Halltown

I mentioned Halltown in my previous post a couple of days ago. It's located about twelve to fifteen miles west of Springfield on Highway 266, which is old Route 66. You can see the town sitting off to the north near the Carthage-Avilla exit as you drive by on I-44. Halltown is one of many once-thriving small towns scattered throughout the Ozarks that have gone downhill since their heyday in the early 1900s. George Hall started the first business in Halltown in 1876, and the town was named after him. The town prospered, especially after the coming of the Mother Road, Route 66, during the 1920s. In 1925, Halltown boasted a high school, three general stores, nine service stations, two barber shops, and numerous other businesses. Later, the town was home to many antique shops and became known as the "Antique Capital of the World." When I-44 was built during the early 1960s, the road bypassed the business district, hastening the decline of Halltown, as it did for many other small towns along Route 66. Nowadays, most of the people who travel through Halltown are locals or Route 66 enthusiasts, and only one or two businesses remain.