Meramec Caverns barns, a few of which still stand along Route 66, were included on Landmarks Illinois’ annual list of its Most Endangered Historic Places.
This is what the nonprofit organization said about Meramec Caverns barns:
Meramec Caverns is a cave network and tourist attraction located on Route 66 near Stanton, Missouri. In 1933, amateur spelunker Lester Dill purchased the caverns and began to provide tours. To market the tours, he began offering to paint nearby farmers’ barns for free if the owners would allow him to advertise the Meramec Caverns on them.
Barn advertisements began to crop up along Route 66, the National Road and other thoroughfares. Millions of motorists traveled these highways, making the barns ideal billboards. Dill and his employee, Jim Gauer, painted close to 400 barns in 14 states, including a number in Illinois.
Many of the Meramec Cavern mural barns across the original 14 states have been lost, and those still standing are in deteriorated condition. This spring, Landmarks Illinois and the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway identified five Meramec Cavern Barns in Illinois in various states of disrepair. Two of them face imminent danger: one near Glenn, Illinois, and the other near Cayuga, Illinois. The disappearance of these structures represents an ongoing loss of Illinois’s heritage tourism. The barns are not merely colorful roadside kitsch, but also pieces of the history of Route 66 and the National Road, two of the most historically significant highways in the United States.
Landmarks Illinois will continue to work with the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway and the Route 66 Association of Illinois to identify the remaining Meramec Caverns barns in Illinois. Working with the owners, an action plan can be developed to address the deteriorated barns with the help of grant funding and volunteers.
The Cayuga barn was repainted by volunteers from the Route 66 Association of Illinois Preservation Committee in 1998.
Committee volunteers also repainted another Meramec Caverns barn near Staunton Hamel, Illinois, but a tornado destroyed it some years ago.
Landmarks Illinois urges people with more information about the barns to contact Casey Claypool at the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway at casey@illinoisroute66.org.
The other endangered properties listed this year:
- Chicago Vocational High School
- JJ Walser House, Chicago
- Outdoor theater at the South Shore Cultural Center, Chicago
- Spivey Building, East St. Louis
- Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Lincoln
- Fordon Horse Barn, Oak Brook
- W.A. McConnell Farmstead, Richmond
- Judge William D. Barry House, St. Charles
- Stephen Brothers Opera House, Watseka
Landmarks Illinois has issued its most-endangered list since 1995.
“The purpose of the list is to focus attention on sites threatened by deterioration, lack of maintenance, insufficient funds or inappropriate development and to bolster local advocacy efforts and build support for each property’s eventual preservation,” the organization stated. “The Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois list also draws attention to important policy issues that affect these properties and historic properties throughout the state.”
(Image of a Meramec Caverns barn near Cayuga, Illinois, via Landmarks Illinois)