One hundred years of road trips, memories made, and adventures. That is what folks from throughout the world will be celebrating in 2026 as this is the Route 66 centennial.

The Dunton family has been doing business along this road in western Arizona even longer. When N.R. Dunton went to work in the garage in Goldroad, Arizona this was the National Old Trails Road.

And now the Dunton family is writing a new chapter in Route 66 history. They are also adding to the story of the family’s legacy with the transformation of the Dunton Motors Dream Machines facility in Kingman, Arizona.

One Hundred Years

Legend has it that N.R. Dunton had hit hard times. It was a fit of desperation that drove him to leave his young family in Los Angeles and accept a shaky job offer in the remote mining camp of White Hills, Arizona. When that job fell through he was working his way back to California when he lucked into a job at the garage in Goldroad. That was about 1924.

The story of these early years is a bit murky. But over the course of the next five years Dunton built Cool Springs along the National Old Traisl Road on the east slope of Sitgreaves Pass in the Black Mountains. And arrangements were also made for him to purchase the garage in Goldroad.

Details about how all of this came about may be fuzzy. But when it comes to ambition, vision, and entrepreneurial spirt, there is no doubt. Dunton had all three in spades.

A Century of Service

Dunton expanded the garage by adding a bay, and an outdoor hydraulic lube rack. Then he begen renting and selling mining quipment, much of it purchased from mining companies that had gone belly up. He also acquired the contract to provide garbage service and a school bus for Goldroad.

As Goldroad was at the bottom of the Sitgreaves Pass grade on the west side, the steepest grade anywhere on Route 66, he offered a towing service. In A Guide Book to Highway 66 published in 1946 by Jack Rittenhouse, it was noted that this service was available for cars unable to pull the grade. Not mentioned was another service, to provide drivers for the traveler intimidated by Sitgreaves Pass.

Dunton hired young men and even teenagers that would drive clients cars to Snell’s Summit Station, or Ed’s Camp further down the east side of the pass. They would then walk back or hitchhike.

A Family Business

The various Dunton enterprises became a family business in about 1938. That was the year that N.R. drove his new Chrysler Airflow to Spokane, Washington and delivered a nephew, Roy, from the drudgery of swamping a saloon and occasional bar tending duties.

Roy had a mechanical appitude and soon proved to be a valued asset to the garage. And he also was a dependable tow truck driver.

By late 1940 there was a noticable change in the air. The winds of war were sweeping across Euope and Asia, and it was increasingly obvious that the United States would be caught up in the maelstrom.

First came gas rationing. Then came the closure of the mines in Goldroad. Business all but dried up at the garage. But N.R. was a man of vision.

The Kingman Chapter

In 1946, he acquired the newly built Taylor Owens Ford dealership on Front Street (now Andy Devine Avenue) in Kingman. The location was perfect. It was on Route 66. And it was next door to the popular Kingman Cafe and Shell station that had opened in 1940.

Lots of family and Route 66 history is wrapped up in this old dealership. Over the years it served as a full line Ford agency, and then it transitioned into an Edsel dealership. And for a while the Mohave County Sheriff Department patrolled Route 66 and roads in western Arizona in the cars with a distinctive horse collar grille that gave the appearance of a Buick sucking a lemon. And finally it provided service to travelers and locals as a full line GM facility.

Roy Dunton purchased the dealership in about 1950. Herb Bidulph was his partner as well as the first mayor of Kingman after the city incorporated in 1952.

Times Change

Completion of I40 and the bypass of Route 66 was the catalyst for the family to build a new dealership closer to the interstate. So, for a time, the orignal dealership, was leased to the Mohave County Road Department.

After the county built a new facility, Roy and his son Scott wrote the next chapters in the old dealerships story. They turned it into a classic car dealership and restoration facility. They then purchased the Kimo Cafe, the old Kingman Cafe, and transformed it into Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner.

True to their roots, Scott Dunton established the Route 66 Association of Kingman Arizona in 1994. As envisioned the association would play a leading role in harnessing the dawning Route 66 renaissance as a catalyst for breathing new life into the historic business district and Route 66 corridor in Kingman.

The Centennial

As the association was headquartered in the dealership, it became a focal point for activities and a destination. Receptions for groups such as the Dutch Route 66 Association were hosted in the old showroom. And treasures of the renaissance era were mingled with tarnished gems from every stage of Route 66 evolution.

Scott’s daughter Shelby, and a grandson, Alek, are building on that legacy. The showroom is an auto museum and first rate Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner gift shop filled with souvenirs from Kingman and Route 66.

On display are a century of momentos. Orignal signs from the National Old Trails Road and Golroad Garage. Neon dealership signs, a vintage Coke machine, and official Chevrolet display that details mechanical charges in 1934. A Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner diorama created by acclaimed Dutch artist Willem Bor, a founding member of the Dutch Route 66 Association.

And now a new chapter. Coming soon –