John H. Reagan

Born in Sevier County, Tennessee, on October 8, 1818, he worked in his father's tannery, and after his mother died in 1831 he helped raise four brothers and a sister while paying his own way through academies. He came to Texas by 1839 and on July 15 of that year took part in the Cherokee War engagement in which the Cherokee leader Chief Bowl was killed. He worked as a deputy surveyor and frontier scout, studied law and in 1846 became the first county judge of Henderson County.

What the plaque says

John H. Reagan As congressman, 1876-1887, sponsored bill creating Interstate Commerce Commission; resigned 1891 from United States Senate to head newly-formed Railroad Commission, modeled after I.C.C., and created to regulate shipping rates and practices. In his term, 1891-1903, railway transportation of petroleum became important in Texas, the Commission was given jurisdiction in 1917 over pipelines. This led to formation of the oil and gas division. The Legislature made the Commission responsible in 1919 for oil and gas conservation. Probation began in 1920s. Complete regulation came in the 1930s with 1,700,000-barrel-a-day production in East Texas. Commission policies were acclaimed when in World War II Texas was able to supply the allies with great stores of oil necessary for victory. The Commission's goal is to prevent waste and protect oil and gas reserves by orderly regulation of exploration, production and transportation. Such men as chairman Reagan have set high ethical standards that have continued in the Commission, causing it to merit the confidence of the people and of the petroleum industry. Commemorative series on Texas Railroad Commission. Erected in Cooperation with Abell-Hangar Foundation, 1966.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Alley Oop Park and Iraan Museum — 32 mi
  An oil-boom town named for Ira and Ann Yates, where the creator of the caveman comic Alley Oop once worked, and a park of giant cartoon figures beside the town museum.

More markers nearby

• Martin-Castillo Expedition — steps away
• The First Bank in Big Lake — steps away
• John H. Reagan — steps away
• City of Big Lake — 1.0 mi