Cadwell Walton Raines
Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(September 18, 1839 - August 2, 1906) Born in Georgia, Raines came to Texas in 1858. After serving in Gen. R. M. Gano's Texas Cavalry Regiment in the Civil War, he was a teacher in New Braunfels and a lawyer in Canton. Van Zandt County Judge from 1876 to 1878, he played a major role in the infamous County Seat War of 1877. He published newspapers at Wills Point, Mineola, and Quitman. In Quitman he became Wood County Judge and was appointed State Librarian in 1891 by his friend, Governor James Stephen Hogg. Raines rebuilt the neglected state library and began its invaluable collection of Texana from 1895 to 1899 and again from 1899 until his death. (1998)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Georgia-born Cadwell Walton Raines came to Texas in 1858 and served in R.M. Gano's Texas Cavalry during the Civil War before turning to teaching, law, and journalism. As Van Zandt County judge he was caught up in the county's turbulent 1877 County Seat War, and he later published newspapers in several East Texas towns. Appointed State Librarian in 1891 by his friend Governor James Stephen Hogg, he rebuilt the neglected library and assembled its foundational collection of Texana before his death in 1906.
Why it matters
Raines gathered and preserved the documentary record of Texas itself, giving the state the library and archive on which its history is still written.
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Related people
- · Cadwell Walton Raines
- · James Stephen Hogg
Related events
- · County Seat War of 1877
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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