The Campbell-Capps House

802 W. Oak St., Olney, TX| Photo by Will SadlerThese two lots were sold by the developers, E.W. Hunt, Wright McClatchy, and A.A. Cooper to E.B. Madden in 1927. Mr. Madden owned a steel drilling rig that could be assembled on the drilling site and dismantled after the well was completed, which was a money-saving proposition for the oil operator, as the other option was to build a wooden rig for most locations. In 1933, Mr. Madden was sued for divorce by his wife, Hattie Belle Madden, and she received the two lots and the steel rig.

In 1940, Hattie sold the two lots to Joe A. Campbell (1894-1987) and wife Ruth (Moore) (1897-1977). Ruth was the niece of William Knox Thomas, the founder of Olney’s longest running business— Olney Hardware. Joe was a veteran of World War I and a graduate of Trinity University and a rancher. They delayed the construction of the house until after the end of the war. The Campbells’ only child was Betty (1924-2022) who married James Phifer Lewis (1921-2005) whenhe was in the service in the war. This wedding drew the most attention on the home front because the soloist for the wedding had Olney roots in the Moore and Stowe families. The soloist was Sallie Mae Arwood, the private secretary to J.S. Bridwell, one of the premier oilmen of Wichita Falls and the most respected singer in Wichita Falls. In 1987, Betty Lewis, as executor of Joe Campbell’s estate, sold the property to Ronnie D. Capps (1940-2014). Ron was a graduate of Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Science in accounting, and he followed in his father’s footsteps in the oil patch. Ron was active in the community, serving on the school board, city council, as a director of First National Bank, and a trustee for the Cemetery Endowment. Ron married Trudy Treon Williams in 1987. They were the parents of three sons—Sammy Joe Livingston, and Marshall Capps and John Capps