The remarkable life and career of John Nance “Cactus Jack” Garner, the most powerful vice president in U. S. history and the second most powerful politician in the U.S. during the Great Depression of the 1930s, began in Red River County on November 22, 1868. After being admitted to the Texas bar in 1890, he moved to Uvalde for health reasons and married Mariette (Ettie) Reiner, who became his partner and a central influence in his career.

After more than 20 years in the U. S. House of Representatives (two years as its Speaker), Garner served as vice president during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first two administrations. As vice president, Garner played a critical role in the passage of much of the federal legislation aimed at alleviating or ending the most severe economic crisis in U. S. history. Garner’s influence and power were rooted in his keen knowledge of government and his close friendships with key individuals like Congressman Sam Rayburn; Houstonian Jesse H. Jones, head of the powerful Reconstruction Finance Corporation; and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.

In 1940, Garner hoped to succeed Franklin Roosevelt as president. Roosevelt’s decision to seek a third term, however, caused a permanent end to their already strained relationship and resulted in Garner’s decision to retire from public service. Although many emerging Texas politicians sought his counsel, Garner chose a quiet life with his favorite hobbies of hunting and fishing in South Texas. He died on November 7, 1967.

After his wife died in 1948, Garner gave his home in Uvalde in 1952 to the city to be used as the Ettie Garner Public Library. After a new library opened in Uvalde in 1973, the former Garner home became a museum to exhibit materials documenting Garner’s life and career and to educate the public about one of the most important and colorful political figures in Texas and American history. In 1999, the John Nance Garner Museum became a division of the University of Texas Center for American History.