Beasley Drive

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Beasley Drive, right there in Houston County. Now settle in, because this is a story about one road, one name, and three generations of men who just could not stop building a town. Dr.

S.T. Beasley, born in 1840, served as Mayor of Crockett from 1897 to 1901. While he was in office, he helped bring the Crockett Independent School District into being, and he put gas lights on the court square.

Gas lights. On the square. You get the feeling this man saw darkness, literal darkness, and decided that was simply unacceptable.

He passed in 1916. Now, a name like Beasley has a way of echoing forward through the years. His son, John Gordon Beasley, the one folks called Big Jack, born in 1888, took the mayor's chair from 1936 to 1940, right there in the Texas Centennial era.

Under Big Jack, David Crockett Park came to life, and so did the Memorial Building. The marker says he saw those things as the fulfillment of dreams. That's not nothing.

That's a man carrying something forward that his father started, and planting it in the ground for good. Then, because apparently two generations of civic ambition wasn't quite enough, Jack Gordon Beasley, born in 1916, followed the lead of his grandfather and his father and served as Mayor himself, from 1954 to 1960. He led in the expansion of lighting and other physical improvements to the town.

Lighting, again. The Beasleys kept coming back to the light. And the marker is careful to note that beyond their mayor programs, each one of these three men achieved other civic goals besides.

Three mayors, one family, one drive named to carry all of it. Beasley Drive isn't just an address. It's a line drawn straight through a century of someone giving a good long look at Crockett and saying, we can do better than this.

What the marker says

Named for Crockett Mayors: Dr. S.T. Beasley (1840-1916), John Gordon Beasley (1888-1959), and Jack Gordon Beasley (1916-1967). In office 1897 to 1901, Dr. Beasley led in creation of Crockett Independent School District, put gas lights on court square. His son "Big Jack" (Mayor 1936-40, in Texas Centennial era) saw creation of David Crockett Park and Memorial Building as fulfillment of dreams. Following lead of grandfather and father, Jack Gordon Beasley (Mayor, 1954-60) led in expansion of lighting and other physical improvements. Besides their mayor programs, each achieved other civic goals.