Lera Millard Thomas is significant in the history of Nacogdoches as a politician and for relocating historic structures to Millard's Crossing Historic Village. To view or print a brochure about Lera Millard Thomas, please click the following link Lera Millard Thomas Brochure, or for more information, please continue reading. For a brochure about Millard's Crossing Historic Village, please click the following link Millard's Crossing Brochure.
Lera Millard Thomas
Lera Millard was born on August 3, 1900, in the Old North Church Community of Nacogdoches, Texas.[1] Miss Millard graduated from Nacogdoches High School and went on to attended Brenau College in Gainesville, Georgia, for two years before transferring to the University of Alabama where she was a founding member of the Delta Delta Delta Sorority.[2] Lera left college halfway through her senior year to marry her sweetheart Albert on October 2, 1922.[3] The couple moved to Houston, where Albert was a district attorney in 1930. In the 1930 United States Census Lera was listed as twenty-nine, Albert was thirty-one, and their son, Jim, was six.[4] Four years later, Jim passed away. In her interview for the LBJ Library, Lera stated that she was convinced that that event is what persuaded her husband to run for Congress, and that the two of them wanted to "throw ourselves completely away from everything that we had done or where we lived or anything like that."[5] The Thomases later had two daughters, Ann and Lera.[6]
April 8, 1920 Letter from Albert to Lera
The Thomas's Congressional Career
Mr. Thomas's political career began on the state level in 1936 and lasted until his death on February 16, 1966.[7] Over the course of his political career, Thomas, a Democrat, served on the U.S. House's Labor Committee and later the Appropriations Committee where he was sometimes accused of doing too much to help the city of Houston and Harris County.[8] Some of Thomas's projects included the deepening and widening of the Houston Ship Channel, the construction of post offices and federal buildings, and the placement of the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston.[9] Throughout Mr. Thomas's career, Lera was by his side whether it was campaigning for him or being his "severest critic."[10] In her interview, Lera stated that her "husband used to say I was his severest critic. And when he'd get angry with me for expressing myself, he'd say, 'Who are you to say that against what I think?' And I'd say, 'Well I'm John Public.' So he and I disagreed openly, but we discussed it and of course in the end I saw his way." Albert Thomas's position in Congress allowed Lera to mingle with some of the most prominent politicians and their families in the country, such as Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Claudia (Lady Bird), Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry and Bess Truman, and John F. Kennedy, and Jackie Kennedy.[11]
Albert Thomas
The Thomases and the Kennedy Assassination
Albert had been considering and had already announced that he was planning to retire in 1963, but his friends in Congress, as well as President Kennedy, asked him to reconsider.[12] Mr. Thomas's friends decided to throw him a party and asked him if he would invite the president. Albert consented and invited the president, though he did not expect him to attend due to his busy schedule.[13] To the couple's surprise, President Kennedy agreed to come to the party on November 21, 1963 and attend to other business that he had in the state. He announced that he was bringing his wife who had never been on a tour with him.
The dinner went off without a hitch, with Mrs. Thomas sitting next to President Kennedy. After the dinner, the President, his wife, staff, and Mr. Thomas left Houston for Dallas.[14] Mr. Thomas was riding a car or two behind the President and Mrs. Kennedy on that fateful day in Dallas when President Kennedy was assassinated. Thomas went with the family to the hospital and was on the plane when Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into the office of President.[15]
Albert's Dinner with John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Mrs. Thomas goes to Congress
Upon the death of her husband, Lera was elected to fill Albert's unexpired term and was the first Congresswoman from Texas, serving from March 26, 1966, until January 3, 1967.[16] After her term was completed, Mrs. Thomas worked for the Agency for International Development and served as a special liaison for The Houston Chronicle to Vietnam until 1968.[17] In her interview, Mrs. Thomas stated that as with her husband running for Congress, her job in Vietnam was a way to run away for a while. It was the first Christmas without her husband and followed her own year in Congress.[18] During her tour of Vietnam, Mrs. Thomas delivered letters to the soldiers as well as met locals and witnessed their struggles. Upon her return to the United States, Mrs. Thomas went to the State Department where she promoted the need for American civilians to travel to Vietnam and teach the people about democracy and what they should expect of their government.
