U.S. 66, promoted in the April 15, 1927, edition of the Gallup Independent as the "Main Street of America," followed the National Old Trails Highway and ran through Gallup, New Mexico in part because of the actions of former Gallup mayor and New Mexico Governor Arthur T. Hannett. Born in Lyons, New York, to William and Mary McCarthy Hannett, he graduated from Syracuse University in 1910, came to Gallup in 1911 to practice law, served first as City Attorney and then as mayor for four years, and was a member of the State Highway Commission from March 1923 until December 1924 before serving as Governor of New Mexico from January 1, 1925 until January 1, 1927. After losing his 1926 bid for reelection to Richard Dillon, Hannett made one of his final administrative acts the rerouting of U.S. Route 66 to avoid Santa Fe and instead pass through Albuquerque west toward Gallup, saving drivers crossing the state nearly four hours. Legend says he did so to punish the Republican Santa Fe Ring that controlled New Mexico politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while Hannett wrote in his 1964 book Sagebrush Lawyer that he conceived the shorter route by laying a ruler on the map between Santa Rosa and Gallup. The historic Route 66 that resulted helped establish Gallup on the road between Chicago and Los Angeles, and travelers on Interstate 40 still experience part of that route.
