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"Wingate's
park still stands in Newton
County, three miles southeast of the town of Newton,
where it is maintained in a style befitting the first in Texas."
"Newton County's
pioneer park was more than just a few picnic tables beside the highway.
It also included a bath house on Cow Creek, a favorite swimming
hole in Newton
County." |
One
of the minute morsels of Texas
history is that the state's first roadside park was built in 1930
beside Cow Creek on U.S. Highway 190 in Newton
County, a part of lower East
Texas.
But history doesn't record the troubles the late R.W. Wingate of Woodville
encountered in trying to get this piece of trivia corrected in the
history of Texas' highways.
In 1930 Wingate was working as a road foreman for the old Texas Highway
Department (it is now known as the Texas Department of Transportation)
when he built the roadside park on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. L.
Wilkerson. The highway at that time was known as Texas 87.
In the mid-l970s when the Highway Department put together a history
of its accomplishments, the state's first roadside park was credited
to Fayette County,
where a park was built six years and 32 days later than Wingatešs
creation in Newton
County.
Bothered by the error, Wingate -- now retired -- made it a personal
odyssey to rectify the piece of history. He spent weeks gathering
evidence, including statements from people who participated in the
Cow Creek opening, old newspaper accounts and copies of the Wilkersons'
property deeds. Wingate's accumulation of evidence offered proof that
not just one East Texas
roadside park, but three, were built before the Fayette
County park.
Jasper County's
park on U.S. Highway 96 was built five years and 64 days before Fayette
County and Tyler County's park on U.S. 287 preceded the mid-Texas
stop by two years and three days.
Newton
County's pioneer park was more than just a few picnic tables beside
the highway. It also included a bath house on Cow Creek, a
favorite swimming hole in Newton
County.
Armed with his evidence, Wingate appealed to the Texas Highway Commission
in Austin, asking
that the error be corrected. He reminded the Austin
bureaucrats the Newton County park had the approval of Division Engineer
E.R. Madden, Texas Highway Engineer Gibb Gilchriest, and Texas Highway
Commission Chairman Judge Ealy.
The Commission knew Wingate had them over a barrel and in 1975 the
Commission passed an official order recognizing Newton
County's 1930 park and Wingate's role in its construction.
"He pioneered the concept which became the inspiration for today's
hundreds of safety rest areas for enjoyment, convenience and safety
of the traveling public," said the order. "Mr. Wingate helped
establish traditions that evolved into traveler amenities along the
state highway system of Texas."
Wingate's park still stands in Newton
County, three miles southeast of the town of Newton,
where it is maintained in a style befitting the first in Texas.
But, unfortunately, a plaque at the site says the park was built in
1936 -- six years later than Wingate's inception date.
"All Things Historical"
March
10, 2002 Column
(Bob Bowman of Lufkin is the author of more than 40 books about East
Texas.)
Bob Bowman's
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