 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Woodall Rodgers" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
James Woodall Rodgers (May 11, 1890 – July 6, 1961) was an American attorney, businessman, and mayor ofDallas, Texas.
Rogers was born inNew Market, Alabama. He received hisB.A. degree fromVanderbilt University in 1912 and hisLL.B. from theUniversity of Texas in 1915. He began his law practice in Dallas in 1916, but at the outbreak ofWorld War I, Rodgers joined theUnited States Army. He was honorably discharged in 1918 as amajor in theartillery. 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 representStandard Oil in legal matters.
In 1939, Rodgers was elected mayor of Dallas,[1] a position he held until 1947. Under his tenure,Love Field underwent expansion; construction began onCentral Expressway (US 75); the Dallas Public Library; and theGarza-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 theDallas Museum of Art) and as a director of theDallas Symphony; theState Fair of Texas; 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, which runs north ofdowntown Dallas, betweenU.S. Highway 75 andInterstate 35E is named in his honor, as is Woodall Rodgers Plaza, which connects theWest End withVictory and runs under the highway that also bears his name.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayors of Dallas 1939–1947 | Succeeded by |
