Richard Bennett Hubbard

Grover Cleveland appointed Richard B. Hubbard minister to Japan in 1885, and he served about four years. The Handbook of Texas says he backed Japan's push to be treated as a diplomatic equal and negotiated an extradition treaty, and his preliminary work on treaty revision led to the revised treaties of 1894 to 1899. He wrote The United States in the Far East, published in 1899. His oratory earned him the nickname Demosthenes of Texas. He died in Tyler on July 12, 1901, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, where this marker stands.

What the plaque says

Richard Bennett Hubbard (1832-1901) Georgia native Richard Bennett Hubbard came to Texas in 1853 and set up a law practice in Tyler with B. T. Selman, later a state senator. Politically active, Hubbard became a leading spokesman for the Democratic Party. His early career in government included service as U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, 1857-59, and state legislator, 1859-61. At the outbreak of the Civil War Hubbard raised a battalion, which later became the 22nd Texas Infantry Regiment. He was the only colonel of the unit, which participated in the 1864 Battle of Mansfield, La., as well as other skirmishes. After the war he returned to Tyler but found his law practice restricted by the Reconstruction government. As a result, he turned his attention to railroads and was instrumental in the early development of area rail lines. Hubbard was elected lieutenant governor of Texas in 1873. Three years later he became governor when Richard Coke resigned the office to serve as U. S. Senator. An ambassador to Japan in the administration of President Grover Cleveland, Hubbard was noted for his oratorical ability and his devotion to public service. His leadership was instrumental in Texas' growth during the latter part of the 19th century. (1982)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Goodman-LeGrand House and Museum — 0.5 mi
  A Tyler house begun in 1859 as four rooms, enlarged by the Goodman family over 73 years, and left to the city in 1939 with its furnishings, in a garden that fills a city block.
• Tyler Rose Garden and Rose Museum — 0.9 mi
  More than 38,000 rose bushes of about 600 cultivars in a free city garden, beside a museum of the Texas Rose Festival, which began in 1933, and of the rose industry.
• Camp Ford Historic Park — 3.7 mi
  A free county park north of Tyler on the site of the largest Confederate prison camp west of the Mississippi, with a kiosk, an interpretive trail and a historical society museum downtown.
• Tyler State Park — 9.0 mi
  A 985-acre park eight miles north of Tyler, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935 to 1941 around a 64-acre spring-fed lake, with more than 13 miles of trails.

More markers nearby

• Colonel Bryan Marsh — 0.5 mi
• City of Tyler — 0.5 mi
• Tyler Commercial College — 0.6 mi
• First County Agricultural Extension Agent — 0.6 mi