Yellow brick road
The actual road is believed to be one in Peekskill, New York, where L. Frank Baum attended Peekskill Military Academy. According to a local legend, the Yellow Brick Road was derived from a road paved with yellow bricks near Holland, Michigan, where Baum spent summers. Ithaca, New York, also makes a claim for being Frank Baum's inspiration. He opened a road tour of his musical, The Maid of Arran, in Ithaca, and he met his future wife Maud Gage Baum while she was attending Cornell University. At the time, yellow bricks paved local roads. Yellow brick roads can also be found in Aberdeen, South Dakota; Albany, New York; Rossville (Baltimore County), Maryland; Montclair, New Jersey (Parkhurst Place and Afterglow Way); Bronxville, New York (on Prescott and Valley roads); Chicago, Illinois; Liberal, Kansas; Sedan, Kansas and Chittenango, New York, as well as a school in Abington, Pennsylvania, and abroad in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Round Rock, Texas
Meanwhile, Round Rock leaders wanted the highway to come their way as they were focused on the potential economic development opportunities it would bring. At that time, no one had ever seen such a road as an "Interstate" (unless they had traveled to Germany to see the Autobahn or the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut), but then-Mayor Louis Henna lobbied hard at the Highway Commission for the Round Rock route. In June 1956, the 15-year debate over the form, funding, and route of the Interstate was resolved. Due to the heavy lobbying effort, and not wanting to antagonize Taylor, the route was eventually changed and the highway was built along the edge of the Balcones Fault line running through Round Rock. The precise route was not without opposition, however, as the final route cut off "Old Town" to the west from what had become the more recent "downtown" area east of Interstate 35. The Interstate eventually made Round Rock into a viable and vibrant commercial center. Due to the Interstate and the reduction in the importance of cotton as a primary crop, Taylor is today a minor, modest town with a smaller population, while Round Rock has thrived and rapidly grown into the largest city in the county, attracting companies like Dell Computer and major retail centers. The transformation of Round Rock is detailed in a book by Linda Scarborough (publisher of the "Williamson County Sun" newspaper) titled "Road, River and Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb" published by Texas State Historical Press.