Will Rogers Route 66 Monument

The Will Rogers Route 66 Monument in downtown Vinita commemorates the connection between the celebrated Oklahoma humorist, philosopher, and entertainer and the Mother Road. Rogers, who grew up in the region, frequently referenced the road and the towns along it, and Route 66 enthusiasts have placed monuments to him at various points along the highway.

The monument provides a good excuse to look at the historic downtown, where the Hotel Vinita and several other old commercial buildings survive from the early 20th century. Vinita was founded in 1871 as one of the first towns in Indian Territory, and the downtown still carries some of that history in its bones.

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A story
Will Rogers was born in nearby Claremore and grew up in northeastern Oklahoma's Cherokee Nation. He became one of the most famous Americans of his era — a vaudeville performer, actor, and political commentator who wrote a syndicated newspaper column read by 35 million people. When he died in a 1935 plane crash in Alaska with aviator Wiley Post, his death was treated as a national tragedy.