| Afton Station | |
| Map Type: | Oklahoma |
| Map Size: | 200 |
| Coordinates: | 36.6944°N -94.9621°W |
| Established: | 1999 |
| Location: | 12 SE First Street, U.S. Route 66, Afton, Oklahoma[1] |
| Type: | Packard automotive museum |
| Collection: | 18 Packard and other vintage automobiles |
| Visitors: | 6000/yr (2012) |
| Owner: | Laurel and David Kane |
Afton Station Packard Museum, a privately owned automotive museum on U.S. Route 66 in Afton, Oklahoma,[2] was situated in a restored 1930s Eagle D-X filling station.[3] It housed a showroom, 18 Packards & other vintage automobiles plus a collection of Route 66 memorabilia, including items from the now-demolished Buffalo Ranch Trading Post.[4]
A restored set of historic D-X fuel pumps stood in the old station's forecourt and the red and white on blue "Approved Packard Service" dealership logo was proudly displayed atop a signpost.[5]
As a Route 66 information stop for travelers, who came from as far afield as Europe, Australia, and Asia,[6] the station/welcome center distributed maps, guidebooks and memorabilia as well as word-of-mouth information about The Mother Road.[7]
Afton, established 1886 and named for River Afton in Scotland by a railroad surveyor, was once home to a railroad repair facility, turntable and roundhouse. The locomotive repair facility closed in the 1930s, soon after the 1926 designation of U.S. Route 66 in the area. The Eagle D-X station opened in 1933 and has sold various brands of fuel under different owners over the years.[8] In its 1940s heyday, it was one of three stations in a four-block section of US 66. A 1981 photo shows the station as a tin-roof structure with three modern D-X fuel pumps in the forecourt.[9]
The town depended on Route 66 as its economic lifeblood until the construction of Interstate 44 in Oklahoma in 1957 sent the community into decline.[10] Various motels and cafés closed their doors forever;[11] the Buffalo Ranch Trading Post closed upon its owner Aleene Albro's demise in 1997 and was demolished in 2002.[12]
Laurel and David Kane purchased the former D-X station in 1999 to be restored and used to house an existing Packard memorabilia collection. The once-vibrant town, long bypassed by the Interstate highway system, had been reduced to 800 people and a handful of local stores.[13]
Afton Station was recognised as the "Route 66 Business of the Year"[11] at the 2009 International Route 66 Festival in Flagstaff, Arizona.[14]
Following the deaths of Laurel Kane in 2016, and that of David Kane in 2018, Afton Station's collection of Packards and other memorabilia were sold.[15] According to the station's website, the property is expected to be sold in a public auction scheduled for June 29, 2019.[16]