The 1920s and 1930s
The Roaring Twenties made a stop in Brentwood, earning them an unsavory reputation as the place to go to drink and gamble. In 1929, they elected their first mayor, James (Tex) Willingham, who promised to clean up the town—and he did. He also signed a sweeping ordinance which, among other things, established the City of Brentwood, its boundaries, identified wards and ward officers, and set up a structure for governing.
As the years went on, Brentwood grew into a respectable community, with churches being built, small businesses cropping up, and the school system expanding. In 1927, they established Brentwood High School and the L’Overture School for African-American students. Subdivisions became popular, offering homes to new families. City Hall was dedicated in 1935, and the public library was organized in 1936. Brentwood was now indeed a self-sustaining city, with a very bright future.
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In 1942, they helped support the local population by opening the Brentwood Theatre, which offered entertainment, but also important news about the war in newsreels and films.
After the War, when all the Johnnies came marching home, they found there was a housing shortage. To help solve the problem, Audubon Park, an apartment community with over 1,000 garden units of one, two and three bedrooms were constructed in the early 50s. Sporting such colorful street names as Bobolink, Thrush Terrace, and Wrenwood Lane, it was lovingly nicknamed “Birdland” and for decades provided moderately priced housing for thousands of St.