RG-12. RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS
A state Highway Department was created in 1903 to cooperate with the Commonwealth’s political subdivisions in the improvement and maintenance of highways. Initially, the department served as a disbursing agency and was primarily responsible for administering state grants to local communities. Legislation passed in 1911 reorganized the Highway Department, providing for a system of highways to be maintained solely by the state and for a highway network financed on both the state and local level.
The Department of Highways, as it was officially designated under the Administrative Code of 1923, was given exclusive authority and jurisdiction over state highways and general supervisory powers over all roads financed in whole or in part by state funds. The Department of Highways was abolished in 1970 and replaced by the Department of Transportation.
BUREAU OF PUBLIC INFORMATION
Photograph Unit’s File of Mounted and Unmounted Prints, [ca. 1915-1932]. (17 boxes) Included in this file are some photographs showing African Americans employed in rough grading, mixing sand and stone, laying concrete, and finishing concrete in the building of roads in Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, and Washington Counties.