Bridges: Thornton rose from poverty to help lead Dallas to prosperity

Sometimes the men dismissed for their failures early in life can become the greatest successes. The story of R. L. Thornton is the story of a man raised in poverty and with barely an eighth grade education became synonymous with the success of Dallas in the 1950s.

Robert Lee Thornton was born in 1880 in Hamilton County, just west of Waco. His parents were farmers. In 1887, the family had their land stolen from them in a title dispute. As a result, they lost absolutely everything and were left in deep poverty.

They moved to Ennis, just south of Dallas, where the young Thornton helped the family by picking cotton and taking whatever work he could find. As a result his education was sporadic, and he quit school after the eighth grade. He continued to work odd jobs until he was hired as a store clerk.

Determined to make something of his life, Thornton attempted to restart his education by taking a business course in Dallas. After one course, around 1904, he tried his hand at sales, becoming a traveling salesman in Oklahoma for a candy company. His success was lackluster, so he tried to start his own business. Thornton’s first attempt, a stationery business, folded quickly. He quickly started a mortgage company, but it, too, failed.

Thornton tried again in 1916, starting a bank with two other partners. Thornton served as president of the Dallas County State Bank, later the Mercantile National Bank, for 30 years. The bank found early success by capitalizing on a new type of consumer loan for bankers – automobiles. America had fallen in love with the car by the 1920s, and Thornton became an immense success by becoming one of the first North Texas bankers to offer car loans. Soon, other businesses were asking him to serve as an executive with their businesses as well.

By 1933, the business community honored him by naming him president of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce. He was intensely active in Dallas civic affairs, serving with many charitable organizations. He helped bring the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition to Dallas’s Fair Park area, adding permanent exhibits to the area. From 1945 to 1960, he also served as president of the Texas State Fair.

In 1952, at the age of 72, Thornton was ready for new adventure as he ran for Dallas mayor. Already known as “Mr. Dallas” for his many accomplishments for the city, he won the election easily.

Though Dallas and neighboring Fort Worth were intense business rivals at this time, the need for a modern highway connecting the business districts of the two growing cities was clear. Thornton pushed through the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, which later became Interstate 30, which opened in 1957 and became an immediate success.

In 1957, the city also completed the new Dallas Memorial Auditorium, which eventually became one of the largest convention centers in the world. The city completed important renovations and expansions to Love Field.

Housing construction boomed while business leaders unveiled a string of ambitious development plans. “Keep the dirt flying” became Thornton’s slogan for an ambitious city. Dallas’s population increased dramatically, from just over 450,000 at the beginning of his term to nearly 700,000 by 1961.

In 1960, at the age of 80, he declined to seek another term as mayor. He entered into a quiet retirement in 1961 before his death three years later.

Thornton today is perhaps best remembered in the North Texas area as the namesake for the R. L. Thornton Freeway, a stretch of Interstate 35 East through Dallas as well as the city’s R. L. Thornton Elementary School.

Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan. He holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Bridges: Thornton rose from poverty to help lead Dallas to prosperity