(From the State Historical Society of Missouri)
Alberta’s Hotel near U.S. Highway Route 66 in Springfield offered Black travelers a reliable and welcoming place to stay during the Jim Crow era.
Run by Alberta Northcutt Ellis and her family, the hotel provided comfort, home-cooked meals, and a sense of ease at a time when many African Americans had to plan every stop with care.
Drawing on photographs, oral histories, family recollections, and entries from The Negro Motorist Green Book, this webinar traces how Alberta transformed a former city hospital into a trusted stop along one of America’s most well-known highways. Join SHSMO historian Bridget Haney, PhD, and Kathleen Seale, coordinator of the SHSMO Rolla and Springfield Research Centers as we explore how everyday acts of care shaped the meaning of travel for Black Americans who were not always free to move without worry. Alberta’s work also connected her hotel to a wider network of local businesses and families who helped travelers move across Missouri with greater confidence.
Join Kathleen Seale and the staff of the State Historical Society of Missouri on the second Thursday of the month at 11a.m. for Asphalt to Archives webinars about the people and places in Missouri that helped make Route 66 into a national icon. This webinar series is a Route 66 Centennial Certified Project through the National Route 66 Centennial Commission.
To receive a zoom link, please register separately for each monthly program in the Asphalt to Archives series, April through November 2026. This program, sponsored by the State Historical Society of Missouri, is available online and free. Register today!
[Image: Alberta's Hotel circa 1956, Logan Family Collection, MSU Special Collections and Archives]
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