I am currently writing a dissertation on highway construction in New York State from 1890 to 1956. I am primarily interested in the politics and economics of road building at the state and local levels, though my interests extend as well to the social transformation that the highways helped bring about. I have done extensive research at the New York State Archives and Library, as well as the Science, Business and Technology branch of the New York Public Library. The unpublished State Highway Department records are spotty however before the 1940s, and county records are even harder to pin down. Does anyone have any knowlede of local repositories of early roadbuilding records? Or, would anyone like to share information about particular roads (political battles, construction/contractor information, labor strife, etc.) from the good roads movement of the 1890s, through the 'golden age' of state road building in the 1920s, the New Deal public works road projects or grade crossing elimination projects of the 1930s, or the Thruway in the 1940s? (One note: I am hoping to maintain a focus in this project on New York State and the early state highway system, rather than tackle New York City and its environs. Robert Moses is already the subject of a very large book, and I plan to concentrate my efforts elsewhere.) Thank you in advance, Michael Fein Dept. of American History Brandeis University -------------------------------------- Michael R. Fein Research Associate Harvard Business School (v) 617-496-7385 (f) 617-496-7366 [log in to unmask]