Hulen, John A. (John Augustus), 1871-1957

Military officer, railroad executive. Member of Texas Technological College Board of Directors from 1931-1937. Born 1871 in Centralia, Missouri. Moved to Texas with his parents in 1873. Attended public school in Gainesville, Texas. Attended military academies in Virginia and Missouri, graduating in 1891. Joined the Texas Volunteer Cavalry in 1889. Served in the Spanish-American War, the Phillipine Insurrection, and World War I. Both before and after World War I, Hulen pursued a career as a railroad executive with various lines, including the Frisco Lines, the Rhode Island-Frisco Lines and the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway Company. Became vice-president of both the Fort Worth and Denver City and the Wichita Valley railway companies in 1930. Later served as vice-president and chairman of the board of the Burlington-Rock Island Railroad Company, holding the latter position unitl his death in 1957 in Palacios, Texas.

Hulen was a military officer and railroad executive, and a member of Texas Technological College Board of Directors from 1931- 1937. Born in 1871 in Centralia, Missouri, Hulen moved to Texas with his parents in 1873, and attended public school in Gainesville, Texas. He also attended military academies in Virginia and Missouri, graduating in 1891. He joined the Texas Volunteer Cavalry in 1889, and served in the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and World War I. Both before and after World War I, Hulen pursued a career as a railroad executive with various lines, including the Frisco Lines, the Rhode Island-Frisco Lines and the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway Company. He became vice-president of both the Fort Worth and Denver City and the Wichita Valley railway companies in 1930. Hulen later served as vice-president and chairman of the board of the Burlington- Rock Island Railroad Company, holding the latter position until his death in 1957 in Palacios, Texas.

John Augustus Hulen (b. Sept. 9, 1871, Centralia, Mo.-d. Sept. 13, 1957), Brigadier General in the U.S. Army, began his military career with the Texas National Guard in 1889. He served during the Philippine insurrection, commanded the 6th Separate Brigade at the Mexico border, and saw action with the American Expeditionary Force in 1918 and 1919.

General John Augustus Hulen was born in Centralia, Missouri on September 9, 1871. He was the son of Harvey and Fanny Morter Hulen. His family moved to Gainesville, Texas when he was two years old, where he attended public school before enrolling in Virginia's Staunton Military Academy in 1887. He subsequently attended the Marmaduke Military Academy in Missouri, from which he graduated in 1891. During this time, he joined Company G of the Third Texas Volunteer Infantry, known as the Gainesville Rifles, as a private in 1887. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in 1889 and promoted to captain in 1893.

After graduation from Marmaduke Hulen returned to Gainesville to go into business with his father, where he began selling real estate and insurance. On Valentine's Day 1893 he married a local girl, Frankie L. Race. They would not have any children. He became a railroad executive in 1896, but was frequently called away from his work due to military service. He held many different positions for local railroads, including serving as city passenger agent in Houston, then general freight and passenger agent. He worked his way up to the position of president of the Galveston Terminal Railway, the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway, the Burlington-Rock Island Railroad, and the Houston Belt and Terminal Railroad. He also served as president of the Railway Managers Association of Texas. Hulen was also involved in banking, and served as a director of both the Fort Worth National Bank and the Second National Bank of Houston.

Although he had a successful career in the rail industry, the majority of Hulen's adult life was spent in military service. He was the commander of Troop D in the First Texas Volunteer Cavalry until 1898, when he was sent to the Spanish-American War as a brevet lieutenant colonel. He fought Philippine insurrectionists for two years in the jungle of northern Luzon as a captain for the 33rd United States Volunteer Infantry. As a result of his time there, he won the Silver Star. Governor Samuel Lanham promoted him to brigadier general when he returned to Texas in 1901. He retired from the position in 1907, but was recalled to service in 1916. From 1916 to 1917 General Hulen patrolled the Texas-Mexico border as commander of the Sixth Separate Brigade. In 1917, he was sent to Austin to assist in the reorganization of the state militia into the 36th Infantry Division. During World War I, he commanded the division's 72nd Brigade, winning the Distinguished Service Medal and the Croix de Guerre twice. He was appointed major general of the Texas National Guard in 1920, and commander of the 36th Infantry Division in 1922. He held this position until his retirement in 1935, upon which Governor James Allred promoted him to the militia's highest rank of lieutenant general.

While his military career was winding down Hulen began to take on other duties, including becoming a director of Texas Tech University (then Texas Technical College) from 1931 to 1937. He was also a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1932, and was appointed regional salvage manager of the War Production Board by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941.

Throughout his life, Hulen considered himself a Democrat and an Episcopalian, and was a member of the Masons, Shriners, and Knights of Pythias. He died on September 14, 1957 in Palacios, Texas, near the military camp that had been named in his honor.

(Sources include: Jimmy M. Skaggs, HULEN, JOHN AUGUSTUS, Handbook of Texas Online, published by the Texas State Historical Association and accessed February 22, 2012; and an article in the Houston Post, September 15, 1957.)