John Mitchell

John Mitchell was born into slavery in April 1837 in Tennessee. By 1870 his property, valued at $3,750, made him the wealthiest Black member of the Twelfth Legislature. He represented Burleson, Brazos and Milam counties, sat on the Public Land Committee and joined the Radical Republican Association, which backed Governor Davis's vetoes of railroad bills. In 1873 he returned for Burleson and Washington. In 1878 he ran for Congress on the Greenback ticket and lost. He and his wife Viney raised five children, and he died on his farm in 1921.

What the plaque says

John Mitchell Born in Tennessee c. 1836-37, John Mitchell came to Texas in 1846. He began purchasing land in this area in 1870, the same year he married Viney Cox. As a member of both the 12th and 14th Legislatures, Mitchell championed increased educational opportunities for African Americans. Elected as a delegate to the 1875 Constitutional Convention, he defended the policies of Gov. Davis and was one of 11 members to vote against adoption of the new constitution, which ultimately marked the end of reconstruction in Texas. John Mitchell returned to Burleson County as a farmer and rancher, and donated land for a church and school that bore his name. Upon his death in 1921, he was buried in a family graveyard. (2002)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway — 18 mi
  Two park units on an 11,000-acre lake between Austin and College Station, joined by a thirteen-mile trailway for hikers, cyclists and riders with primitive camps along the way.
• George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum — 21 mi
  The library of the forty-first president on the Texas A&M campus, opened in 1997, where George and Barbara Bush and their daughter Robin are buried in a family plot on the grounds.
• Independence and Old Baylor Park — 25 mi
  A crossroads north of Brenham that was the richest town in Texas when it won Baylor University in 1845, refused the railroad, and lost the college to Waco and Belton in 1886.
• Milam County Courthouse and Jail — 28 mi
  Cameron's 1892 Renaissance Revival courthouse and the 1895 St. Louis-built jail beside it, now the county museum, are listed together on the National Register.

More markers nearby

• Burleson County — steps away
• City of Caldwell — steps away
• Burleson County C.S.A. — steps away
• Early Settlers of Burleson County in the Texas War for Independence — steps away