When the rival villages of Duck Creek and Embree
combined around a new post office in 1887, the resulting
community acquired a compromise name - Garland.
A.H. Garland, the town's namesake, was born in
Tennessee, but moved at an early age with his family
to Arkansas.
After a brief stint teaching school, he began "reading the
law," which soon became his passion as well as his
profession. Tensions leading toward civil war drew him
to public life, first as a delegate to the secession
convention in Arkansas, then as a member of both the
Confederate Legislature and Senate.
Following the war "Gus" Garland gained national
attention when he successfully challenged The Iron
Clad Oath, which barred the former Confederate from
practicing law. He also secured a pardon from President
Andrew Johnson and later served as Arkansas' Acting
Secretary of State, Governor and U.S. Senator.
When President Grover Cleveland nominated him for
U.S. Attorney General, Mr. Garland became the first
cabinet member from the south since reconstruction and
the first ever from Arkansas. But despite his
accomplishments, there is no evidence that he ever
enjoyed the pleasure of visiting Garland, Texas.
