Gasoline

[W. Gray]

Marcia,

You mentioned K-11. What do you have as to when the numbering changed to K-99?

A couple years ago a web site stated that it changed in 1941 but I have since seen Elk County maps back to 1934 which show K-99. The intended reason for changing the number was so that K-99 would align with Oklahoma 99 on the south and Nebraska 99 on the north.

Interesting that the highway once went through "downtown" Climax.

[Marcia Moore]

Waldo -     
     I do not have the information as to when Hwy. 11 became known as Hwy. 99, but did find out when it became known as Hwy. 11.  Here is what I found in my records:
     By 1926, Hockaday Road had become known as State Highway 11 and had a paved surface.  That year one hundred twenty signs were placed along the highway, which passed north and south through the county, going through each town along the way.  But Highway 11 did not travel directly through Severy, as Hockaday Road had done – it instead traveled along the west edge of town.  Highway 11 was later renamed Highway 99, and this highway traveled along the west edge of Severy until early 1986, at which time the state built a new one-mile strip of highway and a new Highway 99 South junction, causing Highway 99 to bypass Severy one mile to the west.  At this time, the dangerous bridge one mile west of Severy was destroyed and a new bridge was built to the west.
     Also, as for Climax -- the highway did not pass directly through the town of Climax.  It initially traveled along the west edge of Climax, on what is now a county road known as "S50" Road.

[Marcia Moore]

     Severy did have a highway that ran right through the middle of town on Main Street.  The Ozark Trail, also known as the Cannonball State Route was built through Severy in 1916.  In 1926, the Ozark Trail become known as State Highway 96 and was paved.  Highway 96 was named by Wichita service station operator F.W. "Woody" Hockaday, who placed signs advertising his business along all the roads into Wichita.  Because he had placed so many signs along this highway, the state allowed him to choose the number for the new highway.  He chose "96" because that was his phone number.
     In 1934, it was proposed that Hwy. 96 be rerouted in several places – one of the changes suggested by the state engineer was that the route leave the Ozark Trail about four miles east of Severy and continue west in a direct course three-fourths of a mile, thence north one-half mile, then due west to a point west of Piedmont.  The proposed road would miss the towns of Fall River, Severy, Piedmont and Beaumont, traveling along the south side of Twin Groves Cemetery.  Residents along the way argued strongly against the rerouting of the road, but to no avail.
     Of course, Highway 96 through this area is now known as Hwy. 400.   

[frawin]

And some of us still call the Ozark Trail road "Old 96"

Myrna