Horace Sylvan Stansel (November 5, 1888 – April 4, 1936) was an American

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, remembered chiefly as the original architect of Mississippi's highway system. He served in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

including as Speaker. He was succeeded in office by his wife after his death.

Biography

Horace Stansel was born in 1888 in Ruleville,

Sunflower County Sunflower County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,450. Its largest city and county seat is Indianola. Sunflower County comprises the Indianola, MS Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

, in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...

. He attended Franklin Academy in Columbus as a child. While working as a laborer to help construct Mississippi A&M (now

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

), he supposedly overheard from a co-worker that labor could be used to earn a man's way through college. According to his later statements, he immediately presented himself to the office of the university president for admission. Stansel earned a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

after studying from 1911 to 1915. Stansel was first elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1923. In 1928, Stansel was appointed by then-

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Theodore G. Bilbo Theodore Gilmore Bilbo (October 13, 1877 – August 21, 1947) was an American politician who twice served as governor of Mississippi (1916–1920, 1928–1932) and later was elected a U.S. Senator (1935–1947). A lifelong Democrat, he was a fil ...

as the head of a committee to investigate the state's highway needs. The committee's conclusions resulted in Stansel authoring the Stansel Act of 1930, which established Mississippi's system of paved highways. Stansel placed his own touch on the system: the intersection of the state highways in Ruleville is at the site of his family home. Stansel's success in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

led him to run, and win, election in the

. He progressed rapidly in prestige during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and was elected

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

in 1936, shortly before his death from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. His widow, Pearl Stansel, took his seat and was later elected in her own right, serving from 1936 to 1944. Horace Stansel Memorial Library in Ruleville was named in his honor in 1938.

References

1936 deaths American civil engineers Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Speakers of the Mississippi House of Representatives People from Ruleville, Mississippi 1888 births 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American engineers {{US-engineer-stub