Bailey, Joseph Weldon

Bailey came to Gainesville from Mississippi in 1885, at twenty-one, and was in Congress by 1891. The Handbook of Texas says that in 1884, before he left Mississippi, he refused to appear before a Senate committee investigating violence by Democrats in the 1883 elections, after being accused of helping lead it. In 1902 he struck Senator Albert Beveridge on the Senate floor after a debate. His 1920 run for governor ended second to Pat Neff, ahead of R. E. Thomason, who grew up in Era. He died on April 13, 1929, during a trial in Sherman.

What the plaque says

Bailey, Joseph Weldon (October 6, 1863-April 13, 1929) Democrat Joseph Weldon Bailey served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1891-1901) and in the U.S. Senate (1901-1913). A colorful and controversial politician, he was known for his superb oratorical skills and his fiery temper. His career was damaged by his involvement in the notorious Waters-Pierce Company anti-trust case, but in the 1920 Democratic Gubernatorial Primary runoff election he placed second to Pat Neff. He moved his law practice to Dallas in 1921. Recorded - 1994.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Great Hanging Memorial — 0.8 mi
  Two granite monuments in a Gainesville park, dedicated in 2014, for the Cooke County men the Confederate militia hanged in October 1862 on suspicion of Unionism.
• Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge — 23 mi
  A 1946 refuge on the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma, laid over land bought for Denison Dam and the site of the vanished railroad town of Hagerman, now a winter stop for geese.
• Stonewall Saloon Museum — 23 mi
  Saint Jo's first permanent building, a stone saloon of 1873 with rooms upstairs for trail drovers, in a town named, the story goes, as a joke on a founder who did not drink.

More markers nearby

• J. D. "Ikard" Sugg — steps away
• Dougherty, F. M. — steps away
• G. H. Ragsdale — steps away
• Fairview Cemetery — steps away