The Jericho Gap, a muddy road that frustrated early motorists on Route 66. A forgotten farming community that depended on travelers. The preservationists determined to keep its history alive. This is the type of American story that we have a passion for sharing at Jim Hinckley’s America.

Travelers remember road trips for spectacular scenery, roadside attractions, and memorable adventures. Early travelers in the Texas Panhandle had other reasons for remembering the Jericho Gap in the Texas Panhandle.

The Jericho Gap

Mention the name Jericho Gap to a Route 66 enthusiast and a conversation begins. Talk to a local rancher with a long family history in the area and you will hear stories about Model Ts, axle-deep mud, and travelers who discovered that crossing the Texas Panhandle required patience and tenacity.

The Jericho Gap was an approximately 18-mile stretch of challenging dirt road associated with the original Route 66 alignment between Alanreed and Groom, Texas. When rain arrived, the road could become a sticky, nearly impassable mess.

But the story of Jericho is about considerably more than muddy roads. This nearly forgotten farming community is linked to the infancy of the U.S. highway system, including the Ozark Trail, the dawning of automobile tourism, the evolution of Route 66, and the economic fortunes of small-town America. It is a story of roads, resilience, preservation, and the people who refuse to let an important chapter of American history disappear.

Today, Blair and Blanca Schaffer are working to preserve the history of this remarkable ghost town through the Jericho Legacy Foundation.

Before Route 66: The Ozark Trail and America’s Good Roads Movement

To understand the transportation history of the Texas Panhandle, we need to turn back the clock to the first decades of the twentieth century.

Automobiles were becoming increasingly popular, even in rural areas. But the American road system was a patchwork of local roads, wagon trails, private toll roads, and occasionally marginally improved highways. Traveling any considerable distance could be an adventure. Obscure directions, primitive road surfaces, and limited services ensured that a road trip was truly an epic adventure.

William Hope “Coin” Harvey, was an entrepreneur, a visionary, and an enthusiastic advocate of improved roads and automobile tourism. In 1913, Harvey organized the Ozark Trails Association. He envisioned an automobile route connecting St. Louis, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Ozark Trail

The Ozark Trail was not a single government-built highway. As with the National Old Trails Road and hundreds of similar projects, it was a network of existing roads and locally maintained highways. These were connected through cooperation among communities, counties, and the association.

The Ozark Trails Association promoted better roads, tourism, maps, and recognizable route markers. Its distinctive concrete obelisks helped motorists identify the route and find their way across the country. Several Texas Panhandle and New Mexico counties participated in the effort.

The southern route of the Ozark Trail crossed the Texas Panhandle, including portions of Collingsworth, Childress, Hall, Briscoe, Swisher, Castro, and Parmer counties.

A particularly interesting reminder of that history can still be found near Turkey, Texas, where a Texas Historical Commission marker commemorates the Ozark Trail at Tampico. Another marker in Tulia recognizes the Ozark Trails Association and its influence on the development of regional highways. The association eventually disbanded in 1924, but its legacy continued.

The Route 66 Connection

By the late 1910s, the Ozark Trail network had helped establish important corridors of transportation across southwestern Missouri, Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, and eastern New Mexico. These early named roads became the foundation for the highway network that followed.

This is where the story of Jericho intersects with Route 66. The Ozark Trail and the Jericho Gap would serve as the course for the original alignment of Route 66.

Jericho, Texas: A Community Along the Mother Road

Established in 1902, Jericho developed as a small farming community in Donley County, Texas. Like many Panhandle communities, its fortunes were tied to agriculture, transportation, and the opportunities created by its location.

When Route 66 was designated in 1926, it incorporated existing roads such as the Ozark Trail across the Texas Panhandle. The highway brought a stream of travelers through the Jericho area which in turn added a new dimension to the town’s economy.

For a small community, this was a golden opportunity. Automobile travelers needed gasoline, mechanical assistance, food, lodging, and occasionally a little local ingenuity.

Businesses emerged to serve those needs. The Ashmead family operated a garage, while Ernest R. Reeves operated a filling station. A tourist court provided accommodations for travelers. At its peak during the 1930s, the population along the Jericho Gap reached approximately 100 people.

It was not a metropolis, but it was a functioning community with families, businesses, a school, and travelers passing through.

The Jericho Gap: Route 66’s Infamous Mud Pit

The approximately 18-mile Jericho Gap became one of the most notorious stretches of early Route 66 in Texas. The problem was the road surface, or the lack thereof.

The highway through the Gap was unpaved, and the area’s clay soil could become extraordinarily difficult to navigate after rainfall. When the weather cooperated, motorists could make progress. When it didn’t, automobiles became stranded in sticky mud.

Local farmers and residents sometimes used teams of horses or mules to pull vehicles free. Families, tourists, and commercial travelers could find themselves waiting for assistance, sometimes for hours or longer.

Imagine a cross-country automobile vacation in the 1920s. You have packed the luggage, gathered the family, and headed west in search of adventure. Then the automobile sinks into the Texas Panhandle.

This section of Route 66 became a symbol of the challenges facing early American highway development. U.S. 66 and other early highways were assembled from existing roads, improved over time, and repeatedly realigned as transportation needs changed. The Jericho Gap was just one of the places where those growing pains became legendary.

When the Highway Moved, Jericho Began to Disappear

The muddy road presented a challenge for highway officials, too. Improvements and realignments eventually changed the transportation corridor. In 1936, Route 66 was shifted north of Jericho, and the new alignment was subsequently paved.

The bypass changed everything for the little community. Businesses that depended on highway travelers were suddenly separated from the flow of customers.

