This is a real photo postcard from the 1940s of Route 66 through downtown Bristow, Oklahoma. Bristow began as a small trading post in the Creek Tribe area of the Indian Territory in 1897. The following year the St. Louis and Oklahoma City Railroad (later the Frisco Railway) extended its line from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City and built a stop at the fledgling community. Route 66 was aligned through Bristow in 1926 by incorporating segments of the pre-existing Ozark Trail, which can still be driven along close to Bristow. The Mother Road brought business to town, and the travelers along Route 66 needed to be catered to: garages, auto dealers, and service stations were built, and many buildings survived to this day. As Route 66 became overcrowded in the mid-1950s, the Turnpike was built, from Oklahoma City to Tulsa, and it replaced the old road, bypassing Bristow and business declined.
Orvon Grover 'Gene' Autry known as the Singing Cowboy (1907-1998), worked as a telegrapher for Frisco Railway at Bristow and also at Sapulpa, and Chelsea. It was at Chelsea where he was discovered by Will Rogers and became famous on the radio, TV, and movies as a singing cowboy.
This postcard is courtesy of 66postcards.