Hackberry General Store

Hackberry General Store in Kingman, Arizona opened in 1934 as The Northside Grocery in Hackberry, serving as a service and gas station and general store for locals and Route 66 travelers. The town had been founded in 1874 when silver was found in the area, and it continued to grow as ranchers and miners began migrating there. By 1919, the silver dried up, the mine was closed, and the area suffered. When Route 66 was later routed through the now ghost town, the business thrived.

Unfortunately, in the late 1970s, the construction of I-40 allowed visitors to once again bypass the area between Kingman and Seligman. Business declined and it was forced to close.

In 1992 Hackberry General Store was acquired by Bob Waldmire, an artist who was known for his family’s Cozy Dogs and for traveling The Mother Road in his orange 1972 Volkswagen Microbus (on display at the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum in Pontiac, Illinois). He reopened the business as a souvenir shop and Route 66 information center.

In 1998 Waldmire sold the business to John and Kerry Pritchard and, in 2016, they sold it to Amy Franklin, who still runs it today.

To the ordinary eye, this Arizona road trip stop might look like a junkyard. With the rustic building, menagerie of signs, old dry gas pumps, payphones, and vintage cars strewn across the property. But to the experienced road tripper, it’s ripe with history and photo opps. There’s a collection of vintage cars from the 1940s and 60s, a Mobil gas Pegasus on the roof, and plenty more relics and memorabilia around.

Inside the general store carries all the souvenirs you’d expect, and many you wouldn’t expect! Among the snacks, postcards, magnets, and mugs you can purchase inside is a treasure trove of treasures serving as a museum of Route 66 and the visitors who like to leave their mark.

The ceiling is lined with license plates donated by customers. Another wall features patches and currency from around the world. There’s also a recreated 1950s diner, complete with a jukebox, among other artifacts of The Mother Road.