By Susan Redden

Globe Staff Writer

It's "The Mother Road," "America's Main Street," the place to "get your kicks."

But Route 66 is also a magnet and Jasper County officials are looking at more ways to capitalize on interest in the historic highway.

"It's incredible. Lately we've had visitors in the museum from China and Japan who came to the area after seeing the old 'Route 66' television show," said Brad Belk, curator of the Joplin Museum Complex.

Route 66 brings visitors to Carthage on a weekly basis, said Aimee Smith, director of the Carthage Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"It's amazing how far people will come to see it," Smith agreed.

"We have people in here every week asking for information on Route 66 and points on it, such as The Boots Motel and 66 Drive-In Theatre. Getting the area onto the scenic byways program will only raise that profile," she said.

Jasper County signed up for the scenic byways program last year and Chuck Surface, presiding county commissioner, and Belk were among local residents who attended ceremonies Friday in Springfield designating Route 66 a state scenic byway.

The county also is seeking a federal grant to create a Route 66 museum in the county courthouse, Surface said.

Route 66 will get even more attention later this year when Ozarks Public Television releases a documentary on the Missouri sections of the famed road.

Jasper County agreed to join the scenic byways program last year in meetings with the Missouri Department of Transportation, Surface said. Covering more than 300 miles from the Illinois line to the Kansas line, the Historic Route 66 byway will be the longest scenic byway. The route will be marked with blue-and-white signs that read Historic Byway, Missouri U.S. 66. The signs are to be in place in Jasper County early next spring, Surface said.

Belk has agreed to serve as the curator if the county gets federal funds for a Route 66 museum in the courthouse, Surface said. The county is trying to develop the project to help promote local tourism, he said.

"We talk to people all the time who have come to the courthouse to see the mural and the history we have there," he said. "A lot of them say they've come to Carthage on Route 66, and the courthouse has nothing specifically related to Route 66 in it. If it did, we think it would attract even more visitors."

Discussions are under way on items that could be featured in the display, Belk said.