Historic Palestine

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Top, left: Governor Thomas Mitchell
Campbell, pictured here circa 1900,
returned to Palestine after his tenure
as governor and remained active in
Democratic politics. He was
unsuccessful in a bid for the U.S.
Senate in 1916, and continued his
private law practice in Palestine.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM FOR EAST
TEXAS CULTURE.
The permanence of the railroad in the now
flourishing city of Palestine was also responsible
for bringing several legendary Texas leaders to
the city. When the International & Great
Northern Railroad began defaulting on its debts
in the late 1880s, attorney Thomas Mitchell
Campbell (1856-1923) and a native of the
nearby city of Rusk, was appointed by the court
as the company’s receiver and brought his family
to settle in Palestine, where he remained as
general manager of the railroad. Upon his
resignation from the railroad in 1897, Campbell
opened a private law practice in the city and
began a political career that would eventually
result in serving as the governor of Texas from
1907 to 1911.
While serving as governor, Campbell was
instrumental in sustaining the longevity of the
Texas State Railroad system, originally organized
in 1894, especially in its existence across
Anderson County. The historic railway first
began as a short rail line built by inmates of the
Texas State Penitentiary at nearby Rusk in
Cherokee County in the late 1800s.
Only months after taking office, Governor
Campbell requested that the legislature approve
operating the local industrial railroad system
near Rusk as a common carrier and extending
the line into Palestine.
The new line was again constructed by
prisoners of the state prison system and went
into service in Palestine on April 15, 1909, and
connected with the International-Great
Northern as well St. Louis Southwestern
Railway of Texas and the Texas and New
Orleans Railroad Company at Rusk. The
company’s general business offices were moved
to Palestine.
After the faltering line was transferred to the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1972,
enthusiasts petitioned the agency and ultimately
won approval for the creation of the Texas State
Railroad State Historical Park. The
park’s two passenger trains and steam
locomotives began operating out of Rusk and
Palestine in 1977 and the park, now owned by
the American Heritage Railways, remains a
landmark tourist experience for twenty-first
century visitors today.
Top, right: The entrance to the Texas
State Railroad Park near Palestine in
2011. The rail line operated
intermittently between Palestine and
Rusk from 1909 to 1969 and was
transferred to the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department in 1972.
Originally built by prison laborers as
a plant facility at the prison in Rusk,
the tracks were restored by inmates of
the Texas Department of Corrections
and new depots and parks were built
at both towns in the 1970’s. Vintage
steam locomotives and rail cars were
purchased and the Park remains one
of the most popular tourist attractions
in Texas. The site was named a
historical landmark by the Texas
Historical Commission in 1997.
PHOTO BY ERIC DABNEY.
Below: One of the historic trains of the
Texas State Railroad.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM FOR EAST
TEXAS CULTURE.
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