Williams

A springtime rainbow arcs over Route 66 and the Grand Canyon Hotel, Arizona's oldest hostelry that opened in 1891.

Williams

Williams and the 9,170-foot Bill Williams Mountain are named for an eccentric fur trapper who explored the Southwest for about 30 years. A war party of Utes killed him in 1849 in southern Colorado, according to Arizona historian Marshall Trimble.

A quarter century later, the first settlers put down roots in Williams. The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad arrived in 1882 and that fostered cattle, lumber and mining operations in the area.

Tourism took off in 1901 with the completion of a Santa Fe Railroad line to Grand Canyon. Route 66 was established in 1926 and brought tens of millions of motorists through Williams over nearly 60 years.

Williams was the last town on Route 66 bypassed by Interstate 40 in 1984. The town was crippled by the loss of motorists rolling through on its pair of one-way streets.

Grand Canyon Railway came to the rescue of Williams in 1989 bringing train loads of visitors after a few years.

The mountain town ramped up its dormant tourism businesses with rail passengers bound for the Grand Canyon just as Route 66 nostalgia was gaining traction across Arizona.

Williams renaissance is a pleasant surprise for anyone who passed through the forlorn town in the mid-1980s. Now the summer sidewalks are full of people in the evening and motels are full of Route 66 roadies and train travelers.

Williams paved Route 66 early

In 1928, Williams' main business district was one of the first paved sections of Route 66 on the 2-year-old highway.

In 1957, Railroad Avenue was designated as Route 66 for westbound traffic and Bill Williams Avenue was the one-way route for eastbound traffic on the Mother Road. It's cool how some of the businesses spanned the one-way routes to lure customers on both roads.

Hungry travelers should try the Pine Country Restaurant for breakfast and lunch. It's also known for its extensive menu of pies.

Red Raven Restaurant is a legitimate fine dining restaurant with reasonable prices, plus a good wine and dessert list.

Grand Canyon Hotel is one of Arizona's oldest inns. Other historic hotels brag about visits by presidents and Hollywood stars. This rustic hotel boasts that it hosted naturalist John Muir, the Vanderbilts and the King of Siam.

We also like the Lodge on Route 66 and the Red Garter Inn with four rooms in the 1897 Tetzlaff Building. It started out as a saloon and bordello. The brick building halted and survived a 1901 fire that destroyed the town’s wooden saloons.

The Tetzlaff Building is named for August Tetzlaff, an immigrant German tailor who settled in Williams in 1895. Two years later, he
bought two parcels of land for $325 and opened his two-story business with the St. Elmo saloon on the first floor.

The brothel was run separately. Local cattlemen, loggers and miners drinking in the saloon navigated a steep 21-step staircase to "socialize” with the “soiled doves” on the second floor. That tricky jaunt was known as “the cowboy’s endurance test.”

In the 1940s, Williams leaders decided the town could no longer tolerate prostitution and the cops shut down the bordello.

The Tetzlaff Building fell into disrepair by the 1970s. Contractor John Holst bought the building, which was serving as a warehouse for tires and car parts. He rebuilt the eight-crib bordello into the four-room Red Garter Inn.

Other historic businesses in Williams include the throwback Canyon Club and World Famous Sultana Bar. The well-aged watering holes are among Arizona's best saloons. And don't miss Historic Brewery Barrel & Bottle House, next door to the Red Garter Inn. Historic's Piehole Porter, with cherry and vanilla flavors, is one of its best brews.

Riding that train, high on the plain

The tourist train leaves Williams for Grand Canyon at 9:30 a.m. and the railroad folks stage mock gunfights at the depot before boarding passengers. The train travels at a leisurely pace on a two-hour-plus run to the South Rim. The best scenery is near Williams and Grand Canyon in the Ponderosa pine forest.

Another popular family attraction is Bearizona Wildlife Park just east of town at I-40 and State Route 64. Visitors drive and walk through the 160-acre zoo in the pines. Admission starts at $20 and goes up to $35. Check Bearizona's website for details.

Grand Canyon Deer Farm is 8 miles east of Williams at Exit 171 off I-40. The 10-acre petting zoo includes reindeer, coatimundis, wallabies and talking birds. Admission prices range from $10 to $18.

There's lots of hiking and camping in the Kaibab National Forest near Williams. To get to the Bill Williams Mountain trailhead, go west on Railroad Avenue from downtown for a mile and turn left at the sign for the Williams District Ranger Station. Follow the signs along the frontage road to the trail

For a backroad adventure, take Fourth Street south out of town, which becomes the Perkinsville Road. It's paved for 30 miles and then is a relatively smooth dirt road that descends into the Verde Valley and climbs up to mile-high Jerome, the former mining town perched on Cleopatra Hill.

This 90-minute route is OK for passenger vehicles except in wet or snowy weather Warning: There are no services and little traffic.

Founded: 1881
Elevation: 6,940
Population: 3,320

Historic Williams Timeline

1849 — Bill Williams, a fur trapper who is the town’s namesake, was killed by Ute warriors in Colorado.
1863 — The Arizona Territory was established.
1881 — Williams opened its first post office.
1882 — The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad reached Williams.
1891 — Grand Canyon pioneer William Wallace Bass established a stagecoach line from Williams to the South Rim.
1900 — Williams population was 1,200.
1901— The Santa Fe Railroad, which acquired the Atlantic & Pacific, established passenger service to the Grand Canyon.
1901 — A fire destroyed the wooden buildings on saloon row.
1902 — The Williams News first published the slogan that Williams is the Gateway to the Grand Canyon.
1926 — Route 66 is designated as a cross-country highway from Chicago to Los Angeles.
1968 — Passenger train service ended from Williams to Grand Canyon.
1984 — Williams was the last town on Route 66 bypassed by Interstate 40.
1989 — Grand Canyon Railway restarted passenger service from Williams to the South Rim of Grand Canyon.

Thirty miles to go to Flagstaff: http://www.ontheroadarizona.com/flagstaff66.html