Ashley Elijah "A.E." Wood

Born in Tennessee, Wood came to Texas where he practiced law in Georgetown, Ballinger, and Granger. Elected to the State Senate, he served there from 1919 through 1929, chairing the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee for part of his term.

He is remembered for a number of conservation contributions, including co-authorship of the bill creating the Texas State Parks Board (SB 73, 1923). While the law did not at first allow the Board to buy land, it did enable the state to accept donations of numerous parks, including Buescher, Frio County, Mother Neff, and Washington-on-the-Brazos during its first two years of existence.

Through HB 85, also passed in 1923, Wood helped secure dedicated revenues from sand, gravel, and shell dredging to support operations of the Texas Game, Fish and Oyster Commission. This bill gave teeth to the Marl, Sand and Gravel Act of 1911, creating the Special Game Fund that allowed for hiring a professional staff of 45 game wardens, equipped with patrol boats, horses, and vehicles to enforce game laws. In 1929, Governor Neff appointed Wood to serve on the board of the Texas Game, Fish and Oyster Commission (1929-35, 1937-41), allowing him to oversee Commission work more directly.