Governor Patrick Morris Neff
Waco, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born at nearby McGregor, Texas, Pat M. Neff was the ninth child of Noah and Isabella (Shepherd) Neff. He was educated at Baylor University and the University of Texas Law School. As a young Waco lawyer, Neff was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served three terms, 1899-1903, the last as Speaker of the House. He later held the office of McLennan County Attorney, 1906-12. He was elected as Texas' 27th governor in 1920 and inaugurated on Jan. 18, 1921. Gov. Neff supported improved roads and educational and prison reform. He appointed the first state park board to begin a park system. In 1922 he won a second term in the governor's office. In 1927 Neff was appointed to the Federal Railway Mediation Board and in 1928 was named chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission. He resigned that post in 1932 to become president of Baylor University, where he had been a trustee for 29 years. He presided over the growing institution until 1947. Neff was a prominent Baptist and Mason. He was married in 1899 to Myrtle Mainer (d. 1953) and had two children: Hallie Maude (Mrs. Frank Wilcox) and Pat M. Neff, Jr. Gov. Neff died in 1952 and was buried in Waco's Oakwood Cemetery.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born near McGregor as the ninth child of a farming family, Pat M. Neff rose through Baylor and a Waco law practice to the Texas House, where he served as Speaker, and then to the governorship in 1920. As Texas' 27th governor he championed better roads, education and prison reform, and appointed the first state park board — the seed of the Texas park system. He later chaired the Railroad Commission and served two decades as president of Baylor University.
Why it matters
Neff's push for state parks and public reform helped shape modern Texas government, and his life links the state's Baptist, legal, and political institutions across half a century.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Pat M. Neff's career spanned a period of enormous change in Texas. He was born in the decades after the Civil War, when Texas was still mostly rural and agricultural. By the time he left public life, the state had been transformed by railroads, oil, cars, and the growth of its cities.
When Neff took office as governor in 1921, Texans were dealing with the problems of a modernizing state. Cars needed roads that could carry them. Schools needed improvement. Prisons were badly in need of reform. Across the country, the Progressive spirit of the early twentieth century had convinced many people that government could and should tackle problems like these.
Neff also lived through two great economic shifts that shaped Texas. Oil turned the Railroad Commission into one of the most powerful regulatory bodies in the country, and the Great Depression hit universities and families hard just as he took up the presidency of Baylor.
Throughout these changes, Waco and the surrounding country remained Neff's home base. He was born nearby, practiced law there, and led its Baptist university for fifteen years.
People & events
Pat Neff was born at nearby McGregor, the ninth child of Noah and Isabella (Shepherd) Neff. He was educated at Baylor University and the University of Texas Law School, then set up as a young lawyer in Waco. Politics came early. He won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives and served three terms, from 1899 to 1903. In his last term he was Speaker of the House.
After the legislature he became McLennan County Attorney, serving from 1906 to 1912. In 1920 he was elected Texas' 27th governor and was inaugurated on January 18, 1921. As governor he backed better roads and reforms in education and the prison system. He also appointed the first state park board, the start of an organized state park system for Texas. He won a second term in 1922.
His public service continued after he left the governor's office. In 1927 he was appointed to the Federal Railway Mediation Board. In 1928 he became chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission. He left that post in 1932 to become president of Baylor University, where he had been a trustee for 29 years, and he led the growing school until 1947.
Neff was a prominent Baptist and Mason. He married Myrtle Mainer in 1899, and they had two children, Hallie Maude and Pat M. Neff, Jr. He died in 1952 and was buried in Waco's Oakwood Cemetery.
Its place in the American story
Neff's career reflects a national pattern of the early twentieth century: the rise of state governments that took on roads, schools, prisons, and public lands as their responsibility. Governors across the country were making similar arguments that modern states needed modern infrastructure and institutions.
His role in starting Texas state parks connects him to a broader American conservation movement. In those years, the idea that ordinary people deserved public places for outdoor recreation was taking hold at the national and state levels. The first state park board he appointed gave Texas the base for a system that millions of people have enjoyed since.
His later posts on the Federal Railway Mediation Board and the Texas Railroad Commission place him in the middle of the era's debates over regulating transportation and industry. The Railroad Commission in particular grew into a body with influence well beyond Texas.
Finally, his long service at Baylor speaks to the importance of religious colleges in American life. Through the Depression and the Second World War, schools like Baylor had to keep growing and serving students under great pressure, and Neff led his school through those years.
If you visit
The marker stands in Waco, the city where Neff built his career and spent much of his life. Waco is a natural stop on any Central Texas road trip, with plenty of history to explore.
Baylor University, which Neff served as trustee and president, is part of the city's character, and its campus is worth a stroll. Neff was buried in Waco's Oakwood Cemetery, which also holds many other figures from the city's past and is a quiet place for history-minded visitors to walk.
Neff's legacy in state parks lives on throughout Texas. If you're touring the area, consider continuing to a state park to see the kind of public land his early park board helped make possible. Check current park information before you go.
McGregor, Neff's birthplace, is close by, and the country between there and Waco gives a feel for the rural Central Texas where his story began, before law, politics, and Baylor took him onto a much wider stage.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Pat M. Neff
- · Myrtle Mainer Neff
Themes & tags
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