In 1928, Foyil native Andy Payne won the Great Transcontinental Footrace, a 3,400-mile race from Los Angeles to New York City that followed much of the path of then-new Route 66. A member of the Cherokee Nation, Payne returned to Oklahoma, where he later served for decades as clerk of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Foyil honors him with a statue just east of historic Route 66 on the south side of town.