Campbellton
Campbellton, Atascosa County, Texas
Marker Inscription
CAMPBELLTON ATASCOSA COUNTY WAS CREATED FROM BEXAR COUNTY IN 1856 BY THE SIXTH LEGISLATURE OF TEXAS. THE TOWN WAS NAMED AFTER JOHN CAMPBELL WHO CAME TO TEXAS FROM IRELAND AS A BOY WITH HIS PARENTS. JOHN CAMPBELL FIRST CAME TO ATASCOSA COUNTY AROUND 1857 AND BEGAN RANCHING. WHEN THE CIVIL WAR BROKE OUT, HE JOINED THE CONFEDERACY AND ENLISTED IN COMPANY I, 32ND REGIMENT, TEXAS CAVALRY, SERVING AS SECOND LIEUTENANT. AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, JOHN CAMPBELL RETURNED TO ATASCOSA COUNTY WHERE HE STARTED A RANCH BETWEEN PLEASANTON AND OAKVILLE. LATER, CAMPBELL OPENED A STORE THAT BECAME A RELAY STATION FOR THE MAIL ROUTE AND, IN 1874, ESTABLISHED THE FIRST POST OFFICE. IN 1880, JOHN CAMPBELL SAW THE NEED TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY AND DONATED LAND FOR A SCHOOL. THE SCHOOL WAS ALSO USED AS A PLACE OF WORSHIP FOR THE COMMUNITY UNTIL A CHURCH WAS BUILT IN 1897, NAMED THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS CATHOLIC CHURCH. IN 1913, TRAIN SERVICE TO CAMPBELLTON BEGAN. THE POPULATION GREW AND, IN 1915, A NEW BRICK SCHOOLHOUSE OPENED. DURING THE LATE 1950s, OIL WAS DISCOVERED IN THE AREA BUT RANCHING REMAINED THE TOP INDUSTRY. CAMPBELLTON WAS HOME TO JOHN FILES TOM AND JOSEPH DANIEL “DAN” STRUVE. BOTH MEN SERVED AS TEXAS LEGISLATORS IN 1873 AND 1961, RESPECTIVELY. FOR YEARS, STATE HIGHWAY 9 (AND LATER U.S. HWY 281) IN CAMPBELLTON GENERATED BUSINESS FOR THE COMMUNITY UNTIL CONSTRUCTION OF INTERSTATE 37 BETWEEN SAN ANTONIO AND CORPUS CHRISTI DIVERTED TRAFFIC AWAY FROM CAMPBELLTON. DESPITE THIS SETBACK, RESIDENTS OF CAMPBELLTON STILL COME TOGETHER TO VISIT AND RAISE FUNDS FOR THE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Atascosa County was carved from Bexar County in 1856, and this community took its name from John Campbell, an Irish immigrant who came to Texas as a boy and began ranching here around 1857. After Confederate service in the Civil War, Campbell returned to open a store, run a mail relay, and in 1874 establish the first post office; by 1880 he donated land for a school that doubled as a church. Rail service arrived in 1913 and oil in the 1950s, but ranching endured even after Interstate 37 rerouted travelers away.
Why it matters
Campbellton traces the arc of a Texas ranching town—immigrant founder, frontier institutions, and quiet persistence after the highway passed it by.
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Related people
- · John Campbell
- · John Files Tom
- · Joseph Daniel Struve
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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