Robert S. Kerr

Legacy[edit]

Kerr's chief legacy for the state of Oklahoma is a series of water projects and dams that made the Arkansas River into a navigable inland waterway system. During his term as governor, Kerr witnessed the devastation caused by flooding of the Arkansas River and its tributaries due to the river's shallowness, which prevented river traffic from reaching Oklahoma. His first bill in Congress created the Arkansas, White and Red River Study Commission, which planned the land and water development in this region. He died before he saw the commission's work come to fruition as the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, a series of 18 locks and dams making the waterway navigable from the Tulsa Port of Catoosa to the Mississippi River.


Dozens of Oklahoma schools, buildings, roads, streets, parks, organizations, and events are named in Kerr's honor. Most notable is a portion of 2nd Street, between E.K. Gaylord Avenue and Classen Boulevard in downtown Oklahoma City, called Robert S. Kerr Ave.^[14] The Carl Albert Center at the University of Oklahoma houses Kerr's papers from his years in the U.S. Senate, his gubernatorial papers and his speeches.


In 1956, Senator Kerr was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.^[15]


Kerr's death contributed to Kennedy's legislative difficulties in 1963, marked the end of the Democratic party's dominance in Oklahoma politics, and signaled the passing of a major figure in the oil industry, but in addition to an estate estimated to be worth at least $35 million, he left a legacy that extended beyond partisan or business affairs. His forceful use of the federal government to spur regional development, an approach shared by contemporaries, including Johnson, helped integrate the South and Southwest into the national economy. The rise of the "Sunbelt" ultimately transformed all aspects of American life. Robert Kerr played a significant role in that transformation.