Threatt Filling Station

Built around 1915 by Allen Threatt Sr. from sandstone quarried on the family’s land, this compact Bungalow/Craftsman station stood beside State Highway 7 before the road became Route 66. Its story begins with Black landownership and enterprise: the Threatt family farmed, quarried stone, and built a business at the edge of a road that was about to carry the country west.After Route 66 was designated in 1926, the station became a dependable place of welcome for Black motorists navigating Jim Crow travel, when fuel, food, restrooms, and simple safety could never be assumed. A grocery was added in 1935, followed in 1937 by the Brown Bomber café—named for heavyweight champion Joe Louis. Locals and travelers gathered here through the 1950s. The station entered the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, later received federal preservation support and national endangered-site attention, and was restored in 2023.The National Park Service currently lists the property as closed to the public and viewable only from the road. Do not enter the property or driveway, cross barriers, or stop in the travel lane or on an unsafe shoulder. Use only a lawful pull-off if one is available, keep the intersection clear, and treat this as a respectful exterior history stop—not a promise of parking, tours, interior access, or an opening date. More

Built around 1915 by Allen Threatt Sr. from sandstone quarried on the family’s land, this compact Bungalow/Craftsman station stood beside State Highway 7 before the road became Route 66. Its story begins with Black landownership and enterprise: the Threatt family farmed, quarried stone, and built a business at the edge of a road that was about to carry the country west.After Route 66 was designated in 1926, the station became a dependable place of welcome for Black motorists navigating Jim Crow travel, when fuel, food, restrooms, and simple safety could never be assumed. A grocery was added in 1935, followed in 1937 by the Brown Bomber café—named for heavyweight champion Joe Louis. Locals and travelers gathered here through the 1950s. The station entered the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, later received federal preservation support and national endangered-site attention, and was restored in 2023.The National Park Service currently lists the property as closed to the public and viewable only from the road. Do not enter the property or driveway, cross barriers, or stop in the travel lane or on an unsafe shoulder. Use only a lawful pull-off if one is available, keep the intersection clear, and treat this as a respectful exterior history stop—not a promise of parking, tours, interior access, or an opening date. More