Set back 200 feet from the road, these originally provided a few rooms each plus an office and garages for motorcar storage at a time when cabins or cottages in most tourist courts were simple single-room structures.

[1] John and Winifred Mathis purchased the lodgings in 1947, adding two new buildings at the rear of the property (one of which would add additional rooms for travelers), installing neon signage (which remains in use today) and changing the name to Wagon Wheel Motel.

The Wagon Wheel Café was acquired by Bill and Sadie Mae Pratt, operating independently of the motel and obtaining favorable reviews from the Duncan Hines travel guide.

The listing also included two historic signs (the neon "Wagon Wheel Motel" and "office" signage) and a concrete gas pump island.

[1] A similarly named "Wheel Well Motel" appeared in the animated 2006 film Cars, a movie based heavily on US Route 66 people and places.

[9] Connie Echols purchased the site from Harold's son James Armstrong in September 2009, operating the café building as a gift shop while painstakingly restoring each of the individual motel rooms with new plumbing, wiring, bedding and modern amenities in 2009 and 2010.

[12] In 2010, Henry Cole brought a documentary crew from London, England, to record "The World's Greatest Motorcycle Rides" for the Travel Channel;[13] the series devoted two episodes to a tour of the various U.S. states along historic Route 66.

The Wagon Wheel was host for one day of Spyderfest, an annual April gathering for Spyder Ryders which was held in Cuba from 2010 to 2012,[14] and remains one of the main stops for many Route 66 tour groups and car clubs.