About Jim Hinckley

Jim’s association with Kingman is rooted in route 66. His family made their first trip west from Virginia in 1959. In 1966 they relocated from Michigan and followed route 66 to Kingman. That his first impression was not favorable. He felt as though it was the place warned about in Sunday school, never the less, Route 66 soon became a focal point.

His father built a house along Oatman road, the pre 1952 alignment of route 66, where he learned to ride a bicycle and drive a truck. The first ranches that he worked on were along Route 66 and his wife Judy lovingly referred to as his dearest friend, has a route 66 connection dating to 1946 and her family’s establishment of Hoods Court and market, which was east of the El Travitor motel building on the work of route 66 Renaissance pioneers, such as Michael Wallace, Jerry McClanahan, and Jim Ross, Jim began writing feature articles and books about route 66 and his adopted hometown Kingman. With his wife, Judy, they established Jim Hinckley’s America as a multifaceted network to inspire road trips and to share the history of Route 66, the American auto industry, the Southwest and Kingman. They developed cooperative partnerships and international route 66 community to ensure the highway remained relevant into the Centennial and beyond .These partnerships were also used to transform Kingman into a destination for route 66  enthusiasts. Jim is a founding member of the Kingman Route 66 Association, and has served as the chairman of the Route 66 Fun Run committee, he has assisted with the development of numerous including the 2014 international Route 66 festival, the 2016 and 2018 European Route 66 festivals and Miles of Possibility Conferences.

Jim has also served on the economic development committee and historic preservation committee here in Kingman and the economic development advisory committee for the Route 66 road ahead partnership, an organization on which he was an original board member. At the route 66 festivals Jim facilitated creation of Route 66 information centers and was a keynote speaker.