Texas Highway Department

Established April 4, 1917 Early 20th century Texas farmers demanded all-weather access to markets just as automobiles revolutionized transportation for all travelers. Good Roads promoters envisioned a central state agency to organize safe, consistent routes. In 1916 the federal government offered matching funds to build a statewide highway system. In 1917, legislators created the Texas Highway Department, and Texans registered 195,000 automobiles. Agency employees worked in the Capitol, then the 1917 Land Office, and soon the agency opened district offices across the state. In 1921 federal officials approved a 2,900-mile Texas system, ensured by a one-cent-per-gallon state gas tax after 1923. During the Great Depression, federal relief funds stimulated massive road building. Engineers also promoted a new headquarters, and in 1933 completed this state highway building. From here, DeWitt Carlock Greer (1902-1986) served as state highway engineer, 1940-1967, and commissioner, 1969 to 1981, when legislators named the building for him. That year, as the agency's role expanded to public transportation, it managed 71,000 miles of highways for 12 million Texas vehicles. (1997)

Texas Highway Department is a historical marker in Austin, Travis County, dedicated in 1997. It is one of 320 historical markers documented in Travis County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 591 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.2723, -97.7402 near Austin. The nearest cataloged historic site is 1918 State Office Building and 1933 State Highway Building (historic place), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Site of Second Travis County Courthouse and Walton Building, The Woman Suffrage Movement in Texas, and Old Land Office Building.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5453012247. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.