Riverton, KS

Riverton is a Cherokee County census-designated place near the southeast corner of Kansas, with 771 residents in the 2020 census. U.S. 69 and U.S. 400 run near town, and the Spring River forms the local geographic reference, with Lowell across the river to the south. The community sits within the wider Joplin orbit, ten miles east, yet its most recognizable places belong to the old Route 66 corridor. The river crossing and the highway give Riverton a small map with a regional reach.

Two stops carry that road history. The Eisler Brothers Old Riverton Store, still a general store and Route 66 landmark, was one of Pixar’s research stops before Cars. Two miles west, Rainbow Bridge crosses Brush Creek on the old highway alignment; Brad Paisley performed “Route 66” there in 2000 for a TLC special. Riverton’s post office dates to 1919, and Riverton USD 404 serves local students. The town is a Kansas place where the Spring River, a surviving roadside store, and a concrete arch bridge keep the old highway close at hand.