Judge J. N. Campbell Home

Duane's take

The official marker's the one doin' the talkin' here, and I'm just Duane, passin' it along. Out in Gregg County stands a house that has seen some things. Built in 1872, it's the kind of place that seems to hold memory in its walls, and if those walls could talk, they'd have plenty to say about the company that came through the door.

Since 1885, that house has belonged to Judge J. N. Campbell and his family.

And the Judge, well, he did not keep a quiet home. He kept an open one. Open to the Texas judiciary, open to the clergy, open to young people looking for a place to gather.

The kind of house where the conversation ran long and the welcome ran longer. Now, for the dances, and there were dances, a Negro string band played. You can almost hear it if you stand still enough.

Music filling those rooms, people moving across the floors of a house that had made itself the center of something. And the visitors kept coming. Among the most notable, the most frequent, was the Judge's own brother.

Governor Thomas M. Campbell made a habit of turning up at that Gregg County home. When your brother keeps open house for half the judiciary in Texas, you show up.

That's just good sense. A house built in 1872, a family rooted there from 1885 forward, a governor at the table, a string band on the floor. Some homes just have a way of pulling the world in through the front door.

What the marker says

Built 1872. Owned since 1885 by Judge J. N. Campbell and family. Kept open house for Texas judiciary, clery and young people. Negro string band played for dances. The judge's brother, Governor Thomas M. Campbell, was a frequent visitor. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965