DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — the story of Judge James Nathan Browning, right here in Potter County. Now, every now and then the Panhandle throws up a figure so unlikely, so outsized, that you'd think somebody made him up around a campfire. James Nathan Browning was not that kind of man.
He was the real article. He was born in Arkansas, and if formal schooling was ever on the menu, he got only a few months of it. But here's the thing about Browning — a closed schoolhouse door didn't close his mind.
He taught himself by reading at night by the dim light of a pine knot. Think on that. Not a lamp.
Not a candle. A pine knot. That's the light he chose to grow by.
At sixteen, he came with his family to Cooke County, Texas. But Cooke County couldn't hold him. He drifted west, the way a certain kind of man does, and he became a cowboy.
That first job as a trail hand opened a nine-year career as a cattleman. Nine years in the saddle. Nine years reading the land, reading cattle, reading people.
And all that time, that quick mind of his kept reaching for something more. He began the study of law with a law firm at Fort Griffin, and in 1876 he was admitted to the Bar. A cowboy turned lawyer.
Only in Texas does that sentence land without a single raised eyebrow. What followed was a dual career of public service and private practice that took him through Mobeetie, then Clarendon, then Amarillo — moving west and deeper into the Panhandle with every chapter. He was named the first district attorney of the 31st Judicial District, a sprawling area taking in the entire Panhandle.
The entire Panhandle. He often had to ride hundreds of lonely miles just to attend court. Hundreds of miles, alone, through that big empty country, carrying the law with him like a bedroll.
Then came elected office. In 1882 he won a seat as State Representative from the 43rd District — a district that, and hold onto your hat here, included sixty-nine counties. He was re-elected in 1884, in 1886, and again in 1890.
Four terms. And what did he do with all that time in the legislature? He became a popular champion of the rights of small farmers and settlers against big ranching interests.
The cowboy who'd once worked cattle was now standing up for the little man against the cattle empires. There's a story in that irony, but the marker lets you draw your own conclusions. He served as Lieutenant Governor from 1898 to 1902.
He sat on the Board of Regents at the University of Texas from 1903 to 1907. And from 1906 to 1914 he served as District Judge right here in Amarillo — the man who once read by pine-knot light, presiding over a courtroom. He was twice married and had ten children.
A full life by any measure. Cowboy. Lawyer.
Legislator. Lieutenant Governor. Judge.
All of it built on a few months of schooling and a burning pine knot in the dark. James Nathan Browning didn't wait for the light to find him. He made his own.
What the marker says
Cowboy, lawyer, state official and jurist. Born in Arkansas, Browning received only a few months formal education, but taught himself by reading at night by the dim light of a pine knot. At 16, he came with his family to Cooke County, Texas, but later moved west to become a cowboy. His first job as a trail hand opened a nine-year career as a cattleman. His quick mind and desire for knowledge led him to begin the study of law with a law firm at Fort Griffin. Admitted to the Bar in 1876, he began a dual career of public service and private practice that continued through moves to Mobeetie, Clarendon and Amarillo. He was named first district attorney of the 31st Judicial District, a sprawling area taking in the entire Panhandle; he often had to ride hundreds of lonely miles to attend court. He was elected (1882) State Representative from the 43rd District (which included 69 counties). Re-elected in 1884, 1886, 1890, he became a popular champion of the rights of small farmers and settlers against big ranching interests. He served as Lieutenant Governor, 1898-1902; and on the Board of Regents, University of Texas, 1903-1907. From 1906 to 1914 he served as District Judge in Amarillo. Twice married, he had 10 children. (1969)