The owners of the Threatt Filling Station near Luther, Oklahoma, told a local television station they plan to open an interpretive center in May at the Route 66 property.
A reporter from News on 66 interviewed Edward Threatt, a descendant of the station’s original owner, Allen Threatt, who founded the station more than a century ago.
The long-closed gas station underwent extensive renovations several years ago. And opening an interpretive center to explain the property’s history isn’t the only plan in the works:
Across more than 100 acres, ideas include rebuilding a baseball diamond that once played host to the Negro Leagues, reopening a restaurant next-door, and an RV Park.
“I’m trying to make sure that people know that they can come here,” Edward said. “They can enjoy, relax, and know that if you don’t look like me, I’m not going to discriminate against you.”
The Threatt Filling Station is believed to be the only Black-owned and operated gas station on Route 66 during the Jim Crow era, though it was never listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book.
Built by Allen Threatt in 1915, the bungalow-style station made of rock from the Threatt quarry was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The station operated until the 1960s or ’70s, when it was converted into living quarters.
(Courtesy image of Ed Threatt and Bill Thomas at the Threatt Filling Station in Luther, Oklahoma, in 2022)