DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker in Cameron tells it, here's what went down on this piece of ground — and it's quite a piece of ground. Shapley P. Ross — Indian agent, Texas Ranger, a man who clearly had an eye for real estate — moved his family here about 1841, and when he chose this particular spot to build his house, he had one very practical reason: there was a good spring.
Simple as that. Good water, good home. The man knew what mattered on the Texas frontier.
And in that house, a boy named L. S. Ross grew up.
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, though most folks would come to know him as Sul. Born in 1838. And Cameron, Milam County, Texas shaped him in whatever ways a boyhood will shape a man.
Sul Ross went on to become a Confederate general — which tells you something about the fire in him — and then, as if that weren't enough résumé for one lifetime, he served as Governor of Texas from 1887 to 1891. After the governor's office, he became president of Texas A&M College. Not a man who sat still.
Now, the spring that drew his father here is long gone from the story, but the ground itself kept making history. In 1890, a pavilion was erected right on this site — built to hold band concerts, meetings, rallies, the full noise of civic life. And two years after it went up, in 1892, that pavilion earned its place in the books.
Two men came to debate for the governorship of Texas: the sitting Governor, James S. Hogg, and his challenger, George Clark. A landmark debate, the marker calls it, and you don't get called landmark without earning it.
So the next time you pass through Cameron, just think — one good spring, chosen about 1841 by a Ranger with good sense, set all of this in motion.
What the marker says
Boyhood home of L. S. "Sul" Ross (1838-1898), Texas Governor from 1887 to 1891. His father Shapley P. Ross, Indian agent and Ranger, built house after moving here about 1841; he chose this site because it had a good spring. L. S. Ross, who was a Confederate general, served as president of Texas A & M College after holding office as governor. In 1890 this pavilion was erected to accommodate band concerts, meetings and rallies. It was the scene in 1892 of a landmark debate between two gubernatorial candidates: Gov. James S. Hogg and George Clark.