Cyrus Maxwell Campbell

(September 14, 1839 - January 27, 1921) Born to Cyrus C. Campbell (1810-1883) and Rebecca Elizabeth Robbins (1818-1846), Cyrus Maxwell Campbell was raised near Travis (Austin County). At the age of 21, he enlisted in the Confederate army at the beginning of the Civil War, serving in the Lone Star Rifles and later Company F, 16th Texas Infantry Regiment, where he achieved the rank of captain. Following the war, Campbell's father gave him a 100-acre tract in Washington County, which Cyrus began improving with the aid of Freedmen. On December 29, 1867, he married Lydia Ann "Annie" Dever (1845-1912), and they raised cattle and hogs on their farm. Campbell dabbled in politics and was a partner in a mercantile business but, by 1883, he sold his holdings and settled in Belton with his wife and children with intentions of launching a lumber business, C.M. Campbell & Sons Lumber.

By 1888, Campbell, with partner Irwin A. Lovitt (1854-1920), opened Campbell & Lovitt Lumber in Temple. The Belton and Temple stores prospered, and Campbell expanded to Killeen, San Antonio and other locations. In 1896, Campbell moved his family to Temple and built a stately home on North Main Street. His sons later managed several of the family lumber yards. The Campbells' lumber enterprises flourished, spurred by the county's remarkable growth and the subsequent need for lumber. However, by the 1930s, amid the Depression, the company closed. Cyrus Campbell was among a group of entrepreneurs who assisted the growth and development of Bell County, transforming it from tent cities to permanent communities. (2018)