Massillon Farley
Cameron, Milam County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A soldier of the Texas army stationed at the camp at Harrisburg, April 21, 1836. First chief justice (county judge) of Milam County. Died in 1882.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Massillon Farley served in the Texas army during the revolution of 1836, stationed at the camp at Harrisburg on April 21 — the day Texas independence was won at nearby San Jacinto. He went on to help build the new civil order of the fledgling republic, becoming the first chief justice of Milam County. His life spanned the arc from battlefield soldier to frontier jurist.
Why it matters
His story links the military birth of Texas to the everyday work of establishing courts and government in a raw new republic.
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Related people
- · Massillon Farley
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
George Green
Cameron, TX
George Green fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive 1836 clash that won Texas its independence from Mexico. Beyond the battlefield he served as a ranger and surveyor, helping map and secure the young republic's frontier, and became an honored citizen of Milam County. The State of Texas erected this marker to his memory in 1962.
Green-Batte House
Cameron, TX
Built in 1847 of logs and locally made brick, this was among Cameron's earliest homes, raised by George Green, a surveyor who had fought at the Battle of San Jacinto in Texas's 1836 fight for independence. As the frontier town matured, board siding went up in the 1850s and later owner R. L. Batte, Sr. added rooms while raising his own children and many orphans under its roof. The now-enclosed cabin survives as a layered record of two families and a young Texas.
Ben Milam
Cameron, TX
Kentucky-born Benjamin Rush Milam fought in the War of 1812, traded with the Comanche, and became an empresario recruiting settlers to Mexican Texas before joining the fight for independence. In late 1835 he rallied hesitant Texian volunteers with the cry 'Who will follow Old Ben Milam into San Antonio?' and led the assault that took the town—though he was killed by a sniper on December 7 before it fell. The State of Texas raised this monument in 1936 for the independence centennial.
John Hobson
Cameron, TX
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, John Hobson came to Texas in 1835 and was received as a colonist in Sterling Robertson's colony, earning a league of land. When the Texas Revolution broke out he enlisted under Captain Jesse Billingsley and fought at the Battle of San Jacinto, then served on as a Texas Ranger. Rewarded with further land grants, he became one of Milam County's largest landowners, one of its first commissioners in 1846, and helped choose Cameron as the county seat.