Soulsby Station

102 Route 66, Mt. Olive, IL
Phone:

East < GO > West

Henry Soulsby and his son Russell, built this station in 1926 as a Shell station which it continued to be until they stopped selling gas in 1991. Russel and his sister Ola helped their father run the station and continued to run it after he retired. Another sister, Wilma also helped at the station. It was restored by a new owner beginning in 2003, that project was helped along by a 2009 preservation grant. The station is located on old Route 66 (now State Route 66) one block south of Main St. It is a very popular photo stop for Route 66 roadies.

GPS: 39.071146, -89.735317

A pair of old Shell gas pumps can be seen under the canopy. Originally there was a pair of visible gravity fed pumps here. The 1944 Route 66 realignment bypassed the station, so Russell, who had been a communications technician in the military during WWII, set up a radio and TV repair business in what had been a storage room at the station to help the business survive.

There wasn't room at the station for a garage so minor repairs and oil changes were performed on a vintage outdoor ramp which is still located on the south side of the station. In the years since the repair work stopped a tree has grown up in the middle of that ramp. If that seems primitive, think about this ... the station never had a washbasin, a toilet or any other plumbing except for the water tap the Soulsbys used to refill overheated radiators.

This photo shows the Soulsby residence behind the station. Mike Dragovich bought the station, house and couple of adjacent lots in 1997.

The station was placed on National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Photo(s): 2012, 2016, 2023