Series 2806: Highway Commissioner S. T. Roebuck Files. 1933-1956.
Dept. of Transportation (RG 55).

Series 2806: Highway Commissioner S. T. Roebuck Files. 1933-1956.
Dept. of Transportation (RG 55).

      Correspondence and other papers of Sidney Theodore Roebuck (1901-1982), Highway Commissioner of the Central District from 1937 to 1952. Materials include letters, reports, photographs, maps, financial data, a scrapbook, newspaper clippings and other documents. The series covers an important time period in the history of transportation in Mississippi, from the beginning of construction of its first state highway system in 1936, through the lean years of World War II with its shortage of materials and manpower, to the postwar period and into the early 1950s. Roebuck was politically well-connected and knew all the important state politicians of his day, such as Thomas L. Baily, Hugh White, Ross Collins, Theodore Bilbo, Pat Harrison, Dennis Murphree, and James Eastland, as well as many other state and local officials. He was also acquainted with newspaper editors from around Mississippi.
      Mr. Roebuck’s files were not arranged consistently during his fifteen years in office, so the series has several different sets of files: runs of correspondence arranged (for the most part) alphabetically by name of correspondent over certain periods of time; correspondence arranged by highway number, road name, or municipality; correspondence with his engineers and department superintendents; topical files; and various other papers. This inconsistency can mean that material on certain subjects, or from certain correspondents, can be difficult to locate, so researchers are encouraged to check all possible files. Some of the correspondence belonged to Mr. Roebuck’s predecessor, Brown Williams, and a few documents antedate Mr. Roebuck’s time in office. While the vast majority of items in this series pertain to the work of the Highway Department, some items relate to Roebuck’s membership in civic organizations, clubs and charities. These included the Lions Clubs International, the Mississippi Traveler’s Association, the Boy Scouts, the Mid-Continent Gas and Oil Association, and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (March of Dimes).
      Many oversize items in this series – predominantly maps – have been relocated from their original locations to larger boxes. Relocation forms describing these items have been placed in their original locations. These forms also note the box number to which the oversize items have been relocated. Other oversize items which were not separated from other materials have also been relocated to larger boxes. A list of these items appears on the following pages. The popular “crossbones” railroad crossing photo can also be found in this series in Box 22879.

      Sidney Theodore Roebuck was born in Attala County, Mississippi in 1901, but moved to the town of Newton in Newton County in 1922. He was educated at Clarke College, Mississippi College, Cumberland University and the University of Texas; it was from the latter two institutions that he received the legal training that later qualified him as an attorney before the Mississippi State Bar. He served as a school teacher and superintendent in the counties of Claiborne, Lauderdale and Scott for a total of five years, in between stints at college. From 1932 to 1936 he served in the Mississippi Legislature as a representative from Newton County.
      In 1937, Governor Hugh White appointed Roebuck as Central District Highway Commissioner to fill out the term of Commissioner Brown Williams, who had died in office. Mr. Roebuck was elected to the same office in 1939 in the general election of that year, and was reelected to office every term thereafter until 1952, when he left office after declining to run for another term. From 1943-1952, he served as the Highway Commission’s Chairman. Following his tenure as a highway commissioner, Roebuck returned to Newton to practice law. He passed away in 1982.

Box 2495

• Map of Mississippi showing rural traffic fatalities, 1945-1948. Undated (ca. 1949).
• Map of Mississippi showing state designated highway system. 1947.
• Statement of expenditures, First Commissioner’s District, July 1, 1935 – June 30, 1949. Handwritten annotation “Construction” at top.
• Certificate of Election as Highway Commissioner for S. T. Roebuck, with accompanying letter from Secretary of State. 1947.
• Mississippi travel brochure produced by the Mississippi Agricultural & Industrial Board. Undated [1940s?]
• “State of Mississippi Progress Map,” showing types of road surfaces on highways. Annotated and colored by hand. 1939
• Spreadsheet showing maintained mileage for every county (incl. detours). Apr. 30, 1949.
• Spreadsheet showing road and bridge privilege taxes for every county, 1948-1949.

Box 32295

• Base map “Designated Highway System of Mississippi” annotated in color to show status of system in all three highway districts. Map dated May 1949; annotations ca. 1949.
• Base map “Designated Highway System of Mississippi” annotated in red pencil, “Roads in Central District for which commitments, oral and minute entry have been made,” with other annotations. Map dated Jan. 1949; annotations circa 1949.
• Organization charts of the Mississippi State Highway Department, 1948 and 1950.
• Printer’s proof, “Official Bulletin No. 34,” Mississippi Highway Department, 1939.

Box 32296

• “1947 Traffic map of Mississippi.”
• Chevrolet automobile promotional sales flyer: undated [1940s].
• Blueline diazotype architectural drawing “Suggested Location, Drives & Grading Plan – Office & Shop Buildings at Yazoo City, Miss. For the Mississippi State Highway Dept.”: 1950.

*Oversize items separate from other documents, with no accompanying materials. Oversize items attached to other documents have been relocated to more appropriate locations and tracking sheets have been placed in their original locations. There is no separate list for these materials.

RG 55; Series 2806 Photograph List

Box 22879

-Folder “Campaign. 1947.” (part 1).

1. Sidney T. Roebuck Family Photo. Not Dated.
2. Sidney T. Roebuck Photo (youth). Not Dated.
3. Sidney T. Roebuck Photo. Not Dated.

-Folder “Campaign. 1947.” (part 2).

4. Sidney T. Roebuck Portraits. (x3). 1947.

-Folder “Photographs. Undated.”

1. Unknown (child on tricycle). Not dated.
2. Homes. Not Dated.
3. Sidney T. Roebuck Portraits. (x2). Not Dated.
4. Sidney T. Roebuck Portraits. Not Dated.
5. Sidney T. Roebuck and Co. Not Dated.
6. Sidney T. Roebuck and Co. Not Dated.
7. Sidney T. Roebuck and Co. Not Dated.
8. Macon. MS. 1939?
9. Possibly taken at Southeastern Association of State Hwy Officials Meeting. Nov. 3-5, 1948.

-Folder “Railroad Crossing Safety. 1940-1941.”

1. Illinois Central Crossing. Grenada, MS. 1940. (Popular “crossbones” railroad crossing)

-Folder “Southeastern Association of State Highway Officials. 1948-1949.”

1. Southeastern Association of State Highway Officials. 1948-1949.
2. Southeastern Association of State Highway Officials. 1948-1949.

Box 22963

-Folder “M. 1945-1947. J.W. Martin to Roebuck. Florence, MS. April 11, 1947.”

1. Ditch Bark Water Line.
2. Bitch Bark Water Line.

-Folder “P. 1945-1947.” (part 1).

1. Unidentified Man- Portrait.
2. Unidentified Man- Portrait.
3. Unidentified Man- Portrait.
4. Unidentified Man- Portrait.

-Folder “P. 1945-1947.” (part 2).

1. Bart L. Pledge to Sidney T. Roebuck. Greenville, MS. Jan. 23, 1947.

Box 22981

-Folder “G. 1936-1945.”

1. Highway 82 through Greenville. Not Dated.
2. Highway 82 through Greenville. Not Dated.