Date of Award

1-1956

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

History

Abstract

"The wheel was the crowning achievement of prehistoric carpentry..." Since the discovery of the wheel and its part in revolutionizing transportation for the individual, it has been destined to play a leading role in transportation as an industry.

At the conclusion of the Civil War the era was marked by expansion in industry and agriculture. This expansion was possible through transportation. At the front was the railroad, but the horse and wagon method of transport was behind the scenes, playing an active role, and destined to rise to the front with the introduction of the combustion engine.

In the South, and in Richmond, Virginia, in particular, the Brooks transportation Company and the Brooks Transfer and Storage Company has pioneered this field.

At the conclusion of the Civil War, Mr. James W. Brooks was permission to return to his home with the horse which he used in the cavalry during the war.

With this horse Mr. Brooks returned to the war torn area of Richmond and its vicinity. During this period Richmond was rebuilding and this was the place of opportunity. With the horse he began hauling for anyone who needed facilitates for transport. Later his labor turned to the transportation of people across Mayo Bridge (14th Street Bridge).

in 1887 Dr. Frank J. Sprague introduced electric street cars. These cars were very successful in operation and this form of passenger transportation soon made obsolete the line which Mr. Brooks had established.

Again he returned to his hauling business.

Later small delivery trucks were substituted for horses and wagons in local transportation service. Gradually, as the equipment developed in carrying capacity and reliability, and as costs decreased, this method of transportation developed into the fleet of moving vans which go into every section of the United States.

J.W. Brooks was joined in the business by his son, James A. Brooks, who became President when J.W. Brooks died in 1918. In 1922 C. Fair Brooks joined his brother in the business and became Secretary-Treasurer and later, in 1948, became President of the Company. Under his able direction the company has grown and developed and it is this son of the founder, C. Fair Brooks, whose biography is presented.

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