FRANKLIN COUNTY FRANKLIN COUNTY, which is located in eastern Missouri near St. Louis, is the fourth largest county in the state. Named after one of America’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, the county is home to more than a dozen towns, villages, and communities through which the two-lane ribbon road snakes: Pacific, Gray Summit, Villa Ridge, St. Clair, Stanton, and Sullivan. Sunset Motel, Villa Ridge
Luring you to stop, enjoy, and get your kicks are the now faded Gardenway Motel sign in Gray Summit, the majestic Meramec Caverns, and the Jesse James Wax Museum in Stanton, the historic 1856 Harney House mansion, and the Meramec State Park in Sullivan. As you meander through leafy forests and pass peaceful rivers, Franklin County is a great way to get a feel for Missouri’s 66.
Jesse James Wax Museum, Stanton
Gardenway Motel, Gray Summit
MERAMEC CAVERNS
12 | Guide to Missouri’s Route 66
Meramec Caverns, Stanton
Lester Turilli, Notley Hawkins
The caverns are Missouri’s largest commercial caves that lie just beneath the lush hills of the Meramec Valley. The discovery of the caverns first came about in the early 1700s, when French explorer Philipp Renault journeyed through the unexplored lands of the state alongside an Osage Indian guide. They were initially called “Saltpeter Caves” due to the abundance of potassium nitrate found in the caves.