Jericho gradually declined. Its population had fallen to approximately 50 by 1939, and the school eventually consolidated with Groom. The community that had once served travelers along one of America’s most important highways was becoming a ghost town.

This is a familiar story throughout America. A railroad changes its route. A highway bypasses a downtown business district. A new transportation corridor redirects commerce.

Sometimes a community adapts and becomes stronger with the struggles. Sometimes it disappears from the maps that once made it important. But buildings remain, and with them come stories.

Among the surviving historic structures in Jericho are the Reeves Filling Station and Tourist Courts. These remnants provide a tangible connection to the people who lived, worked, and traveled along the original Mother Road.

They are reminders that Route 66 history is not just about neon signs and celebrated diners. Route 66 is the American story made manifest.

Blair and Blanca Schaffer: Preserving the History of Jericho

Historic preservation requires research, patience, determination, financial resources, and people willing to tackle projects that might seem overwhelming to everyone else. In Jericho, Blair and Blanca Schaffer have embraced that challenge.

Their involvement in preserving the ghost town grew from an interest in the community’s history and its connection to Route 66. Blair also has family connections to Jericho. That was the subject of the March 16, 2025 episode of Coffee With Jim.

The Schaffers acquired the old townsite in 2020 and began working to document its history, stabilize historic structures, and make the story accessible to future generations. Their efforts have included cleanup and preservation work at the historic site, with a particular focus on the remaining buildings and the old tourist court complex. They are also working to share the stories of the families who once called Jericho home.

That is an important distinction. Preservation is not simply about saving old buildings. It is about preserving the stories associated with those buildings. The Schaffers are stewards that understand that the buildings and the stories belong together.

Their work is helping ensure that Jericho remains more than a forgotten name on an old highway map. And it is providing inspiration for a new generation of preservationists.

The Jericho Legacy Foundation: A Future for a Forgotten Town

To advance the preservation effort, the Jericho Legacy Foundation was established as a Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission encompasses historic preservation, education, storytelling, and community engagement.

The Foundation is working to stabilize and restore Jericho’s historic landmarks while documenting the history of the community and the families who once lived there. The objective is straightforward. Make sure that Jericho’s history remains accessible to future generations.

And 2026, the centennial year of Route 66, is an especially appropriate time to bring attention to this effort.

The iconic Main Street of America has always been about more than transportation. It is a cultural landmark, a collection of communities, and a remarkable record of America’s social and economic development. Preserving places such as Jericho helps tell the complete story.

Jericho 1000: 1,000 Supporters, $66 Each, and a $66,000 Goal

The Jericho Legacy Foundation has announced an ambitious fundraising initiative called Jericho 1000. The goal is to bring together 1,000 supporters, each contributing $66, to raise $66,000 for the preservation of Jericho’s historic landmarks and stories.

The campaign is part of The Panhandle Gives, running November 23 through December 1, 2026.

The Foundation has identified several preservation priorities:

• Stabilization and restoration of the historic farmhouse.
• A new windmill that will once again pump water.
• Preservation of the historic sandlot baseball field, where Jericho’s hometown team played.
• Windows and doors for the Reeves filling station and motor courts to help protect the structures from further deterioration.

The Foundation is already accepting donations. A contribution of $66 is a fitting tribute to the Mother Road, but the larger objective is to ensure that Jericho’s history survives for another century.

Learn more about Jericho and the campaign on last week’s episode of Coffee With Jim, the weekly podcast from Jim HInckley’s America.

The campaign offers an opportunity for Route 66 enthusiasts, historians, preservation advocates, and travelers from across the country to become part of the effort.

The Panhandle Gives: https://www.thepanhandlegives.org/organization/Jericho-Legacy-Foundation

Jericho Legacy Foundation: https://www.thejerichogap.com/

Coffee With Jim: A Conversation About Jericho’s Past and Future

There is something particularly rewarding about meeting the people who are doing the work of preserving America’s history. That is at the heart of Coffee With Jim.

During our visit with Blair and Blanca Schaffer we talked about Jericho, the infamous Jericho Gap, the history of Route 66, and the work of the Jericho Legacy Foundation. It is was a reminder that the great American road trip is about the people, places, and stories encountered along the way.

From the Ozark Trail to the Jericho Gap, from the early days of automobile tourism to the Route 66 Centennial, this is an American story worth hearing.

Why Jericho Matters: History, Tourism, and Community Revitalization

The story of Jericho offers several lessons that extend far beyond the Texas Panhandle.

First, transportation corridors shape communities. The Ozark Trail, the early numbered highways, Route 66, and eventually Interstate 40 demonstrate how changing transportation patterns can create and diminish economic opportunities.

Second, historic preservation is an investment in the future. Historic buildings and documented community stories can become the foundation for heritage tourism. They give travelers a reason to leave the interstate, explore a community, spend money, and connect with its residents.

Third, small communities possess assets that are often overlooked. A ghost town, a historic filling station, or an old windmill might not appear on a conventional list of major tourist attractions. But together, these resources can create an authentic experience that cannot be replicated.

Preservation is not simply about looking backward. It is about using the past to create opportunities for the future. The Jericho Gap may have earned its reputation as one of Route 66’s most troublesome stretches of road, but today it represents something much more encouraging.

It represents determination, community pride, and the power of individuals to make a difference. So, the next time you cross the Texas Panhandle, remember Jericho. Remember the motorists who struggled through the mud, the families who built businesses along the highway, and the people who are now working to preserve their legacy.

And remember that sometimes the most fascinating discoveries are found not on the newest highway, but along the forgotten roads that helped build America.

The road may have moved on, but the story of Jericho is far from over.

Jim Hinckley’s America — Telling People Where to Go Since 1990.