This idea has been percolating for many years, but started gelling in 2010. When it was presented to the Bethany Improvement Foundation, Bethany, OK, it was embraced with great excitement. Thanks to them, we are now an incorporated entity and have 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.

One of the biggest concerns is location.

Ideally we want to locate in Bethany with frontage along Route 66.

But Bethany only has two pieces of property that are large enough to meet our needs. One is controlled by a family estate interested in leasing only a portion of their property, and that to commercial interests so significant sales tax revenue can be generated for the town. The other is located within the Wiley Post Airport complex, which is controlled by the OKC Airport Authority. It has potential restrictions on use, would be lease-only, and would require development that we would have to pay for.

We are also looking at properties west of Lake Overholser, between Bethany and Yukon.  These properties would require purchase and extensive development.

Locating any further west places the museum too far away to be visited on a regular basis by most of the greater OKC metro. Locating within OKC or Edmond along the Route 66 corridor is prohibitively expensive. Plus we like the idea of being in a smaller community that can benefit from our presence by way of tourism.