McCammon of Dallas, and Bayard Witt of Texarkana. McCammon and Witt were selected and began making plans for the two Texarkana housing projects. H.A.T.T.’s goals in pursuing two housing projects were to provide housing for the local population of poor families, and to eliminate substandard housing units, which would, in turn, upgrade health and safety for Texarkana’s population as a whole.

At the March 5th meeting, two sites were considered as locations for the two projects. These sites were chosen to fulfill the goals of H.A.T.T. The site proposed for the Stevens Courts project was bounded “from Fifth Street on the south to Sixth Street on the north, Oak Street on the east to the Kansas City Southern Railroad on the west, and Fourth Street on the south to Fifth Street on the north, Elm Street on the east to Cedar Street or the creek on the west.

On March 10, 1940, the H.A.T.T. board considered a loan contract between H.A.T.T. and U.S.H.A. for $1,121,000.00 in bonds that would be issued at two and three-quarters per cent per annum. The Stevens Courts project was given the title “TEX 14-2” and would have 120 units in fifteen buildings. Rules and provisions governing Stevens Courts fell under Section 15 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.

In their July 1940 meeting, the H.A.T.T. board recognized J.N. Reed, S. Bowlby, J. Thomas, F. Pecorella, T. Griswold, A. Griswold, H. Bounds, J. Goertner, J. Culver, A. Vetrano, J. Bixby, J. Gabour, J. Williams, B. Curry, E. Goree, J. Poindexter, and H. Turner as surveyors under the supervision of R.H. Albers. They were paid forty cents per hour each for their work on the housing survey. Additional personnel were hired to handle increasing responsibilities. Arthur E. Kackley, Jr. was hired as bookkeeper at a salary of $150.00 per month; Juanita Crow was hired as stenographer at a salary of $100.00 per month; and Henry F. Briley and H.P. Briley were appointed as real estate dealers to purchase land and improvements located within the project site. Also, in this meeting the board adopted a new site for the Stevens Courts project which was described as Blocks 1, 2, 3, and 4 of E.A. Dreyer’s Second Addition to the City of Texarkana, Texas. This site was bounded on the north by W. 16th Street, on the south by W. 15th Street, on the east by Milam Street, and on the west by Peach Street.

The land chosen for the Stevens Courts project was outside city limits and classified as farmland prior to 1930. Texarkana City Directories showed that by the 1930s this area was a black housing area including families whose adults worked in various jobs: Eugene Williams was a laborer, Ervin Perkins was a janitor, Jackson Woolridge was a barber, Augusta Cobb was a maid, and Griffin R. King was pastor of the Union Hill Baptist Church. The 1940 city directory showed that the area was still a black residential area including the Williams, Perkins, Woolridge, Jones, King, Johnson, Muckleroy, Cook, Rose and Boardingham families. No businesses were listed in the area, except for the Union Hill Baptist Church.

On July 18, 1940, the H.A.T.T. Board approved the bid of M.L. Watson and J.W. Dawson to survey both the TEX 14-1 (Bowie Courts) and TEX 14-2 (Stevens Courts) sites at a cost of $1,060.00. In their August meeting the board learned that the total value of land thus far acquired for the two housing projects was $45,570.00. Other costs given for both projects were: architects’ fees of $34,580.0, engineering work.