TxDOT Research Library - Publication Details

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Title:

Good Roads for Texas: A History of the Texas Highway Department, 1917-1947

Authors:

by John David Huddleston

Published:

[1981]

[College Station, Texas]

Texas A & M University

Type:

Hard copy

1 volume (xi, 261 pages)

Online Access:

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Summary

History has unfurled itself on the highways of Texas. From the period of the Spanish conquistadors, Texas roads have assumed an essential role in the history of the state. Road development contributed to the Christianizing efforts of the Spaniards, the colonizing programs of the empresarios under Mexican rule, the fortunes of war during the Texas Revolution, the physical isolation of the Republic of Texas, and finally to the marvelous growth of Texas as a political entity within the United States of America. Before 1917, Texas did not have a state highway department. Control of road construction and maintenance resided at the county level of government. Officials amateurishly routed roads, often for political reasons, and seldom maintained them. As a result, a coordinated system of highways simply did not exist. However, in 1917 the state legislature created the Texas Highway Department so that the state would be eligible for financial assistance under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1916. State control of road construction and maintenance did not, nevertheless, materialize overnight. The counties maintained a cooperative partnership with the state vis-a-vis the road program until 1932, when the state highway commission discontinued accepting county aid for construction purposes... As the largest state agency in terms of both personnel and money, the Texas Highway Department also struggled to combat the depression of the 1930's. In addition, politics troubled the road agency... James and Miriam Ferguson plunged the department into scandal in 1925-1926, but other politicians such as Governors Dan Moody, Ross Sterling, and Coke Stevenson maintained the political independence of the road agency. By 1947, Texas had launched a vigorous post-World War II road construction program, and the highway question was largely a thing of the past.

Publ. Place

[College Station, Texas]

Contents

I. Texas Road History to 1917 --
II. Highways Through War and Scandal --
III. The Politics of Reorganization --
IV. The Statewide Road Bond Issue --
V. Bond Rejection and the Onset of Depression --
VI. Highway Politics During the Depression --
VII. Roads in War and Peace --
VIII. Conclusion --
Bibliography --
Vita

Notes

"August 1981"
• Thesis (Ph.D, Texas A & M University 1981)
• Access copy for in-library use only