Brick Streets of Wills Point

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Brick Streets of Wills Point, out in Van Zandt County. Now settle in, because this is a story about a town that decided to stop sinking in the mud and start building something that lasts. In the early 1920s, the whole country was breathing out.

The war was over. World War I had finally come to an end, and that atmosphere of gratefulness was in the air from coast to coast. In Wills Point, that feeling got mixed with something else: optimism, ambition, a genuine hunger for something better.

And that combination had consequences. On December 5, 1921, at the Majestic Theater, the town formed a Chamber of Commerce. Right there on day one, they set their sights on a single goal above all others: pave the streets in the business district.

Now, you might think that sounds modest. It was not. The city council called a special election to decide whether to issue bonds for paving and gravel.

And on election day, the rain came down hard. Poured. The kind of day where you'd think folks might just stay home and dry.

Instead, Wills Point turned out in numbers never before seen in a city election. The bond passed. At a city council meeting on June 15, 1922, H.N.

Roberts, civil engineer, and E.M. Starr accepted the contract for unloading material and curbing. Mayor Henry Gilchrist and five aldermen made the trip to the Mineral Wells Paving Brick Plant to inspect the brick quality themselves.

The marker tells us it is believed those bricks came from that very plant. The plan was precise: a four-inch concrete base, then a layer of sand, then the paving bricks, then a heavy wearing-surface of asphalt on top. Layer by layer, something permanent.

And here's where the story gets a little something extra: instead of contracting out the labor to lay all those bricks, they brought in volunteers working under an experienced supervisor. Saved the town hundreds of dollars. By November 1922, the brick streets of Wills Point were complete.

And to mark the occasion, two traffic cops were stationed downtown at the Rose Fountain, the first time that had ever happened, there to help the public get acquainted with new traffic laws. Then, as if the streets had been an invitation, the town answered with everything it had been waiting to become. A new ice plant.

Churches. An electric light plant. A renovated post office and free mail service.

New businesses and modern conveniences took root in the downtown area. Turns out, all Wills Point needed was solid ground to stand on.

What the marker says

IN THE EARLY 1920s, AN ATMOSPHERE OF GRATEFULNESS FOR THE END OF WORLD WAR I WAS PREVALENT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. IN WILLS POINT, A SENSE OF OPTIMISM AND INTEREST IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT LED TO THE FORMATION OF A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON DECEMBER 5, 1921, AT THE MAJESTIC THEATER. THE NUMBER ONE GOAL FOR THE NEW CHAMBER WAS FOR THE CITY TO PAVE THE STREETS IN THE BUSINESS DISTRICT. THE CITY COUNCIL ORDERED A SPECIAL ELECTION TO DETERMINE WHETHER TO ISSUE BONDS TO PAVE AND GRAVEL THE STREETS. EVEN THOUGH THE RAIN POURED THAT DAY, THE VOTE WAS THE LARGEST EVER SEEN IN A CITY ELECTION AND THE BOND PASSED. AT A JUNE 15, 1922, CITY COUNCIL MEETING, H.N. ROBERTS, CIVIL ENGINEER, AND E.M. STARR ACCEPTED THE CONTRACT FOR UNLOADING MATERIAL AND CURBING. MAYOR HENRY GILCHRIST AND FIVE ALDERMEN TRAVELED TO MINERAL WELLS PAVING BRICK PLANT TO INSPECT THE BRICK QUALITY. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE BRICKS CAME FROM THIS PLANT. PLANS CALLED FOR A 4-INCH CONCRETE BASE COVERED WITH A LAYER OF SAND UPON WHICH THE PAVING BRICKS WERE LAID WITH A HEAVY WEARING-SURFACE OF ASPHALT. INSTEAD OF CONTRACTING FOR LABOR TO LAY THE BRICK, VOLUNTEERS UNDER AN EXPERIENCED SUPERVISOR SAVED THE TOWN HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS. WHEN THE BRICK STREETS WERE COMPLETED IN NOVEMBER 1922, TWO TRAFFIC COPS WERE STATIONED DOWNTOWN AT THE ROSE FOUNTAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME TO FAMILIARIZE THE PUBLIC WITH NEW TRAFFIC LAWS. SOON, A NEW ICE PLANT, CHURCHES, ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANT, A RENOVATED POST OFFICE AND FREE MAIL SERVICE WAS AVAILABLE TO WILLS POINT. THE BRICK STREETS IN WILLS POINT OPENED THE DOOR TO A RANGE OF NEW BUSINESSES AND MODERN CONVENIENCES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.