What was the name of the organization founded in 1927 to promote U.S. Route 66?

The organization founded in 1927 to promote U.S. Route 66 was the U.S. Highway 66 Association.

The association was created shortly after Route 66 entered the federal highway system. It promoted the road to travelers and businesses, encouraged improvements, and helped build the route’s public identity through advertising and organized advocacy.

Promotional groups were important because early numbered highways were not automatically famous or easy to travel. Associations worked with towns, merchants, and state officials to publicize routes and encourage better road conditions. Route 66’s association helped popularize descriptions such as “Main Street of America.”

The organization’s work was disrupted by World War II-era restrictions on fuel and rubber. After the war, Jack and Gladys Cutberth revived it in Clinton, Oklahoma, in 1947. It eventually ceased operating in the 1980s, but later preservation organizations adopted many of its promotional ideas while focusing on historic buildings, alignments, and roadside culture.