James Woodall Rodgers (May 11, 1890 – July 6, 1961) was an American attorney, businessman, and mayor of

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Rogers was born in New Market, Alabama. He received his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

in 1912 and his LL.B. from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

in 1915. He began his law practice in Dallas in 1916, but at the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Rodgers joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He was honorably discharged in 1918 as a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

. He married his wife, Edna Cristler on November 9, 1920. Upon his return to Dallas, Rodgers became an associate with Saner & Saner but left in 1925 to found his own firm that specialized in oil and gas law. His firm would eventually come to represent

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

in legal matters. In 1939, Rodgers was elected mayor of Dallas, a position he held until 1947. Under his tenure, Love Field underwent expansion; construction began on Central Expressway (

US 75 U.S. Route 75 is a north–south U.S. Highway that runs in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is located at the Canadian border near Noyes, Minnesota, at a now-closed border crossing. From this point, the highway ...

); the Dallas Public Library; and the Garza-Little Elm Reservoir, which is currently one of Dallas's largest water supplies. Rodgers also held positions as a trustee with the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts (now the

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

) and as a director of the Dallas Symphony; the

State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

; and the Dallas Public Library. He was also the founder and first president of the Greater Dallas Planning Council. He died in Dallas, after a lengthy illness, on July 6, 1961.

Woodall Rodgers Freeway Woodall may refer to: People Given name * Woodall Rodgers (1890–1961), attorney, businessman and mayor of Dallas Surname * Al Woodall (born 1945), American football player * Corbet Woodall (1929–1982), British newsreader for the BBC * Derek W ...

, which runs north of

downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...

, between U.S. Highway 75 and Interstate 35E is named in his honor, as is Woodall Rodgers Plaza, which connects the West End with

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

and runs under the highway that also bears his name.

References

External links

James Woodall Rodgers
at the

Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

James Woodall Rodgers
at the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Woodall 1890 births 1961 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Texas Mayors of Dallas Military personnel from Texas People from Madison County, Alabama Vanderbilt University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni