John L. Campbell – Campbell Field – 5 term State Senator
John L. Campbell’s Statement[1] – From The Missoulian, Sunday, Sept 6, 1914.
The ambition of every young lawyer is to serve one term as Prosecuting Attorney of his county.
It means more in his future professional career than any other one thing.
The office of prosecuting attorney is particularly the young man’s job.
In the whole history of Missoula County, the office has always been filled by the lawyers of the younger class.
Twenty-six years ago Judge Webster, when a young man, was elected Prosecuting Attorney and served two terms.
Twenty-two years ago, Jos. M. Dixon, then a young man of 27, was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Missoula County.
Eighteen years ago, Judge Duncan served in that position. He was succeeded by Charlie Hall, and after him, ten years ago, Will Murphy was elected, and after him E. C. Mulroney and Dan Heyfron.
Four years ago, I came to Missoula County from the law school of the University of Minnesota, and afterwards brought my family to reside here permanently.
I believe that I can fill the duties of the office with fidelity to the interests of the people of this County.
If elected, it would be my one ambition to serve you with credit.
I will sincerely appreciate your support,
Yours respectfully,
John L. Campbell
(Advertisement)
The article below appeared in the Kalispell newspaper The Daily Interlake on April 9, 1964:
Missoula – Campbell Park, the baseball home of the Montana State University Grizzlies on Missoula’s South Higgins Avenue, is slated to be torn down, according to reliable Missoula sources. When Missoula was in the Pioneer League, it was the home of the Missoula Timberjacks. It is not known what the University plans on the site in the future. The baseball park is located in a prime residential area. The park was named after the late Missoula County Sen. John L. Campbell and his son Douglas, who was killed while in the service of his country during WWII.
The obituary below is from the October 28, 1946 Missoulian:
Funeral Services Set Tuesday For Sen. Campbell
Veteran Missoulian Dies Suddenly of Cerebral Hemorrhage
Missoula, Oct. 28 – (AP) – Funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon for John L. Campbell, 55, Missoula county state senator, who died at a Missoula hospital Sunday afternoon.
Senator Campbell, dean of the Montana state senate with service dating from 1927, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at his home and died a half hour later without regaining consciousness.
Senator Campbell had been a resident of Missoula 35 years, coming from Minnesota, to practice law following his graduation in law from the University of Minnesota I 1911. He was born Dec. 18, 1890 at Wabasha, Minn.
He married Mary Tower, Winnona, Minn., April 23, 1913 and her death occurred here June 4,m 1941. He married Ann Gillespie at Bloomfield Hills, Mich., July 25, 1942.
He is survived by Mrs. Campbell and two sons, John Tower Campbell, Great Falls newspaperman, and William (Lefty) Campbell, recently discharged from service with the marines. Another son, Douglas Kincaid Campbell, died in action Nov. 20, 1943, in the marines, in an assault on Tarawa.
He served as city attorney of Missoula from 1916 to 1920 and Missoula county attorney from 1921 to 1923. In 1924 he was elected state representative from Missoula county and two years later was elevated to state senator. He was re-elected each four years thereafter.
A picture of Sen. Campbell on the same page had the following caption:
State senator from Missoula county since 1927, died suddenly Sunday afternoon in Missoula. He was unopposed for re-election at the coming general election.
John L. Campbell Had Longest Senatorial Tenure for Missoula
Missoula County has been represented by 10 men in the State Senate since Montana became a state in 1889. The longest Missoula County tenure was achieved by Sen. John L. Campbell, who was elected a representative in 1924 and a senator in 1926, 1930, 1934, 1938 and 1942. He died a few days before the 1946 election after having been re-nominated without opposition in the Republican primary.
John L Campbell along with Hugh Campbell (former Missoula County Sheriff, alderman & city judge) and Hugh’s son, Frank Campbell (a Notre Dame graduate), sponsored and supported local Missoula sports for decades – Hugh before 1900. They were especially involved with local Missoula baseball. They were not closely related families.