Centennial Pictorial Postmarks Coming to Oklahoma Route 66 this Summer

Have you ever seen a Pictorial Postmark? On special occasions, the United States Postal Service can offer unique, commemorative cancellation stamps, or postmarks, at specific post offices to help celebrate local events and dates of significance. The Centennial of Route 66 is just such an occasion and multiple postmarks are being offered at various times this year.

Inspired by a postmark offered in Seligman, Arizona, the Oklahoma Route 66 Association began working with the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma earlier in 2026 to create a Will Rogers Highway postmark. It will be offered in Wellston, Oklahoma on June 18th at the unveiling of a new Will Rogers Highway granite marker. The marker will be unveiled at 3402 U.S. Route 66 in Wellston - just before the Y of Highway OK-66b if you’re heading west - in collaboration with the Butcher BBQ Stand restaurant and Yaya’s Matchstick Collectibles. A temporary postal station will be set up for the event itself, which starts at about 11:15 AM as the Route 66 Centennial Caravan arrives from Oklahoma City.

Erick, Oklahoma’s postmark

Additionally, the town of Erick, Oklahoma has created a special commemorative postmark for the Centennial that will be available starting on July 7th. This will be available for 30 days at the town’s post office. Advocates in the city of Tulsa are also working to get a special Centennial postmark later this year; more details to come.

If you cannot attend an event in person but you wish to get the postmark, anyone can submit a mail order request. To do so, you must send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the offering post office. It’s also a good idea to insert a letter, a postcard, or another item inside the self-addressed envelope to ensure its sturdiness as it comes back to you. Be sure you address your external envelope to PICTORIAL POSTMARK along with the post office address. We recommend using one of the new Route 66 stamps, of course!

You can also send stamped envelopes and postcards without addresses for postmark, as long as you also send a larger envelope with adequate postage and a return address. There are also commemorative cachets, or decorative envelope, which are available from a variety of collector resources.