Harris County Archives ,

Finding Aid

Beatrice Irwin Massey Papers 1935-1988

Manuscript Collection: MC037

Size: 2 scrapbooks Acquisition: Jo Cook Schorp, 2011 Restrictions on Access: None Accession Number: 2011.004 Restrictions on Use: None Processed by: Traci Patterson, 2017

Citation: [Identification of Item], Beatrice Massey Papers, MC037, Harris County Archives, Houston, Texas.

Creator Sketch: Beatrice Irwin Massey was born on October 24, 1906 in Rusk County, Texas. Raised in Overton, Texas, Beatrice attended Overton city schools and, following graduation from high school, she attended Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville, Texas. After receiving her degree she took a teaching position in the community of Cedar Bayou, Texas.

Beatrice married Charles D. Massey on August 3, 1926 in Harris County, Texas.

C.D. Massey served as Harris County Commissioner in Precinct 2 from 1927 until his death in March 1935, at which time Beatrice Massey was selected to succeed her husband and served for the remainder of his term. Massey ran for, and won election to the office in 1936. She continued to serve as Precinct 2 commissioner until her defeat in 1938.

Massey was concerned about the condition of roads and ferries in her precinct and, while commissioner, championed many road and bridge improvements, including linking the communities of Goose Creek, La Porte, and Pelly with Houston via concrete roads for the first time. Massey pushed for a bridge or tunnel to be built that would connect Baytown and La Porte across the , which would eventually come to fruition in 1953 as the , replaced in 1995 by the . Massey is credited with saving the Farm Resettlement project in Highlands, Texas. She single- handedly broke the shell monopoly (used for paving roads) and acquired the lowest per yard price for shell ever paid by the county. She was also a proponent of unions and unionized all Precinct 2 employees. After being defeated in 1938, Massey worked at the Harris County Tax Office in Baytown, resigning her position in 1953.

Page 1 of 3 BEATRICE IRWIN MASSEY PAPERS – MC037 1935-1988

Beatrice and James Van Dixon were married June 27, 1953 in Harris County, Texas. The two moved to Mountain Home, Baxter County, Arkansas in 1969. She died January 1, 1992 and is buried in Mountain Home, Arkansas.

Collection Summary: Two scrapbooks (1935 – 1988) containing newspaper clippings, correspondence, endorsements, speeches, and photographs document the career and interests of Beatrice Irwin Massey, Harris County’s first woman commissioner. Loose clippings and photographs were interleaved among the pages.

Newspaper clippings cover Beatrice Massey’s appointment as commissioner, election campaigns, projects undertaken while serving as commissioner, and stories that were of particular interest to Massey, including the construction of the Fred Hartman Bridge in Harris County. Also included is correspondence from, during and after her term in office. Of particular interest are large newspaper campaign ads and photographs.

Photographs include portraits of Charles Massey, Beatrice Massey (digital copy), and unnamed county officials and friends.

Archivists Note: All loose materials in the scrapbooks were removed and housed separately. The loose newspaper clippings were arranged according to the volume of the scrapbook in which they were found. Other loose materials were arranged in series order. All material has been digitized is available online through the Harris County Digital Archives. http://archives.hcpl.net/cdm/search/searchterm/MC037%20- %20Beatrice%20Irwin%20Massey%20Papers/field/all/mode/exact/conn/and/order/nosort

Page 2 of 3 BEATRICE IRWIN MASSEY PAPERS – MC037 1935-1988 Inventory

Series: Scrapbooks Size: 2 scrapbooks, 40 items Dates: 1935-1988

Title / Description Date Location Scrapbook 1 1935-1988 1008-E Scrapbook 2 1935-1936 1008-E Correspondence 1935-1988 2327-X-01 Speeches 1935-1936 2327-X-02 Endorsements 1936 2327-X-03 Clippings Scrapbook 1 1983-1988 2327-X-04 Clippings Scrapbook 2 1936 2327-X-05 Photographs n.d. PH04-17

Page 3 of 3 BEATRICE IRWIN MASSEY PAPERS – MC037 1935-1988