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 Bankhead Highway in Aledo Posted by:  QuesterMark
N 32° 42.926 W 097° 36.050
14S E 631127 N 3620605
This subject marker stands on the southwest corner of the intersection of FM 1187 and Bankhead in Aledo.
Waymark Code: WMR23T
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/30/2016
Views: 7
Marker erected by: Texas Historical Commission
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data:
Index Entry Bankhead Highway in Aledo
County Parker
Year Marker Erected 2015
Marker Size 27" x 42" with post
Marker Number: 18203
Marker Text:
Commonly referred to as the "Broadway of America," the Bankhead Highway linked cities and towns throughout the nation as one of the first transcontinental highways of the 1920s. In the wake of the first World War, the American government sought to ensure proper defense and military transportation through an extensive national highway system. Senator John Hollis Bankhead of Alabama, along with the National Good Roads Congress, organized the Bankhead Highway Association in 1916. This paved the way for modern American tourism, commercial travel and daily transit.
The Bankhead Highway extends more than 900 miles within the state of Texas, from Texarkana to El Paso, totaling about one-third of the National Road's complete length. Initially, the City of Aledo was located one mile south of the Highway, which stretched from east to west through Parker County. The route currently establishes the northern boundary of the future city limits of Aledo.
The segment of the Bankhead Highway which connects Watherford to Aledo, remains the most frequently utilized and longest, continuously-named portion of the entire road. Amidst the growing addition of new housing developments, one can still find remnants of old diary farms, as well as rows of sycamore trees planted in memory of WWI veterans. Today, the Bankhead Highway represents an important transitiion from the 19th century to the modern age. It is one of the most significant infrastructure developments in American History, connection people and communities from across the nation. (2015)
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
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Visit Instructions:
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