Robert E. Lee Park TX6759

The land in this area was once part of a Republic land grant awarded to pioneer William Grigsby. The Dallas Consolidated Electric Street Railway Company bought twenty acres of the property in 1903, and in cooperation with developers Oliver P. Bowser and William H. Lemmon built Oak Lawn Park. Weekend visitors and prospective land buyers paid five cents to ride the streetcar to the park, which offered a variety of recreational activities. The City of Dallas purchased the park with its native trees in 1909.

In 1928, the Dallas Southern Memorial Association (DSMA) began plans for the placement of a statue of Robert E. Lee in the park. Executed by Canadian sculptor A. Phimister Proctor, the bronze statue was unveiled on June 12, 1936, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The park's name was changed to Robert E. Lee Park, and two years later, in a cooperative effort by the DSMA, Park and Recreation Board, and the Federal Works Progress Administration, a two-thirds scale replica of Arlington Hall, Robert E. Lee's home in Virginia (now a part of Arlington National Cemetery) was constructed.

Throughout its history, this park has provided a place of recreation and relaxation for Dallas citizens. It remains one of the city's most popular attractions.

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Santa Fe Depot TX4577

Built 1899. Beaux Arts design features native stone banding. When intact, north windows of painted glass depicted travel from Pony Express to steam locomotives. Visitors here have included such world figures as Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson. Depot was used by six railroad companies. As of 1970, Santa Fe served Texas with greater trackage than any other railroad, 5102 miles.

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Tarpon Inn TX5194

In 1886 Frank Stephenson, a boat pilot and assistant Aransas lighthouse keeper, opened an inn at this site in an old barracks. He called the facility "Tarpon Inn" for the abundant trophy fish in nearby Gulf waters. The Inn served as a landmark for sailors, and Port Aransas was known for a time as "Tarpon". In 1897 Mary Cotter and her son J.E. Bought the two story inn from Stephenson. After the building burned in 1900, two new structures were built in 1904. When the 1919 hurricane destroyed the main structure, the dining facility was used until it was sold in 1923 to James M. Ellis and his wife. Ellis soon rebuilt this inn to resemble the old barracks. He placed 20-foot poles in 16 feet of concrete with pilings at the corner of each room to reinforce it against future hurricanes. For a time guests could reach the inn only by boat. It became a tradition to sign and date a Tarpon scale and place it on the wall in the front room. Among the famous patrons was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who fished here in 1937. Duncan Hines spent his honeymoon here and recommended the food for the next 25 years. The inn has housed many area residents during storms and served as headquarters for the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Military units.

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Texas Centennial Exposition TX6896

As plans began to take shape for the Centennial celebration of Texas Independence, a group of Dallas businessmen led by R.L. Thornton, Sr., Fred Florence, and Nathan Adams, joined together to promote the city as the host of the major Centennial event.

The Centennial Exposition Corporation, formed in 1935, took temporary control of the State Fair grounds, and a team of over 100 architects, artists, and craftsmen soon began designing the Exposition complex. Employing thousands of people in the midst of the Great Depression, the project resulted in the creation of impressive structures, works of art, and landscaping.

Officially opened by Gov. James Allred on June 6, 1936, activities of the Exposition included a spectacular parade through downtown Dallas, guest speakers, and nationwide news coverage. In his speech to the crowd, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Daniel Roper declared "America, here is Texas!" President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the Exposition on June 12.

The Exposition ran for 178 days, entertaining over six million people. It was a turning point in the development of the city of Dallas and left a legacy of art, history, architecture, and culture to generations of Texans.

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The CCC at Bastrop State Park TX9166

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress, as part of the New Deal efforts to offer unemployed workers jobs on public projects, created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in March 1933. Due to decades of lumbering activities, Bastrop County's "Lost Pines" forest was a prime candidate for the CCC's reforestation program and a logical site for the establishment of a park.

Two hundred recruits of the CCC's Company #1805 arrived in Bastrop in November 1933. With the help of Austin architect Arthur Fehr and a group of "local experienced men" or L.E.M.s, the men worked to create a state recreational park in the forest. Built of native materials in the "NPS Rustic" style promoted by the National Park Service, the park structures, particularly the central refectory, reflect the expert craftsmanship of the CCC.

A second CCC company, #1811, arrived in November 1934 to assist with reforestation work and development of nearby Buescher State Park. Additional activities included making native wood furniture for this and other Texas state parks, and building roads, trails, bridges, and small lakes. CCC work at Bastrop ended with the park substantially complete in 1939.

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The Civilian Conservation Corps at Abilene State Park TX4068

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933 to provide jobs on public lands for unemployed workers, specifically young men and World War I veterans. Quick to recognize the benefits of this program, the city of Abilene donated land in 1933 for the CCC's use in building a state park near Lake Abilene. Company No. 1823, one of the companies comprised entirely of World War I veterans, was assigned to the Taylor County site. Using the design of Abilene architect David Castle, the men constructed a refectory in addition to roads, picnic areas and a swimming pool with native sandstone as the primary building material. Abilene mayor C.L. Johnson declared it "a beautiful spot of great recreational benefit" at the opening ceremony on May 10, 1934, during which state parks board chairman D.E. Colp formally dedicated the new state park. In 1935 a reactivated CCC Company No. 1823, comprised of African American veterans, returned to Abilene State Park for additional work. They built culverts, a water tower and latrines, and undertook some road and stonework repairs before moving on to Kerrville. The work of the Civilian Conservation Corps is still visible at Abilene State Park, one of more than 50 public parks in Texas that benefited from labor and craftsmanship of the men of the CCC.

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Robert Houghwout Jackson PA1588
Lawyer & jurist. Chief U.S. prosecutor, Nuremberg war crimes trials in Germany after World War II. Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court, 1941-54; noted for his defense of civil liberties. Served in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration starting in 1934; U.S. Solicitor General, 1938-39, & Attorney General, 1940-41. Jackson was born on the family farm here in Spring Creek.

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Crystal Bird Fauset PA370
The first Black woman elected to a state legislature in the U.S. Fauset, who lived here, won her seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1938. She later served as a Civil Defense race relations advisor under Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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Cahaba Project 'Slagheap Village' AL201
A government project under President Franklin D. Roosevelt A total of 243 houses and 44 duplex units were constructed from 1936-1938 at an overall cost of $2,661,981.26. Cahaba residents rented from the government until 1947, when the houses and duplexes were sold to individuals at prices ranging from $4,400 to $9,000 each.

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The Four Freedoms Monument FL394

The Four Freedoms were stated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Annual Message to Congress, January 6, 1941. Freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear everywhere in the world, became the ideals of American policy. The memorial, symbolizing these aspirations of mankind, was designed by Walter Russell, given by Women's National Institute, and dedicated to the memory of World War II hero, Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr., June 14, 1944.

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