Social Security History

Fred Rogers was SSA's first manager of a local Social Security office. The first Social Security office opened in Austin, Texas on October 14,1936, and Fred Rogers was appointed District Manager. Initially, the Austin DO serviced the entire state of Texas, and for the first three months after it opened Fred Rogers was the only employee.

Fred Rogers was a Texas native who ended up in Washington studying at Georgetown University and the School of Foreign Service. He became the U.S. Assistant Trade Commissioner in Panama in 1926. Returning to the U.S. in 1930, Fred worked for the Department of Commerce and the National Recovery Administration before joining the new Social Security Board in March 1936.

After opening the Austin office, Fred then moved to Houston where he opened that office and where he served as District Manager for 29 years, until his retirement in 1965. Fred Rogers died in 1976.