Judge Harry N. Graves
Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born April 4, 1877 in La Vernia (Wilson County), Harry Graves attended Southwestern University in Georgetown and later served three terms as city attorney. As Williamson County attorney, he aided the prosecution in a landmark trial against the Ku Klux Klan, 1923-24 (he lived at this site at the time). District attorney and future governor Dan Moody led the team. In 1929, voters elected Graves to the Texas house of Representatives, where in 1930 he wrote the bill establishing the Texas Highway Patrol. In 1937, he became a judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Graves died in 1957 and was buried in the State Cemetery, Austin, leaving a legacy of civil rights and public safety for Texas. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Harry N. Graves, born in 1877, made his home on this site while serving as Williamson County attorney—and it was here he helped prosecute a landmark 1923–24 case against the Ku Klux Klan, working alongside future governor Dan Moody. Elected to the Texas House, he authored the 1930 bill that created the Texas Highway Patrol, and in 1937 rose to the Court of Criminal Appeals. He is buried in the State Cemetery in Austin.
Why it matters
Graves stands out for confronting Klan violence in court during the 1920s and for building institutions of public safety, a legacy that joined the fight for civil rights to the machinery of modern Texas law.
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Related people
- · Harry N. Graves
- · Dan Moody
Related events
- · 1923-24 Ku Klux Klan trial
Themes & tags
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