Brady P. Gentry
Van, Van Zandt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Park dedicated to memory of Texas State Highway Commission Chairman Brady P Gentry (March 25, 1895-Nov 9, 1966) A man whose public service was of highest order. Born on a farm near this site in Van Zandt County. Educated at Cumberland University (Tennessee) and Tyler Commercial College, was county attorney and county judge of Smith County. As chairman of Texas Highway Commission, 1939-1945, he traveled almost every Texas highway to learn road needs of state. Aided long-range financial strength of highway program by supporting the reservation of road-use revenue for road building. An authority on highway policy, Gentry served in 1943 as President of the American Association of State Highway Officials. In that capacity he aided post-war expansion in use of motor vehicles by implementing legislation to provide funds for farm-to-market roads and the first major expressways in the country. Interested in education, Gentry helped to establish Tyler Junior College. He served as U. S. Congressman, 1953-1957, for Third Congressional District of Texas. A member of committees for public works and roads, he helped design legislation for interstate highway system. Refused to vote along merely political lines. The preeminent position of the Texas Highway Department and the high quality of roads in Texas and the U. S. are a tribute to the ability of Brady P. Gentry. (1967)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born on a nearby farm in 1895, Brady P. Gentry rose from Smith County attorney and judge to chairman of the Texas Highway Commission from 1939 to 1945, personally driving nearly every state highway to gauge its needs. As a national highway leader and later a U.S. congressman from 1953 to 1957, he helped shape the legislation behind farm-to-market roads and the interstate highway system. He also helped found Tyler Junior College before his death in 1966.
Why it matters
Gentry helped lay the legislative groundwork for the interstate system, one of the largest public-works efforts in American history and a force that reshaped how the nation moves.
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Themes & tags
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