Bankhead Highway Historic District
Also known as: Texarkana-Dallas-El Paso; Broadway of America; State Highway N
Why it's listed
Four separate stretches of old highway in Taylor County, Texas, preserve the original paving of the Bankhead Highway, later State Highway 1 and US 80. Each stretch is just under a mile of 18-foot concrete laid around 1927-1929, with expansion joints every 12 feet. Supporting features include two concrete railroad underpasses dated 1928, drainage culverts, small concrete obelisks that once marked the right-of-way, and a 1936 Texas Centennial marker on a granite base. One section runs parallel to the railroad, showing the close link between rail and road, and another lies beside the former Abilene airport. Interstate 20 replaced the road as the main route, and the late 1950s ended its role as a primary highway. These thirteen resources are the only parts of the first paving in the county that avoided replacement or major loss of integrity. The route is named for Senator John Hollis Bankhead Sr., whose work led to the 1916 Federal Aid Road Act. It was listed for its role in local transportation history from 1927 to 1956.
Significance in brief: The Bankhead Highway was one of two east-west transcontinental highways across Texas and the only one through Taylor County, linking Abilene and the county to the rest of the country and supporting their economy. The nomination argues that the thirteen contributing resources are the last surviving unaltered features of the original paved route in the county. It is tied to Senator John Hollis Bankhead Sr. and the 1916 Federal Aid Road Act, and is nominated at the local level under Criterion A for Transportation.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 98001414, listed December 3, 1998. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Approx. 4 mi. sections of US 80 contained within Taylor Cty., Abilene |
|---|---|
| County | Taylor County |
| Listed | December 3, 1998 |
| Reference number | 98001414 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1927-1956 |
| Architect / builder | Texas Highway Department (engineer and builder) |
| Architectural style | No Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition varies by section: Section A good, Section B good, Section C fair, Section D poor. Section D was abandoned after Interstate 20 was built and has no public access. Vandals recently removed some markers' shields and plates. |
| Acreage | 6.7 |
| Coordinates | 32.47457, -99.99390 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 98001414.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999899
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.