Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell

(April 22, 1856 - April 1, 1923) Born near Rusk in Cherokee County, Thomas Mitchell Campbell was the son of Thomas Duncan and Rachel (Moore) Campbell. He financed his education by working for the county clerk in Longview. In 1878 Campbell was admitted to the Bar and opened his law practice in Longview. He married Fannie Bruner the same year. Campbell moved to Palestine in 1892 after he was named receiver for the International & Great Northern Railroad. He was general manager of the line 1892-97.

In 1905, without prior political experience, Campbell announced as a candidate for Governor. He received the Democratic nomination despite strong opposition at the party's 1906 convention. Rallying supporters with the rousing march tune, "The Campbells Are Coming," he won the election by a large margin and became Texas' second native-born Governor. The first was Campbell's boyhood friend, Gov. James S. Hogg (1851-1906). In 1908 Gov. Campbell was elected to a second term. His administration was marked by strong anti-trust legislation, a pure food law, and prison reform.

When his term expired, Gov. Campbell returned to a banking and law career in Palestine. In 1916 he ran for the United States Senate but lost. He died in Galveston and was buried in Palestine's East Hill Cemetery. (1975).