John Hollis Bankhead was a farmer, Confederate soldier, legislator, and a member of the U.S. House and Senate for thirty-three years. He was known as the Father of Federal Aid to Good Roads, was the author who helped make the Warrior the longest canalized river in the world, and was active in the development of Muscle Shoals and other waterways throughout the nation. The Bankhead Highway from Washington D.C. to California was named for him.