Lera Millard Thomas with Lyndon Baines Johnson
Mrs. Lera Millard Thomas Comes Home to Nacogdoches
After her work in Vietnam ended in 1968, Mrs. Thomas returned to Nacogdoches where she developed Millard's Crossing Historic Village. The site was named for its location on the property owned by the Millard family since 1830, and the railroad tracks that cross the property.[19] Mrs. Thomas's work in creating the village saved many historic homes and structures from being destroyed or being allowed to deteriorate and it also became home to her extensive antique collection. The Village now contains fifteen mid-nineteenth and early-twentieth century structures including a dogtrot cabin, a train caboose, a log office, a church, and other local homes.
Millard's Crossing Entrance
Millard's Crossing Historical Buildings
Mrs. Thomas's other contributions include her service on the Board of Regents at Stephen F. Austin State University for one year in 1973.[20] Mrs. Thomas was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. During her years in Nacogdoches, she received many honors and awards including:
- 1977 she was named the Yellow Rose of Texas by the State of Texas
- 1979 she was awarded the Ralph W. Steen Award
- 1985 she received the Texas Governor's Tourist Development Award and the Sons of the Republic of Texas Distinguished Service Award
- August 2, 1990 was declared Lera Thomas Day in Nacogdoches and she was awarded the key to the city
- 1990 Mrs. Thomas was chosen as Woman of the Day by the Nacogdoches branch of the American Association of University Women, and,
- 1991 she was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International.[21]
Mrs. Lera Millard Thomas passed away in her home at Millard's Crossing on July 23, 1993.[22] Mrs. Thomas was called "Nacogdoches's most important living citizen," and "one of Texas' most remarkable women."[23] During her lifetime, Lera was friends with some of the most influential people in the United States, broke precedent by serving as Texas' first Congresswoman, and protected the historic resources of East Texas.
Click here to read a transcript of an oral history of Mrs. Lera Thomas located at the LBJ Library
Lera Millard Thomas Headstone at Oak Grove Cemetery
Mrs. Thomas's grave is located in the Thomas family plot in the section north of the exit. The family plot is marked with a gray granite marker. Lera's grave is marked with a gray granite ledger, or flat marker, that states not only her name and dates of birth and death, but also her role as a Congresswoman and work in preservation and establishing Millard's Crossing Historic Village. To locate Lera's grave at Oak Grove Cemetery, visit www.preserveamerica.sfasu.edu/OakGrove and enter her name in the search criteria.
Images
- Lera Millard Thomas, "Lera Millard Thomas: Nacogdoches Native, Texas Preservationist, U.S. Congresswoman," Millard's Crossing Historic Village, http://www.millardscrossing.org/lera-millard-thomas.html .
- April 8, 1920 Letter from Albert to Lera, A234, Albert Thomas/Lera Millard Collection, B2, F1, April 8, 1920, East Texas Research Center, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas.
- Albert Thomas, "First Woman is Elected to Congress from Texas, March 26, 1966," Politico, www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35037.html .
- Albert's Dinner with JFK and LBJ, "Bayou City History: November 21, 1963 (Part 3 of 3)," Houston Chronicle Online, http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2007/11/nov-21-1963-part-3-of-3/ .
- Lera Millard Thomas with Lyndon Baines Johnson, "Oral Histories- Mrs. Albert (Lera) Thomas," Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/ThomasL/ThomasL.asp .
- Millard's Crossing Entrance, 6020 North Street, Nacogdoches, Texas.
- Millard's Crossing Historical Buildings, Millard's Crossing, 6020 North Street, Nacogdoches, Texas.
- Lera Millard Thomas Headstone at Oak Grove Cemetery, Nacogdoches, Texas.
References