Like it or not, travelers of Route 66, during its heydays had to deal with the infamous Jericho Gap that was known to trap numerous visitors on its 18-mile swath of muddy black soil. In the 1930s, much of Jericho Gap was bypassed due to the problems it presented. These days Jericho Gap’s original stretch is missing segments and is partly on private property.
While the Jericho Gap area was a frustration to travelers, the locals often benefited from the many stranded vehicles on this stretch of the Mother Road. They found themselves with the job of pulling stranded cars out of the quagmire, for a profit, of course. It was even rumored that some locals watered down the road to increase their business. The whole thing rather reminds me of the speed traps on the “Dukes of Hazard” show…if they actually watered down the road, that is.
Today, when you travel beyond Johnson Road, located at exit 132, you will find that old Route 66 continues paved for a while before turning to gravel, then turning paved again, and back to gravel for about two miles. At that point, it becomes a rutted dirt road and enters a private ranch. It would seem that slowly, but surely, Jericho Gap is disappearing. Nevertheless, Jericho’s old site can still be accessed by taking exit 124 south on Highway 70 about one mile. In that location, you can see the endings of both the Jericho-Alanreed and Groom-Jericho sections of the Jericho Gap at County Road B Jericho Gap Road.
The town of Jericho, now a ghost town, was once a village and train station in the late 1880s, along the stage route that carried passengers and mail from Saint’s Roost (now Clarendon) to Fort Elliott (now Mobeetie). There was very little there when the station was built…just a dugout and drinking water that had to be hauled in from a nearby spring. The Jericho Cemetery was established after the Indians were removed to reservations and more people began to settle the area. In 1894, an unusual outbreak of Malaria killed several settlers. Construction on the Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Texas Railroad brought even more people to settle there. The town of Jericho was officially established in 1902 when the railroad built a station and a post office there, and the town was named for the biblical city in Palestine. In the Bible, the name “Jericho” represents a symbol of victory, faith, and the power of God. It signifies overcoming obstacles and entering into a promised land.
Jericho began to quickly flourish. Cattle were shipped from there and passengers could take the train to the area. When Route 66 was established through Jericho, it brought several gas stations, stores, and a motel. It was then that the town gained its infamous reputation as the Jericho Gap, which helped the locals to prosper. The town of Jericho peaked in the 1930s when it had a population of about 100, a post office, three stores, a grain elevator, a tourist court, a service garage, and a filling station. Unfortunately, when Route 66 was moved one-half mile north of Jericho, completely bypassing the town. By 1939, its population had dropped in half to just 50 people. The post office was discontinued in 1955, and by the 1980s, little remained at the townsite. 
Today, Jericho is a ghost town surrounded by cattle and ghost farms. The ruins of the old tourist court can still be seen. One house and another unidentified brick building can still be seen, as can the little bit that is left on County Road B, just west of Highway 70 and the cemetery located about two miles west of the old townsite, south of County Road B.
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