This 1.2-mile section of roadbed east of Galena is the most intact section of the original U.S. Highway 66 in Kansas. It was first paved around the turn of the century with macadam made from waste products of nearby mines, and before receiving a federal designation it served as an important corridor for the vast mining network in the Galena area. Its setting still reflects that mining history. When highway planners chose to send Route 66 across Oklahoma rather than Kansas, this already paved road became one of the original segments designated by the federal government on November 11, 1926. Travel along this road was disrupted in June 1935 during a strike at the Eagle-Picher lead smelter north of the road between the triple covert and the 90-degree curve, a facility that was among the country's leading processors of lead ore during the first part of the 20th century. In the spring of 1935, leaders of the Union of Mine, Mill and Shelter Workers called a strike to protest working conditions and seek recognition from mine operators. On June 28, nearly two months into the strike, a violent attack broke out on Route 66 in front of the Eagle-Picher Smelter as several hundred strikers gathered near the smelter, threw rocks, threatened to shoot scab workers trying to enter or leave the plant, overturned automobiles, and stopped all traffic on Route 66. Twelve men were hurt, and the Militia was brought in to enforce Martial law on the City of Galena.
