The Town of Normal, Illinois, recently named Terri Ryburn, ambassador of the Route 66 landmark Sprague’s Service Station, as its 2026 Citizen of the Year.
Mayor Chris Koos recognized Ryburn’s renovations of the station and other work documenting the history of Route 66, reported WGLT radio.
More from the town’s Facebook page:
The honor serves as a sort of sendoff for Ryburn, who announced she is retiring from her Ryburn Place gift shop and visitors center at the station.
“Well, nobody does this for the money, you know. We do it for love, and the fact that the town has taken it over means a lot to me because it means that long after I’m dead and gone, people can come and visit this building, and I’ll probably still be haunting it,” she said.
“I’ve had people come back two or three times, and I’ve even had international folks come more than once, you know, maybe two, three years apart. They’ll show up again.” […]
“I now understand two of my very dear friends knew about it and didn’t tell me, so I’ll get them later … it’s a wonderful honor,” said Ryburn. “When I bought the building 20 years ago, it never occurred to me what a difference it might make to the community. I just had to save that building.”
A history major, she worked at nearby Illinois State University for much of her life until she retired from there in 2005.
Afterward, Ryburn shifted her focus to restoring the historic gas station using grants and her own money.
It was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and named a Town of Normal Local Landmark in 2011.
After the town bought the property in 2016, she ran Ryburn Place. She welcomed over 4,200 visitors in 2025, nearly a quarter of whom were international.
“Some people see an old building and see what it has become. Terri Ryburn saw what [it] could be,” Koos said at Tuesday’s reception. “When she purchased Sprague’s Service Station, she took on more than a restoration project. She claimed a piece of Normal’s history.”
“Thanks to her vision, determination and perseverance, she brought the story of Sprague’s Super Service back to life. Our entire community benefits from her work.”
Sprague Super Service was built in 1931 on Route 66 by William Sprague. It was unique in its design in doubling as a gas station and residence.
It originally sold Cities Service gas, but it became other businesses by the 1940s. The pumps were removed by 1979.