Old Rock Filling Station - Luther, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 39.612 W 097° 16.428
14S E 656250 N 3947633
This old CONOCO station is one of the oldest relics along Route 66.
Waymark Code: WMANX8
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 02/05/2011
Views: 34
On historic Route 66 in Luther, Oklahoma stand the remnants of an old Conoco filling station. It is thought to have been built in the mid-teens or early 1920s. Before electricity, the building had a fireplace for heat, and kerosene lamps were used for lighting.
The station stands on the north side of the highway as a mute testimony that crime doesn't pay. The station is located on the property of the Rock of Ages Farm, and the owners of the farm have posted the story of the station, as far as anyone knows. We noticed some flowers blooming in a window box and my guess is that Mrs. Rock of Ages keeps something blooming there - it was a pleasant surprise.
The station had two pumps, one for regular and one for ethyl. Oil was sold from a 50 gallon drum laying on its side in a wooden cradle. Cold soda was only sold on days when the ice man came by. Hard candy was available year-round, but chocolate was only sold in the winter, for obvious reasons.
The story goes like this: Back in the days when Al Capone was terrorizing folks in Chicago, a so-called salesman came by the station offering to sell the owner a way to make a lot of money - a set of plates for counterfeiting $10 bills. The owner was convinced and bought the plates. He built a small room behind the station in which to hide the printing materials and a place to work. The only entrance into the room was through the window you see on the back wall today. A solid wood covering was kept over the window and most customers never knew the room was back there.
He would press one plate on a piece of paper with green ink and let it dry for 24 hours. Then, the next day, he would print the back side. One day, someone was caught passing one of the counterfeit bills. With identification in their pocket, they were traced back to the Luther area, and back to the station. The plates were found and the owner was taken to jail.
The station closed and never re-opened. Years later in the 1940s, in an unrelated event, a murder victim's body was found in the abandoned station and was never identified. [Details taken from websites and notice posted on-site.]
When driving down the Mother Road, be sure to stop here and have your picture taken.
Americana: Service Station
Significant Interest: Other Icon
Milestone or Marker: Other Icon
Web Site Address: [Web Link]
Address of Icon:
Route 66
Luther, OK US
73054
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