Historic Brick Streets of Stephenville

Duane's take

The way I tell it, this one comes straight off the official marker for the Historic Brick Streets of Stephenville, out in Erath County. Now, every town in Texas has got a story under its feet, and Stephenville is no different. Back in 1929, the Stephenville City Council looked out at those dirt streets and decided something had to be done.

They authorized paving by the Thurber Construction Co., and that decision set something lasting in motion. The bricks they used came from Thurber, twenty-six miles to the northwest, and those Thurber bricks had earned themselves a real reputation. Builders around the state sought them out, and it's easy to see why once you know what went into the work.

The bricks were laid over a Macadam base and bonded with a tar-like substance, the kind of construction you do when you mean for a thing to last. Now here's where the story gets a little weight to it. The paving was authorized in 1929, and the cost fell mostly on individual property owners, not the city, not some distant authority.

Just the people who lived there, holding on through the grinding hardships of the Depression. They paid for those streets themselves. And when the work was done, they looked at those brick thoroughfares with pride, which makes all the sense in the world.

Some of those streets have since been covered with asphalt, time being what it is, but the brick pavement that remains, it's still handsome. Still durable. Under your tires or under your feet, those Thurber bricks are still doing the job they were laid to do, Depression and all.

What the marker says

Seeking to improve the town's dirt streets, the Stephenville City Council in 1929 authorized paving by the Thurber Construction Co. High-quality bricks from Thurber (26 mi. NW), popular with builders around the state, were laid over a Macadam base and bonded with a tar-like substance. Individual property owners bore most of the cost, despite the economic hardships of the Depression, and viewed the brick thoroughfares with pride. Although some of the streets have since been covered with asphalt, the brick pavement remains handsome and durable. (1978)