The area around present-day Williams, Arizona, was first explored in 1876 by mountain man William Shirley Williams, known as “Old Bill.” Cowboy C.T. Rogers created the town site in 1879, and railroad workers established a camp there during construction of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad in 1880. By 1881 the camp had enough inhabitants for a post office, and the name Williams was chosen to honor Old Bill. The railroad reached Williams in 1882, and in 1883 the Saginaw Lumber Company, later Saginaw and Manistee, moved to town, employing hundreds of men who brought their families and helping tame the community. In 1890, copper discovered north of Williams sparked a mining boom that lasted a decade. After the boom ended, the Santa Fe Railway took over the defunct mining railroad and extended it into a scenic line to the Grand Canyon, with the first train full of tourists arriving at the Canyon depot on September 17, 1901. Williams’ trademark, “Gateway to the Grand Canyon”®, was established in 1984, and the scenic Grand Canyon Railway reopened in 1989 after extensive refurbishing. Williams was the last town on Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40, when traffic was officially diverted on October 13, 1984, and the Mother Road has made Williams a Mecca for Route 66 enthusiasts.