Missouri State University received a $5,000 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from its Innovation Fund. These grant funds will be used to conduct a one-year project to develop Project MO Tell, a mobile, crowd-sourced archive containing both current and historic images, recordings and interpretive information about Missouri’s Historic Route 66 Motels, stretching from St. Louis to Joplin.

This grant was referenced in Take a spin down memory lane, Route 66.

“Organizations like Missouri State University help to ensure that communities and towns all across America retain their unique sense of place,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “We are honored to provide a grant to Missouri State University, which will use the funds to help preserve an important piece of our shared national heritage.”

Using mobile-friendly services such as Guide by Cell, Historypin, TagWhat and a dedicated YouTube channel, Project MO Tell will make it easy to create and share timely information gathered by everyone who travels, lives, works and stays along this historic corridor.

“We are excited to work with the public, the National Trust, the owners of these historic properties, and other partner and supporting organizations on this mobile crowdsourcing project to help remember and preserve these classic motels and motor courts,” said Tom Peters, Missouri State University’s dean of libraries. “Project MO Tell meshes well with our existing Route 66 efforts, including the project funded by the National Park Service to create, transcribe, and make available online oral histories about Route 66, with an emphasis on the African-American experience in Greene County, Missouri.”

Partner organizations in the project include the Route 66 Association of Missouri  and the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, which facilitates the process of identifying properties significant to the citizens, state and nation, and planning for their preservation.

“We hope Project MO Tell leads to additional mobile, crowd-sourced preservation and economic development initiatives along the entire eight-state corridor, as we all prepare for the centennial of the birth of Route 66 on April 30, 2026,” added Peters.

Grants from the National Trust Preservation Funds range from $2,500 to $5,000 and have provided over $15 million since 2003. These matching grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the country to support wide-ranging activities including consultant services for rehabilitating buildings, technical assistance for tourism that promotes historic resources, and the development of materials for education and outreach campaigns.

For more information on National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Fund grants, visit: www.PreservationNation.org/funding.