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 Bankhead Highway Through Eastland County Posted by:  QuesterMark
N 32° 29.481 W 098° 33.228
14S E 541919 N 3594987
This post-mounted subject marker stands next to a remnant of the old Bankhead Highway in a small 3-space parking lot on the road that exits the TxDOT Westbound I-20 Highway Safety Rest Area near Ranger.
Waymark Code: WMQYW5
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/16/2016
Views: 13
Marker erected by: Texas Historical Commission
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data:
Index Entry Bankhead Highway through Eastland County
Address I-20
City Ranger
County Eastland
UTM Zone 14
UTM Easting 542018
UTM Northing 3595027
Subject Codes Roads
Year Marker Erected 2014
Marker Location Eastland County Westbound safety rest area, east of Ranger
Marker Size 27" x 42" with post
Marker Number: 18214
Marker Text:
Early 20th century development of the automobile led to major road system improvements throughout the United States. Senator John H. Bankhead of Alabama sponsored the 1916 Federal Aid Road Act, which supplied matching funds to states to upgrade roads. The Bankhead Highway became an east-to-west transcontinental highway from Washington, D.C. to San Diego.
The Bankhead Highway's route through Texas included the major cities of Texarkana, Dallas, Fort Worth and El Paso. As the highway entered Eastland County from the east, a narrow, winding and extremely steep feature known as Thurber Hill, Ranger Hill or the "Big Hill" was one of the first challenges for early automobiles. A Works Progress Administration (WPA) roadside park was developed near the hill, and another prominent feature to the west, "Scenic Point," provided a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.
The highway supported growing networks of transportation and commerce in Eastland County. In Ranger, the Bankhead Highway crossed the railroad tracks, turning left onto South Commerce Street at the 1923 passenger train depot. Ranger Municipal Airport, in use since 1911 and officially dedicated in 1928, and J. H. McCleskey No. 1 Discovery Well, site of Ranger's 1917 oil strike, also lie along the highway. Through Olden and Eastland, much of the Bankhead Highway is aligned with the I-20 westbound access road. The highway entered Eastland along East Main Street, passed the States Oil Company, then turned on Bassett to Commerce Street and passed the 1928 Eastland County Courthouse. The road was paved with Thurber vitrified brick from Ranger to Cisco. The Bankhead Highway can be followed on Highway 6 from Eastland to Cisco, the site of Conrad Hilton's first hotel (the Mobley Hotel) in 1919, and then along FM 2945 toward Putnam and the Callahan County line. (2015)
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
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