Historic Bankhead Highway connects state to state and past to present

PAVING THE WAY

GoodLiving_BankheadHighway-Rockwall3 — Historic Bankhead Highway Tour Stop in Rockwall. Photo by Austin Wells.

(ROCKWALL, TX) Although Rockwall’s state highway 66 might not be the famous route from the Bobby Troup song, it does have some pretty important roots. Originally, it was created as part of Bankhead Highway, the very first cross-country automobile highway in the United States. This highway, which celebrates its 100th birthday this year, ran from San Diego, California to Washington D.C. and played a major role in Rockwall’s history.

Rockwall County Historical Foundation Vice President Carolyn Francisco said Bankhead was a game changer for the town back in 1916, since it was the first paved road in Rockwall County.

“It was important because highway travel was nonexistent back in the day,” Francisco said. “There were only dirt roads. We can’t wrap our minds around it in today’s modern society.”

Historical Foundation Director Jan Johnson explained that the project was created as part of the National Auto Trail system at the turn of the century as the automobile became increasingly popular. Its benefits to local economies were astronomical.

“Counties and towns competed to be on this route believing it would facilitate getting goods to market,” Johnsons said. “Rockwall County voters approved $800,000 in bonds for road construction. A portion of these funds was used to construct the Bankhead highway through the county.”

“It opened up the gateway to automobile tourism, it was a sort of economic boom,” Francisco said.

Johnson said this prosperity had an even greater impact in the next decade.

“The building of the road was a blessing during the depression as it gave many men a job,” Johnson said. “The towns along the Bankhead Highway route fared better than many during the depression since automobiles could travel more easily to these places.”

bankhead_Royce City — Entering Royse City from the east on the Bankhead Highway.

With the creation of the Interstate System in 1965, Bankhead Highway became a road less traveled. But its significance lives on in the spirit of those who appreciate it.

The Antique American Independent Automobile Association (AAIAA) is hosting a Vintage Car Tour Centennial Celebration Thursday April 21, through Sunday, April 24. A group will drive approximately 50 refurbished vintage cars along Bankhead Highway from Texarkana to Odessa, with stops in major cities along the way. The group will stop in Royse City for a celebration on Friday, April 22, and then continue to Rockwall for a brief 30-minute stop.

North Texas AAIAA Representative Dale Truitt said he believes it is important to commemorate Bankhead’s historical impact on the community and the economy.

“Students of 2016 don’t realize how vital good roads were to the competitive economic development of North Texas,” Truitt said. “I-30 from Texarkana and I-20 from Ft Worth to nearly El Paso would not have been in their present locations had they not been preceded by US 67 from Texarkana and US 80 west of Ft Worth. These two earlier major transportation corridors were historically pre-empted by the first federally funded, coast to coast, all season, all weather Bankhead Highway.”

Although many organizations are hosting celebrations in honor of the highway this year, Truitt wanted to include more cities and towns of all sizes. “My having a well-developed data base of the (AAIAA) owners’ made me interested in helping all Bankhead Highway towns both large and small like Garland, Rockwall, Royce City, Caddo Mills, Greenville, Sulphur Springs, Mt Pleasant, Cookeville, Simms, Maud, Redwater, Texarkana and others to receive a piece of the action by becoming involved in a large and realistic Bankhead Hwy Centennial Celebration across Texas and not just in major towns.”

Truitt said onlookers will find him in the lineup driving one of his nine refurbished Studebakers. According to Mainstreet Manager Bethany Browning, the AAIAA group will arrive in Rockwall around 10:30 a.m. and depart around 11:30 a.m.

“We plan to park the old cars around the Historic Courthouse and have a few dignitaries say a few words, as well as provide refreshments and restroom facilities,” Browning said. “We’d love for the public to come out and support it. We hope to get some good photos of the cars parked around the square.”

Story by Julie Anne White, Blue Ribbon News reporter. Photos provided by the Rockwall County Historical Foundation and the Antique American Independent Automobile Association.

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Here are more photos from the Antique American Independent Automobile Association (AAIAA) Bankhead Highway Centennial Celebration, featuring a vintage car tour across Texas. The tour started in Texarkana on April 20, and will end in Odessa on April 24. History buffs enjoyed abbreviated tour stop in Royse City and Rockwall this morning. Photos by Austin Wells.