If there’s a matriarch of Route 66, it’s Lucille Hamons, affectionately known as the “Mother of the Mother Road.” For nearly 60 years, Lucille offered weary travelers the kind of old-fashioned hospitality that turned her little service station in Hydro, Oklahoma, into a Route 66 legend. From hot plate breakfasts to the “coldest drinks in the state of Oklahoma,” Lucille made sure that anyone who pulled up to her pumps was taken care of like family.
Lucille ran the Provine Service Station and lived in a small apartment above the gas pumps. She served travelers from all walks of life until her final day, passing away at home on August 18, 2000, right there on Route 66.
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Today, Lucille is buried in the Hydro Masonic Cemetery, just minutes from the station she made famous. Her white tombstone is a tribute in itself, engraved with a large Route 66 shield, a nod to her Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame status, and the words “Died at Home on Route 66.” Visitors often leave flowers and mementos in honor of a woman whose warm spirit left a lasting impression on the Mother Road.
After paying your respects at the cemetery, take a short drive to Lucille’s Historic Highway Gas Statio to see where she lived and worked. Then grab a bite or stay the night at Lucille’s Roadhouse and Lucille’s Hotel, modern tributes that carry on her legacy of roadside hospitality.
Photos of the Grave of The Mother of the Mother Road in Hydro, Oklahoma
