Background
Wilson, William H. was born on November 3, 1935 in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States.
( World War II brought staggering changes to Dallas, Texa...)
World War II brought staggering changes to Dallas, Texas, as the city became a banking, commercial, and transportation center. The growing population strained available housing and put particular pressure on already overcrowded African-American neighborhoods. In Hamilton Park,William Wilson brings to light the stirring history of how both black and white citizens of Dallas worked together to create a thriving African-American planned community. Through interviews with pioneer residents and development planners coupled with research into the politics and problems they faced, Wilson traces the evolution of Hamilton Park from idealistic plans to true residential community. Placing this movement by Dallas blacks to obtain decent housing into the broader context of rapid postwar growth in the United States, Wilson examines how the assault on housing segregation waged by Dallas's black leadership matched the struggles of African-American leaders throughout the nation. He outlines the dilemma of identifying and procuring a suitable tract of land―one large enough, near African-American employment, and far enough from whites' neighborhoods that the development would not be opposed. He also examines individual struggles, from procuring utilities in the new neighborhood to arranging financing for new home buyers to choosing street names. Beyond these practical issues faced by early planners and pioneer residents, Wilson meticulously describes and evaluates the evolution of the community of Hamilton Park. He looks at the roles that neighborhood covenants―and residents' challenges to them―as well as civic organizations, garden clubs, public schools, and churches played in defining and redefining a dominant culture in Hamilton Park. His short biographical sketches of residents and of white elites add a compelling personal narrative to traditional landscape history and the history of planning. Hamilton Park will interest scholars of Texas history, urban studies, environmental studies, American studies, African-American studies, and sociology. Published in cooperation with the Center for American Places, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080185766X/?tag=2022091-20
( Awarded the Lewis Mumford Prize of The Society for Amer...)
Awarded the Lewis Mumford Prize of The Society for American City and Regional Planning History and named Outstanding Book in Architecture and Urban Planning by the Association of American Publishers. "A major contribution to the scholarship on the history of urban America and the history of American city planning... Wilson's discussion of the goals and political reform ideology of the City Beautiful advocates is the most thoughtful and widely researched analysis of this complex subject to haveappeared."--History. Critics of the turn-of-the-century's City Beautiful Movement denounced its projects--broad, tree-lined boulevards and monumental but low-lying civic buildings--as grandiose and unnecessary. In this masterful analysis, William H. Wilson sees the movement as its founders did: as an exercise in participatory politics aimed at changing the way citizens thought about cities. "An outstanding piece of scholarship."--Paul Boyer, University of Wisconsin.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801837588/?tag=2022091-20
( Critics of the turn-of-the-century's City Beautiful Mov...)
Critics of the turn-of-the-century's City Beautiful Movement denounced its projects―broad, tree-lined boulevards and monumental but low-lying civic buildings―as grandiose and unnecessary. In this masterful analysis, William H. Wilson sees the movement as its founders did: as an exercise in participatory politics aimed at changing the way citizens thought about cities.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801849780/?tag=2022091-20
(Fascinating and well-written history of the Alaska Railro...)
Fascinating and well-written history of the Alaska Railroad detailing the events leading from its construction in 1914 through its service during World War II. The author, an historian, explains the close but often contentious relationship between the railroad and the communities it served. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos. With bibliographical essay. 278 pages with index.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871085100/?tag=2022091-20
Wilson, William H. was born on November 3, 1935 in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States.
Student, St. Joseph Junior College, 1954. BJ, University Missouri, 1957. Master of Arts, University Missouri, 1958.
Doctor of Philosophy, University Missouri, 1962.
Assistant professor, U. South Dakot, 1962-1963; assistant professor, U. Alaska, Fairbanks, 1963-1966; associate professor, U. Alaska, Fairbanks, 1966-1967; associate professor, U. North Texas, Denton, 1968-1975; professor of history, U. North Texas, Denton, 1975-1990; Regents' professor of history, U. North Texas, Denton, since 1990. Lecturer in field.
( Awarded the Lewis Mumford Prize of The Society for Amer...)
( Critics of the turn-of-the-century's City Beautiful Mov...)
(Fascinating and well-written history of the Alaska Railro...)
( World War II brought staggering changes to Dallas, Texa...)
(Great for historical review!)
Member Organization American Historians (membership committee 1964-1967), International Planning History Society (executive committee 1979-1984, 90—), Society for American City and Regional Planning History (trustee since 1990, chairman John W. Reps prize committee 1993, president 1995-1997), Texas State History Association (H. Bailey Carroll award committee 1990-1992, chairman Kate Broocks Bates award committee 1991-1992).
Married Katharine Lehr, June 18, 1960. Children: Katharine, Margaret.