DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, Palestine, Texas has sent some notable figures out into the world, but few carried the weight of Alexander W. Gregg.
The marker calls him an honored national statesman, and that's not a title handed out lightly. Gregg was born in 1855, a member of what the marker describes as a distinguished southern family, and he took his legal education all the way to the University of Virginia School of Law. Then he came back to Palestine and got to work.
He practiced law here, won a seat in the State Senate, served from 1886 to 1888, and somewhere in the middle of all that, this house he called home was being built — construction running from 1886 all the way to 1892. So the man was busy on multiple fronts at once. Then in 1903, Alexander Gregg stepped into the United States Congress, and he would hold that seat until 1919.
Now, here's where the story takes on some real weight. The 1900 hurricane hit Galveston with a devastation that is almost beyond reckoning — one of the deadliest natural disasters this country has ever known. Congressman Gregg was instrumental in securing a sea wall to protect Galveston from that kind of catastrophe ever striking again.
He used his position, his influence, and he got it done. That's not a small thing. That's the kind of work that outlasts a man.
Gregg was married twice — first to Mary Bridges, then to Mary Brooks — and together he had four children. He passed in 1919, the same year his congressional service ended. This house in Palestine stood at the height of all of it.
The marker itself was donated by Colonel Perry E. Taylor. A statesman, a lawyer, a family man — and somewhere behind him, the sea wall standing watch over Galveston.
What the marker says
Honored national statesman from Palestine, Congressman A. W. Gregg (1855 - 1919) lived in this house at height of his career. Gregg, member of a distinguished southern family, graduated from University of Virginia School of Law; practiced in Palestine; was in State Senate, 1886-1888. Serving in U.S. Congress 1903-1919, he was instrumental in securing sea wall to protect Galveston from such devastation as that of 1900 hurricane. Congressman Gregg married (first) Mary Bridges and (second) Mary Brooks. Had four children. House was built 1886-1892. (1970) Incise on base: Marker donated by Col. Perry E. Taylor