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Chambless Market, Station & Cottages

Route 66 at Cadiz Rd., Chambless, CA
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The former Chambless Market is closed and fenced off. In 1932 James A. Chambless started his business here and saw it grow to include a service station, cafe, grocery store and cabins. A large canopy over the pumps in front of the station provided a bit of shade for travelers while they were getting gas. Sometime in the mid-1960s the property was apparently purchased by Lorraine and Erwin Stevens who operated it for a couple decades. In 1976 the station sold Arco gas.

The canopy is long gone now having given way in a windstorm, reportedly in the 1990's. Most of the roof on the main building was missing when we took these photo's in 2013. Needless to say the pumps have also been removed. The current owner has fenced in the property. The station reopened and shortly closed again in the early 1990s.

A set of boarded up cabins stands just off Route 66 at Cadiz Road. The trees are a pretty unusual sight along this part of the Mother Road. They provided shade in a picnic area here years ago. At one time these cabins were rented out to workers who work at a nearby vineyard. Most of the original nine cabins were still standing when we took these photos in 2013.

There is also a historical marker at the corner of National Trail Highway and Cadiz Road that memorializes the the highway and Route 66. The fraternal organization "E Clampus Vitus" which is dedicated to the study and preservation of the heritage of the American West erected the marker in 1992.

Photo(s): 2013