The Dawning of a New Day for the Southwest: A History of the Tulsa District Corps of Engineers 1939-1971
Abstract
This is a history of the Tulsa District United States Army Corps of Engineers. It is a story, first of all, of incredible engineering accomplishments within the District's 164 thousand square-mile portion of the Arkansas and Red River Basins over a time frame which spans roughly the three and one-half decades between the Dust Bowl-drouth years of the 30's and the beginning of the last quarter of the 20th century. In a larger sense, this is also the story of the persons living in the two basins, their dreams and aspirations and their determination to achieve a better life, for, as the author quickly perceived in his research, the achievements of any Corps of Engineers District are as much a product of the efforts of private citizens as of Corps personnel. For this reason, the history of the Tulsa District is a happy-ever-after story, in that many of these people lived to see their semiarid homeland become a land of sparkling lakes, with water, electric power, navigation, recreation, and flood control; a land where, as one prominent local newspaper put it, "prosperity is finally replacing the old Grapes of Wrath image." Something of the flavor of the military and civilian Corpsmen, with their heritage of two centuries of engineering expertise, and of the farmers, businessmen and professional people, the statesmen and politicians-of all who had a part in the development of the region's water resources- is here. And if certain political maneuverings-shenanigans in local straight talk-were deemed necessary at times to bring about certain results, that is here, too. It is the historical sense that creates a difference between mere politics and constructive statesmanship, it has been written. The Tulsa District is only one of the 36 Corps of Engineers Districts which work today to develop the water resources of the nation. Few other Districts, however, can lay such claims as to the significance of their impact on a region.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA637016
Entities
People
- William A. Settle Jr.
Organizations
- United States Army Corps of Engineers