Hogg, James Stephen

(March 24, 1851-March 3, 1906) Texas statesman whose nationally-acclaimed public career began at this site. The third son of Gen. Joseph L. and Lucanda (McMath) Hogg was born near Rusk. Orphaned during troubled Civil War era, he began at age 14 to earn his own way as a farmhand, clerk, printer's devil, typesetter, country editor. At 22, he was elected Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, and headed Commissioners Court of Wood County, 1874-75. He was admitted to the bar in 1875 and soon held higher offices: county attorney (1879-81), district attorney (1881-85), Texas Attorney General, (1887-90). Inaugurated on Jan. 20, 1891, he was the first native Texan to become Governor of the state. He championed the common people. An intellectual and physical giant, personally fearless, he saw Texas as victim of Wall Street greed, and corrected many injustices. To equalize business opportunities among great and small, he led in creating Texas Railroad Commission, hailed as a model throughout the world. Public office left him financially insecure. Later came wealth, which has been invested by his heirs in Texas mental health and culture. His wife was Sallie Stinson of Wood County. Their children -- Will, Ima, Mike and Tom -- were all philanthropists. (1971)

Hogg, James Stephen is a historical marker in Quitman, Wood County, dedicated in 1971. It is one of 75 historical markers documented in Wood County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 151 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.7957, -95.4519 near Quitman. The nearest cataloged historic site is Wood County Courthouse (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include First Baptist Church of Quitman, Quitman City, and Jones, J. H., and the Old Settlers Reunion Grounds.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5499008961. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.