DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's quite a story to tell. John Henninger Reagan. Son of Timothy and Elizabeth Lusk Reagan, born October 8, 1818, in Sevierville, Tennessee.
A long way, in every sense, from where this life would end up. Now settle in, because this man moved through American history the way a river moves through rock — steady, consequential, and leaving a mark you can still trace today. He joined the Republic of Texas Army in 1839 and served in the Cherokee War.
The Republic of Texas — not yet a state, mind you — and this young man from Tennessee was already planting his boots in Texas soil. By the early 1840s he was holding public offices in Nacogdoches County. Then in 1847 he obtained a law license and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.
Two things at once. That was the Reagan way. In 1851 he moved to Palestine — right here in Anderson County — and opened a law office in his home.
The year after that, 1852, he was elected Texas 9th Judicial District Judge. The man was not one for slowing down. In 1857 he was elected U.S.
Congressman. And then — here's where the story takes a turn with the weight of an era behind it — in 1861 he resigned, over what he believed was a Federal takeover of states' rights. He went on to serve as postmaster general of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
When it ended, Federal troops captured him in 1865. He was imprisoned for eighteen months. Eighteen months.
Then in 1866 he returned to Texas and established a family farm near Palestine, at the former site of Fort Houston. A man who had stood at the center of a nation breaking apart, and he came back here and put his hands in the soil. But John H.
Reagan was not finished with history, and history was not finished with him. During his tenure as U.S. Congressman, running from 1876 to 1887, and then as U.S.
Senator from 1887 to 1891, Reagan led the fight that brought railroad monopolies under federal control. The weapon he forged in that fight was the Interstate Commerce Act, passed in 1887. The railroads had been running roughshod over ordinary people for decades, and Reagan went after them the way a man goes after something he simply will not abide.
Then in 1891 he became the first chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission — the first — and he held that position until 1901. A decade of keeping watch. John Henninger Reagan died of pneumonia on March 6, 1905.
And when they held his funeral, the entire Texas legislative assembly attended. The whole assembly. That's not a footnote.
That's a measure of a man.
What the marker says
John Henninger Reagan, son of Timothy and Elizabeth Lusk Reagan, was born on October 8, 1818, in Sevierville, Tennessee. He joined the Republic of Texas Army in 1839 and served in the Cherokee War. In the early 1840s he held several public offices in Nacogdoches County, and in 1847 obtained a law license and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. He moved to Palestine in 1851 and opened a law office in his home. He was elected Texas 9th Judicial District Judge in 1852. Reagan, elected U.S. Congressman in 1857, resigned in 1861 over what he believed was a Federal takeover of states' rights. He served as postmaster general of the Confederacy during the Civil War. He was captured by Federal troops in 1865 and imprisoned for 18 months. He returned to Texas in 1866 and established a family farm near Palestine at the former site of Ft. Houston. During his tenure as a U.S. Congressman (1876-87) and U.S. Senator (1887-1891) Reagan led the fight that brought railroad monopolies under federal control with the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887. In 1891 he became the first chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, a position he held until 1901. Reagan died of pneumonia on March 6, 1905. The entire Texas legislative assembly attended his funeral. (1994)