Archibald Johnson Rose (1830-1903) was a soldier, educator, politician, and organizer of the Texas State Grange. After panning for gold in California, Rose moved to Texas in 1857 and settled on the San Saba River in 1860, where he ranched and helped establish a settlement. During the Civil War, Rose served in a Frontier unit protecting Texas from Indians. Rose moved to Salado after the end of the Civil War.
Rose joined the newly organized Grange at Salado in the summer of 1873. In October, he helped arrange the Texas State Grange in Dallas, drafting its constitution and bylaws. From 1880 to 1891, Rose was worthy master at a time when the Grange was one of the most influential organizations in Texas. Furthermore, Rose was a crusader and advocate for education in Texas. He believed Texas needed better schools and teachers, free textbooks, and vocational education. In 1887 he joined the board of directors for Texas A&M, and was its president from 1891 to 1896. Additionally, he was a trustee of Salado College. In 1894, Governor Charles A. Culberson appointed Rose commissioner of agriculture, insurance, statistics, and history. During his tenure, Rose advocated the overhaul of insurance codes and supported the Texas State Library. Rose was also a member of the Texas State Historical Association and a grandmaster in the Masonic order of Texas. He died in Salado on December 13, 1903.
Source:
Smith, Ralph A. “Archibald Johnson Rose.” Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed May 11,
2010.
Correspondence, letterpresses, diaries, journals, minutes, proceedings, reports, account papers and books, receipts, certificates, constitution and by-laws, commissions, stock certificates, stock proxies, stock registers, broadsides, pamphlets, and clippings comprise the Archibald Johnson Rose Papers (1830-1903), which document Rose’s career as a soldier, educator, politician and organizer of the Texas State Grange. The papers pertain to his personal and business activities through correspondence and letterpresses. They contain lectures concerning the Grange and the cooperatives, as well as the records of the Patrons of Husbandry. Furthermore, the papers include material concerning the administrative functioning of Texas A&M, such as the selection of teachers.
The collection is open for research use.
Archibald Johnson Rose Papers, 1830-1903, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.