Rock Hill City Manager 1933-1939
Written and contributed to R&R by Paul M. Gettys, 2015
Tom Marshall was born in the Gold Hill section of York County, although he was often described as a Rock Hill native because his family moved into the city when he was a child. His parents were Capt. John Wilson Marshall (1841-1932) from Charleston and Mary Ann Clawson (1841-1904) of York. Capt. Marshall led a long and colorful life. His father, a Scottish immigrant, was a successful businessman and plantation owner. Capt. Marshall attended Kings Mountain Military Academy and volunteered for the Confederate army at the age of 19, serving throughout the war. After the war, he and his wife moved in to the Gold Hill section of York County, near Fort Mill. He farmed for a few years before moving in 1892 to the growing town of Rock Hill. Here he invested in the oil business, building many of the early Standard and Gulf Oil service stations in Rock Hill. Capt. Marshall was a great horseman, leading parades in Rock Hill in his Confederate uniform.
The Marshalls had a large family of ten children.[1]
One of the younger sons was Thomas Clawson Marshall, born on the farm in Gold Hill section on September 1, 1881. The family moved to Rock Hill when he was eleven. He attended the city schools and graduated from The Citadel in 1902 in Civil Engineering. Marshall soon began a series of engineering jobs in the eastern United States. He married Catherine Hallock in 1908. She was from Washingtonville, New York. In 1910, the couple was living in Goshen, Orange County, New York, where it appears that he was employed by the Erie Railway.[2] In 1918, when Marshall registered for the draft for World War I, the couple was living in Catherine’s hometown of Washingtonville and Thomas was employed as a Civil Engineer with the E. I. DuPont de Nemours Engineering Company. He was described as six feet tall with blue eyes and brown hair.[3] By 1920, the couple had moved to Michigan, where Thomas was a Civil Engineer in Pontiac. Their first child, John W. Marshall, was almost five.[4] In his job with DuPont, he gradually rose and became a divisional engineer in charge of construction projects in various areas of the east, including the construction of the Old Hickory Powder Plant in Jacksonville Tennessee during World War I.[5]
During the late 1920s, the couple moved to Marshall’s home town of Rock Hill and settled on College Avenue. He organized and ran the Dixie Oil Company for four years, worked as chief engineer for the Piedmont & Northern Railway for four years, and worked on the construction of the Duke Power Company’s new headquarters building and a large parking deck in Charlotte. In 1932, South Carolina organized the Railroad Commission, and Marshall served as valuation engineer for the electrical utilities division.[6]
When W. P. Goodman resigned as City Manager of Rock Hill in June 1933, the City Council began taking applications for the position. The application process seems to have been more formal than previous City Manager searches. At the last meeting of Mr. Goodman’s tenure, City Council had applications or endorsements from seven men, including several serving as city managers in other cities. Mr. Goodman recommended that the city begin work immediately on projects with funds from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). This was an agency created during the Hoover administration and greatly expanded under the Roosevelt administration. The purpose was to provide financing to state and local governments and business entities to encourage investment. Goodman recommended that Rock Hill consider using RFC funds to build a plant to generate electricity using a diesel engine, at a cost of $104,000 and to undertake a paving program for streets. Mayor H. M. Dunlap was appointed to act as spokesman for the city in the absence of a manager.[7] At the next meeting, following Goodman’s departure, City Council slashed the salary for the vacant city manager position from $5,250 per year to $3,000 per year.[8] The council was adapting to the harsh realities of the Great Depression.
By the time the council voted on the new city manager appointment in the first week of July, there were 15 applicants. The council voted by ballot, and the selection of Thomas C. Marshall was unanimous. “He appeared to have the inside track from the day of Mr. Goodman’s resignation.”[9] One of the Council members voting was Marshall’s brother, J. E. Marshall. The Herald carried a positive editorial, hailing Marshall as a home town candidate, and citing his extensive experience in management and civil engineering. Marshall began work within a week, reporting to the office on July 8. Former manager Goodman had already left Rock Hill, having taken a position in Washington, D. C.[10] Marshall began by visiting all departments and by studying some of the recommendations that Goodman had made relating to RFC projects. Later in July, he visited several cities in North Carolina which generated their own power, including Tarboro, Rocky Mount, Wake Forest, and Lexington. He also had discussions with Duke Power, which was currently providing electricity to the city.[11]
One of the problems the city was having in the depths of the Depression was collecting all unpaid taxes and special license fees. This became one of the duties of the new city manager, along with requests from neighborhoods for improved water and sewer service, street lighting, and street improvements.[12] Because of the Depression, the level of new construction and development in Rock Hill was limited during Mr. Marshall’s term as City Manager.
After service of six years, Tom Marshall submitted his resignation as City Manager in August 1939, effective September 1, his 58th birthday.[13] He indicated that he would continue working as an engineer, and was considering several positions.[14] Marshall then took a vacation to New York, where his wife had been visiting family for several weeks.
In 1940, the Census reported that Marshall was working “on his own account” as an engineer and the family was still living on College Avenue.[15] Marshall and his wife later moved to 339 Oakland Avenue.
Thomas C. Marshall died of heart failure on June 11, 1960 at his home on Oakland Avenue, after experiencing declining health for several years. He was buried in Laurelwood Cemetery. He had been a member of Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church, the Masons, the Elk Club, the South Carolina Society of Civil Engineers, and the International Association of City Managers. His survivors were his wife, Catherine, one son, J. Wilson Marshall of Greensboro, N. C. two grandchildren, and a sister, Mary Marshall of Rock Hill.[16]
At his death in 1960, Mr. Marshall had one son, J. Wilson Marshall of Greensboro, N. C. and two grandchildren.
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[1] Information on the life of Capt. Marshall from his obituary, Herald, May 22, 1932.
[2] U. S. Census, 1910.
[3] World War I Draft Records, September 12, 1918.
[4] U. S. Census, 1920.
[5] Herald, July 4, 1933.
[6] Herald, July 4, 1933.
[7] Herald, June 20, 1933, reporting on City Council meeting of June 19.
[8] Herald, June 27, 1933.
[9] Herald, July 4, 1933.
[10] Herald, July 8, 1933.
[11] Herald, July 25, 1933.
[12] Herald, August 1, 1933.
[13] Citi Council Minutes, August 25, 1939.
[14] Herald, August 25, 1939.
[15] U. S. Census, 1940.
[16] Herald, June 12, 1960.
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