Caldwell Walton Raines

Born in Georgia, Caldwell Walton Raines came to Texas in 1858. After serving in Gen. R. M. Gano's Texas Cavalry Regiment in the Civil War, he was a teacher in New Braunfels and a lawyer in Canton. He served as Van Zandt County Judge from 1876 to 1878 and played a major role in the infamous County Seat War of 1877. He published newspapers at Wills Point, Mineola, and Quitman. In Quitman he became Wood County Judge and in 1891 was appointed State Librarian by his friend Governor James Stephen Hogg. He rebuilt the neglected state library and began its invaluable collection of Texana, serving from 1895 to 1899 and again from 1899 until his death.

Canton, Texas · United States