Cameron

Cameron, Texas

Cameron, Texas

Welcome sign in Cameron, the seat of Milam County. The City of Cameron is located in north central Milam County. Photograph by Nick22aku.
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Promotion: Nearby Map of Milam County

Cameron, the county seat of Milam County, is at the intersection of U.S. highways 77 and 190, on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad fourteen miles north of Rockdale in the north central part of the county. In April 1846 the Texas Legislature authorized a seven-member commission to find a permanent site for the Milam county seat. The commission purchased a sixty-acre tract of Daniel Monroe's headright on the Little River later that year and named the new town Cameron, in honor of Ewen Cameron.

When the courthouse at Cameron was completed in 1846, the county records were transferred to Cameron from Nashville, which had served as the seat of Milam County during the republic. The new town struggled in its early years because of its isolation, the nearest railroad being more than fifty miles away. In the late 1840s and early 1850s several attempts were made to navigate the Little River in order to give Cameron easier access to trade routes. The most successful of these occurred in 1850 after rains had made the river rise. J. W. McCown, Sr., persuaded Capt. Basil M. Hatfield to bring his steamboat Washington through the upper Brazos and up the Little River. The steamboat and the merchandise it brought caused great excitement among residents, and a two-day celebration was held when the boat tied up 2½ miles east of Cameron. Navigation of the river was impractical on a regular basis, however, and other towns, such as Nashville and later Port Sullivan, prospered in the 1850s and 1860s as the dominant business centers of Milam County. Cameron faced even greater competition in the 1870s, when Rockdale was established on the International-Great Northern Railroad. The arrival of the railroad prompted considerable discussion among Milam County residents as to whether Cameron should remain the county seat, and elections were held in 1874 and 1880 to decide if the county government should be moved to Rockdale.

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Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Cameron is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Cameron is classified as a Town

Location

Latitude: 30.86055890
Longitude: -96.97647600

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

Population Count, 2021 View more »

5,352