also filled with Route 66 attractions. On Veteran’s Day, there will be a Statewide Conference Epic Route66 Centennial Celebration at Motherheads Bar and Grill.

For more information about the Illinois section of Route 66, refer to IllinoisRoute66.org.