Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell

Campbell's four years as governor produced a long list of laws and offices. The Robertson Act of 1907 regulated life insurance rates and required out-of-state insurers to invest part of their Texas revenue in the state. Prison reform ended the convict contract lease. In 1909 two special sessions made railroads liable for employee injuries, and banks were required to guarantee deposits through a state fund or a bond system. His administration created the Department of Insurance and Banking, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the State Board of Health and the Texas State Library and Historical Commission.

What the plaque says

Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell (April 22, 1856 - April 1, 1923) Born near Rusk in Cherokee County, Thomas Mitchell Campbell was the son of Thomas Duncan and Rachel (Moore) Campbell. He financed his education by working for the county clerk in Longview. In 1878 Campbell was admitted to the Bar and opened his law practice in Longview. He married Fannie Bruner the same year. Campbell moved to Palestine in 1892 after he was named receiver for the International & Great Northern Railroad. He was general manager of the line 1892-97. In 1905, without prior political experience, Campbell announced as a candidate for Governor. He received the Democratic nomination despite strong opposition at the party's 1906 convention. Rallying supporters with the rousing march tune, "The Campbells Are Coming," he won the election by a large margin and became Texas' second native-born Governor. The first was Campbell's boyhood friend, Gov. James S. Hogg (1851-1906). In 1908 Gov. Campbell was elected to a second term. His administration was marked by strong anti-trust legislation, a pure food law, and prison reform. When his term expired, Gov. Campbell returned to a banking and law career in Palestine. In 1916 he ran for the United States Senate but lost. He died in Galveston and was buried in Palestine's East Hill Cemetery. (1975)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas State Railroad Excursion Train — 3.7 mi
  A round trip of about 25 miles of track between the Palestine and Rusk depots through the Piney Woods, on a line built by prison labor and reopened as a tourist railroad in 1976.

More markers nearby

• Timothy Stephen Smith — steps away
• Palestine Salt Works C. S. A. — steps away
• Anderson County — steps away
• Col. Homer Garrison, Jr. — steps away