LAST Confederate Governor of Texas - Weatherford, TX
N 32° 45.148 W 097° 48.032
14S E 612364 N 3624482
A Texas Historical Marker at the site of the residence of Governor S.W.T. Lanham indicates that he was the last Confederate veteran to serve as Governor of Texas. The marker is at 604 S Alamo St, Weatherford, TX.
Waymark Code: WMNDYV
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2015
Views: 3
Governor Lanham was honored with two Texas Historical Markers in Weatherford. One is at his gravesite in City Greenwood Cemetery, and the other is here:
(July 4, 1846 - July 29, 1908)
A South Carolinian, Samuel Willis Tucker Lanham volunteered at age 15 and fought 1861-65 in the Civil War. In 1866 he married Sarah Beona Meng and moved to Texas. The Lanhams taught school, first in Bowie County, then in Weatherford. Admitted to the bar in 1869, Lanham in 1871 became district attorney for five counties, including Parker. Also in 1871 he began to build his home at this site, enlarging it later.
His speeches in 1871 at the trial of Indian chiefs in the Warren Wagon Train Massacre brought him fame at age 25. Elected United States Congressman in 1882 for the 98-county "jumbo" district of West Texas, he served as a national lawmaker for 17 years.
S.W.T. Lanham was the last Confederate veteran to be governor of Texas, 1903-07. He led in reviving East Texas iron works, began fiscal balance practices in state government, and invoked social justice. Laws made in response to his policies covered vital tax reforms, child labor curbs, uniform textbooks, and the Terrell Election Law to enable voters to nominate officials by ballot rather than in conventions.
Governor and Mrs. Lanham had eight children, including U.S. Congressman Fritz Lanham. The ex-governor died here at his home and is buried in Weatherford.
The marker at his gravesite complements this one:
S.W.T. Lanham was born on July 4, 1846 to James and Louisa (Tucker) Lanham in South Carolina. He joined the Confederate Army in 1861, serving in the Third South Carolina Infantry, and was wounded at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, 1864. He wed Sarah Meng in 1866, and they moved to North Texas, relocating in 1868 to Weatherford, where he became a lawyer. He gained notoriety as a district attorney in the Warren Wagontrain Raid cases, and he served five terms as U.S. Congressman between 1882 and 1903. He began his first of two terms as governor in 1902. Lanham retired to Weatherford in 1907 and served as a University of Texas regent. He died in 1908.
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