Two tourism icons in Logan County receive grants

From news reports
·3 min read

The Atlanta Tourism and the Logan Tourism/The Mill Museum each received $1,000 grant from the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway.

The Mill Museum on Route 66 was once a popular restaurant that travelers would stop at while traveling Route 66. The Mill, featuring a Dutch-inspired design and a turning windmill, opened as a restaurant on U.S. 66 in 1929. The Mill is a member of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame.

The Mill Museum recently received a grant from the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byways.
The Mill Museum recently received a grant from the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byways.

It is now a museum that houses collections from The Mill, The Tropics, and the Pig Hip.

Representatives from Logan County Tourism/The Mill Museum asked for help in making the grounds more accessible for all.

“We would like to build a pavilion behind the Mill Museum that could be used for different events throughout the year that the Mill will host or be an event space that others will be able to rent. The Byway Project Funds would be used to buy the materials for the pavilion,” as written in a statement from the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway.

“We would like to use this pavilion as an event space that would bring people to the Mill. An event with live music and food trucks would be great especially on Sundays when many local restaurants are closed,” it continued.

Members from the Atlanta Tourism group would like to pay tribute to African Americans and their role in adding to the town’s history.

Inside Route 66 Park, on the corner of Arch and Race Street, right on the 1926 Route 66 alignment, memories from Atlanta’s past come to life.
Inside Route 66 Park, on the corner of Arch and Race Street, right on the 1926 Route 66 alignment, memories from Atlanta’s past come to life.

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“There is the iconic bubbler fountain, former Atlanta Fair ticket booth, Knights of Pythias marker, and more mementos from Atlanta’s past. However, these mementos only tell one side of the story. There is not an outdoor marker or sign detailing the African American Experience in Atlanta, which can be traced back to the Civil War,” as written in a statement from the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway.

“We will be creating outdoor signage and an exhibit portraying this story. It will highlight the African American Civil War Veterans that settled in Atlanta, detail the events of the Atlanta Fair BBQ, which commemorated the 12th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, memorialize the first African American graduate from Atlanta High School (Walter White in 1884), and utilize oral histories of the African American Experience in recent Atlanta history,” the statement continued.

“These are important stories to tell, and Route 66 Park will be the place to include this into the mementos of Atlanta’s past and present.”

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Funds from the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway award will be used to create an interpretive experience detailing the African American stories in Atlanta.

“Visitors in town will be able to see the interpretive signage and freestanding interpretive marker. Visitors will walk through Atlanta’s past in Route 66 Park and will learn about the impact African Americans had in Atlanta and how they shaped Atlanta’s history,” the statement continued.

Two other byway member projects who also received $1,000 were O'Brien Tire & Auto Care in Granite City for help with a mural and DeCamp Station in Staunton to help waterproof the roadhouse bar basement and to preserve the foundation.

This article originally appeared on Lincoln Courier: Two tourism projects receive grants from Route 66 Scenic Byway