Canute, OK
After all of the complicated turns to get to Canute following as much of the Old Road as possible, you'll find that Canute is little but relics. The highlights are the Canute Cultural Center (in the former 1928 Holey Family Church); the Cotton Boll Motel sign; the abandoned Uniroyal Station; and the Washita Motel sign.
A local preservation group has announced plans to promote the restoration of some Canute Route 66 attractions, including the restoration of the Cotton Boll Motel sign.
Canute has history some. In 1541, the Spanish explorer Coronado passed through present day Canute in search of the Lost City of Gold. Three hundred and fifty years later, hundreds of thousands of cattle were driven to northern markets over the Great Western Trail, which passed about a mile and a half east of present day Canute.
The town wasn't founded until 1902 near the long gone Rock Island Railroad. The first oil wells in west Texas were drilled on the C H Wilcox farm just north of town in 1917.
Canute was a big Route 66 stop until it was bypassed in 1970. Despite the town's decline, The Canute National Bank remains the oldest State chartered bank in Oklahoma still in operation.
Follow Route 66 through town - Go 0.4 miles past the RR overpass and go right under I-40 and then left on N Frontage Rd toward Elk City - Go straight through the first Stop sign and stay on N Frontage Rd to a second Stop sign past I-40 Exit 41 - Go left and take a quick right onto Bus 40 into Elk City - Follow Bus 40 through Downtown
Follow S Frontage Rd out of Canute - At the first Stop sign, go right over I-40 and get on S Frontage Rd - Cross over I-40 at Exit 50 going toward a KOA campground and go right onto N Frontage Rd - Go straight at the first Stop sign (next to an abandoned store on the right) - Go 3.8 miles and cross under I-40 at the first opportunity - Go left and follow S Frontage Rd (which will become Neptune Dr as you approach Clinton - Keep going to the Stop sign at Neptune Dr - Go left and follow Neptune under I-40 into Clinton - At the first Stop sign at Jaycee Lane (right before the Route 66 miniature golf) go straight then immediately bear right onto Opal - Go left at the next Stop sign onto US 183/4th St
View Route66mc.com - Canute to Clinton in a larger map
