Texas Highway Department Complex

This highway department complex in Lufkin served as the headquarters of Texas Highway Department Division 11, which covered 14 East Texas counties. The site was donated to the state in 1934, and highway department employees built the grounds and buildings, using stone hauled in from across East Texas. The complex includes a two-story brick office, an equipment shop and laboratory, a resident engineer office, and several shops and warehouses faced in pink-tan or cream brick. One large building originally had a corrugated metal exterior, and brick veneer was added in the 1950s. The landscaped grounds include rustic stone entry columns, a fish pond with a foot bridge, a stone fence and mature pine and oak trees. Six resources contribute to the complex and four modern ones do not. It was listed for its architecture and its role in state transportation. The highway department objected to the listing, citing the complex's ongoing public use, but the objection did not prevent it.