James Stephen Hogg and Cherokee County
Rusk, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
James Stephen Hogg was born in 1851 to Lucanda (McMath) and Joseph L. Hogg on the family's plantation near Rusk. After a political career in Wood County as justice of the peace, judge and prosecutor, he became Texas Attorney General in 1887. In 1890, he ran as the Democratic candidate for Governor. He returned to his native Rusk on April 19, 1890 to begin his campaign with a speech at Live Oak Park, where approximately 3,000 people gathered to hear him speak for almost three hours. His speech outlined his platform, which included the creation of the Texas Railroad Commission and the Alien Land Law, later considered among his greatest accomplishments as Governor. (2004)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
James Stephen Hogg was born on a Cherokee County plantation in 1851 and rose through Wood County offices to become Texas Attorney General in 1887. Returning to his native Rusk in April 1890, he launched his gubernatorial campaign before a crowd of some 3,000 at Live Oak Park, speaking for nearly three hours. The platform he laid out that day — creating the Texas Railroad Commission and passing the Alien Land Law — became the signature achievement of his time as the state's first native-born governor.
Why it matters
Hogg embodied the Gilded Age reform impulse to rein in railroad and corporate power, and his Railroad Commission became a lasting model for state regulation of business.
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Related people
- · James Stephen Hogg
- · Joseph L. Hogg
Related events
- · Hogg's 1890 gubernatorial campaign launch
Themes & tags
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