Photo byKLOTZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The historic Wagon Wheel Motel, Café, and Station is located at 901-905 East Washington Street in Cuba, Missouri (Crawford County). It's also known as the Wagon Wheel Motel Historic District. On April 7, 2003, this site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, while it's an independently owned 19-room historic U.S. Route 66 motel, the filling station doesn't operate. The motel, however, has been serving travelers since 1938. Originally, it was a café that opened in 1936. The filling station also opened that year. The motel followed in 1938.

In 2010, the motel rooms were restored with added modern amenities. What used to be the Wagon Wheel Café was converted into a retail store and of course, includes some Route 66 items.

This 19-room independently owned historic U.S. Route 66 motel has been restored.Photo byJERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The architectural style of the buildings is Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals: Tudor Revival, and also Ozark Rock Masonry. The architect was Leo Friesenhan.

The foundation is concrete and the walls are stone. The importance of these buildings is associated with commerce and architecture.

The 5.34-acre motel property faces south toward what used to be U.S. Highway 66 from 1926 to 1969 (now East Washington Street), which was when the Interstate-44 bypass was completed in Cuba. Route 66 was then decommissioned.

The Wagon Wheel Motel Historic District boundaries consist of all the structures and buildings associated with the Wagon Wheel Motel since the first building in the complex was built in 1936. The district includes the following:

• Three stone motel buildings
• One concrete block motel building
• Concrete gas pump island
• Original stone cafe
• Original gas station building
• Mixed-use building
• Two historic signs

The motel is on the eastern edge of Cuba. The first historic sign reads "WAGON WHEEL MOTEL" in neon. The second historic sign reads "OFFICE."

Photo byFacebook/Wagon Wheel Motel.

Brief history

In 1936, the Wagon Wheel Café and Gas Station opened, and in 1938, the Wagon Wheel Cabins opened which were later called the Wagon Wheel Motel. This motel was one of several that opened during tourism and the growth of automobile travelers through the 1950s.

The Wagon Wheel Motel still accommodates travelers and is still locally owned and operated. It's one of the earliest motel courts on Route 66. The designer of the buildings, Leo Friesenhan, was a well-known local mason including the St. Louis area.

The Wagon Wheel Motel was a popular site on Route 66 in Missouri. It was featured in Route 66 guidebooks and is a place for people who are Route 66 fans.

In 1946, Robert and Margaret Martin sold the Wagon Wheel Motel to two couples who jointly purchased it, Clifton and Beulah Speer and Edmund and Violet Koebelin. That partnership didn't last long. It was purchased by John and Winifred Mathis in 1947. Supposedly, it was John Mathis who designed the motel's neon sign. Under his ownership, the Wagon Wheel Cabins became the Wagon Wheel Motel.

In October 2022, it was reported by The Telegraph that the Wagon Wheel Motel was up for sale for more than $1.7 million by owner, Connie Echols, who wasn't the owner at the time the property was listed on the National Register. Echols acquired the property in 2009.

Visit here to see the rooms at the motel including nightly rates. The gift store is called Connie's Shop. Out of 523 reviews on Trip Advisor, 303 rated this historic motel as excellent. It has a 4.5 rating.

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