Epperson, Benjamin Holland, 1826-1878

Born in Amite County, Mississippi, Benjamin Holland Epperson (1826-1878) moved to Clarksville, Texas, in the mid-1840s. He soon passed the bar in Texas and served as a county commissioner. In 1847, Epperson was elected to the Texas Legislature, and as a member of the Whig Party, he ran for governor in 1851. After losing to incumbent P. H. Bell, Epperson joined the Know-Nothing Party. He then returned to his law practice and became director of the Memphis, El Paso, and Pacific Railroad in the 1850s. In 1859, he was reelected to the Texas Legislature, where he opposed secession. However, when Texas left the Union and the Civil War begun, Epperson contributed funds and supplies to the Confederate Army and ran for the Confederate Congress in 1861. Following the war, Epperson became president of the Memphis, El Paso, and Pacific Railroad in 1866. That same year, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but the Republican-controlled Congress prevented him from serving. In 1870, he left the Railroad and moved to Jefferson, where he built his home, House of the Seasons. From 1874 to 1875, he again served in the Texas Legislature.

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