Gov. James Stephen Hogg and Wood County
Mineola, Wood County, Texas
Marker Inscription
James Stephen Hogg lived in Wood County from 1868 to 1882, formative years of his political career. When he became Governor, he appointed several Wood County friends to public offices. They included: Sarah Rosalie Patten Buchanan, who became a professor at Sam Houston State Normal College; William Jesse McDonald, a city deputy appointed Ranger captain; Cadwell Walton Raines, a newspaperman and county judge who became State Librarian; and former City Marshal George Reeves, who became a Penitentiary agent. Friendships Gov. Hogg made in his Wood County years had an important impact on the county and on the State of Texas. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
James Stephen Hogg spent his formative years in Wood County from 1868 to 1882, the crucible of a career that carried him to the Texas governorship as the state's first native-born chief executive. Once in office he drew on friendships forged here, appointing Wood County associates to shape state institutions—among them a professor at Sam Houston Normal College, the future Ranger captain Bill McDonald, and a State Librarian. These local ties rippled outward into the governance of the whole state.
Why it matters
It shows how the personal networks of a rural Texas county could reach into the highest offices of a rapidly modernizing state during the Gilded Age.
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Related people
- · James Stephen Hogg
- · Sarah Rosalie Patten Buchanan
- · William Jesse McDonald
- · Cadwell Walton Raines
- · George Reeves
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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