- History of Dallas, Texas (1930-1945)
The history of Dallas,
Texas (USA) from 1930 to 1945 documents the city's emergence from theGreat Depression , its economic boom after several localoil discoveries, its hosting of theTexas Centennial Exposition , and its existence during wartime.Great Depression & oil
Despite the onset of the
Great Depression , business in construction was flourishing in 1930. That year, Columbus Marion "Dad" Joiner struck oil convert|100|mi|km|-1 east of Dallas in Kilgore, spawning the East Texas oil boom. Dallas quickly became the financial center for the oil industry in Texas andOklahoma . In the first months of 1931, 28 businesses either moved to or formed in Dallas for the oil. Banks made loans to develop the oil fields, and Dallas became the financial center for all oil fields in theTexas Panhandle , thePermian Basin ,East Texas , Gulf Coast, andOklahoma .Dallas Historical Society - [http://www.dallashistory.org/history/dallas/dallas_history.htm Dallas History] . Retrieved on20 April 2006 .] This put off most thoughts of depression until the middle of 1931, when falling prices and overproduction affected the city economy negatively. By then, more than 18,000 people in the city were unemployed. Before theNew Deal policy began, the city had a work-for-food program that helped many. [Handbook of Texas|name=Great Depression|id=GG/npg1. By Ben H. Procter. Retrieved on20 April 2006 .]Trinity River channeling
By 1931, the city had completed the rerouting of the Trinity River and the construction of an extensive levee system based on plans by
George Kessler .Texas Centennial Exposition
After a long campaign in the years leading up to 1936, the state of Texas chose Dallas as the site of the 1936
Texas Centennial Exposition . More than fifty buildings were built for the Exposition inFair Park , and 10 million visitors came to see the US$25 million spectacle.World War II
During
World War II , Dallas served as a manufacturing center for the war effort. By 1940, the population of the city of Dallas had reached 294,734. In 1942, the Ford Motor plant in Dallas converted to war-time production, producing onlyjeep s and military trucks. In 1943 the city began war rationing, with 376,085 ration books distributed.University of Texas Southwestern Medical School was also established this year.References
External links
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* [http://www.dallashistory.org/history/dallas/dallas_history.htm Dallas History] from theDallas Historical Society
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