Adopt-A-Highway celebrates 40-year anniversary

April 17, 2025

By Jeff Williford

HENDERSON, Texas — The Henderson Rotary Club is the proud owner of the longest-running adopted roadway in the nation, and members don’t take that responsibility lightly.

It’s been 40 years since TxDOT began the Adopt-A-Highway program in Tyler. About 30 minutes away, the Henderson Rotary Club has consistently maintained their stretch of US 259 since 1985, keeping their community clean as the first ever entity to adopt a highway.

“Rotary is a service-based civic group, and our motto is ‘Service Above Self’,” said Stacey Johnson, vice president of the Henderson Rotary Club. “It is important to us to make a difference right here at home. To keep Henderson beautiful.”

Twice a year, Rotary Club volunteers arm themselves with “Don’t Mess With Texas” trash bags and don orange safety vests and gloves to pick up litter along their stretch of road.

They are often joined by students from the Henderson and Beckville High School Interact Clubs — the youth version of Rotary International.

“It is so great to get out and help make a difference in our community,” said Club President Jeri Gaddis. “We can make an immediate impact right here in Henderson by giving just a few hours each year.”

The Adopt-A-Highway program was born out of a need for cleaner highways in the early 1980s.

TxDOT’s Tyler District Engineer James "Bobby" Evans noticed debris flying out of a pickup truck and sought local groups to sponsor the cleaning of sections of the highway. And just like that, Adopt-A-Highway was born. It has since become a worldwide volunteer initiative.

In 1985, the Henderson Rotary Club was one of the first groups to adopt a stretch of highway through the program.

Over the years, the club has picked up an estimated 3500 bags of trash in 37 years, or about 95 bags per year. Volunteers have picked up common items like wrappers, bottles and cans and even a marriage license.

“I have made so many wonderful friends through Rotary, and we’ve accomplished so much for Henderson,” said Johnson, a 13-year member of the Club. “We want to make sure Henderson stays beautiful for our residents and visitors alike.”

For the Henderson Rotary Club, their commitment to the Adopt-A-Highway program and the "Service Above Self" motto is not just about picking up litter. It's about creating a better world for themselves and their community, one stretch of highway at a time.

"As a club, we've been working to create a more beautiful world for 37 years,” said Gaddis. "It's up to us to build the world we want to live in, and it all starts with our little stretch of 259."

Henderson Rotary Club has removed more than 3,500 bags of trash from its adopted stretch of highway.

Story highlights

• Adopt-A-Highway was born in Tyler, Texas.
• Henderson Rotary Club adopted its highway in 1985.
• The group has removed more than 3,500 bags of trash.