Homesite of Gov. Oscar Branch Colquitt

Duane's take

The official marker tells this one, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Now, Texas has had its share of big personalities, and every now and then, the biggest personality in the room happens to be one of the shorter men in it. That was Oscar Branch Colquitt.

Born in Georgia in 1861, he'd go on to become the Twenty-fourth Governor of Texas, and somewhere along the way he picked up not one but two nicknames. They called him "The Napoleon of Texas Politics." They called him "Little Oscar" on account of his short stature. You put those two together and you start to get a picture of a man who knew exactly what he was and didn't apologize for a single inch of it.

Colquitt came from fighting stock. He was a descendant of American Revolution fighters and Civil War fighters both. He came to Texas not with silver in his pocket but with work in his hands: tenant farming first, then newspapering.

He owned the Terrell Times-Star in the 1890s, and Terrell is right where this marker stands, the place that was his legal residence all through his time as governor. From those modest beginnings he climbed into the Texas Senate, and from there he became railroad commissioner, serving from 1903 all the way to 1911. His work in that office on behalf of Galveston earned him a title that stuck: "Daddy of the Causeway." In 1885 he had married Alice F.

Murrell, and together they had five children. By 1911 he was ready for something larger. He ran for governor on an anti-Prohibition ticket, and in his second race for the office, he won.

Now here's the thing about Colquitt on the stump: his speeches were described as among the most effective of his times. And when he took up the cause of prison reform, he didn't just send a memo to the legislature. He campaigned with a bullwhip in hand.

Not as a threat; as a demonstration. He wanted people to see, to understand, to feel the weight of what was happening inside those prison walls. That image (a governor, bullwhip raised, making the brutality visible) that's not theatrics for its own sake.

That's a man who understood that some truths need more than words. Under Colquitt's two terms, from 1911 to 1915, prison reforms were achieved. Homes for the insane and the retarded were improved.

He spearheaded advancements in education, backed labor bills, and (and this one echoes) he helped preserve the Alamo as a Texas shrine. The man who came up as a tenant farmer ended up helping protect the most sacred ground in the state. After 1915, he stepped out of the governor's office and into private business, and later worked as a United States government official.

He lived until 1940. Strong. Independent.

Effective on the stump. A short man who cast a long shadow over Texas politics, and right here in Terrell is where he called home.

What the marker says

(1861-1940) (This block is the former homesite of) Twenty-fourth Governor of Texas (1911-1915). Known as "The Napoleon of Texas Politics" and "Little Oscar" because of his short stature, Colquitt was a strong and independent chief executive. His stump speeches were among the most effective of his times. A descendant of American Revolution and Civil War fighters, Colquitt was born in Georgia. He worked as a tenant farmer and newspaperman before serving as a Texas Senator. He was railroad commissioner, 1903-1911, and his efforts in office for Galveston gained him the title "Daddy of the Causeway". In his second race for the office, he was elected Governor on an anti-Prohibition ticket. His legal residence was in Terrell during both terms and he had owned the Terrell "Times-Star" in the 1890s. While in office, Colquitt achieved prison reforms. (He campaigned with a bullwhip in hand to publicize prison brutality.) He helped preserve the Alamo as a Texas shrine. Homes for the insane and retarded were improved under him, and he also spearheaded advancements in education and backed labor bills. In 1885 he had married Alice F. Murrell, by whom he had five children. After 1915 he entered private business and worked as a U.S. government official.