Along 66, October 2019: Before It Was John's Modern Cabins-- Part 1

Most every Route 66 fan knows about the further deterioration of an old motel near Rolla, Missouri, called John's Modern Cabins.  We never go by that stretch without stopping to take a look at it.

OCTOBER26--  Joe Sonderman, Mr. Postcard, has found a rare image of the roadside business which later became John's Modern Cabins near Newburg, Missouri.

It's name in the photograph is Bill's Place taken sometime in the 1940s.  Courthouse documents list the name as Bill and Bessie's Place or Bill and Bess' Place, located between Rolla and Arlington, Missouri.

Bess died sometime in the mid-1930s.  Original owner Bill Bayless sold it in 1945.  After that, it changed hands several times until John Dausch bought it in 1951 and renamed it John's Modern Cabins and added a new neon sign with the name on it.

At least one of the cabins was razed when Route 66 was widened  shortly after he acquired i.

--RoadJohn