Eugene C. Barker
Eugene Campbell Barker (November 1, 1874 – October 22, 1956) was an American historian at the University of Texas, the managing director of the Texas State Historical Association, and the editor of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly. He chaired the history department while soliciting gifts to the university, which he used to build a collection of archives and artifacts. In 1950, the university dedicated the Eugene C. Barker History Center as a repository for his collections. These collections are an important part of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas. Early life Eugene Campbell Barker was born to Joseph and Fannie (Holland) Barker on November 1, 1874, in Walker County, Texas. Joseph operated a general store in Riverside, Texas, at the Houston and Great Northern Railroad station on the Trinity River. Barker's early education took place in a one-room school. Barker was about 14 years old when his father died, and he started working at the Missouri Pacific shops after he moved with the family to Palestine, Texas. He attended a local night school while holding down a job as a blacksmith. He started matriculating at the University of Texas in 1895, though he continued his