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In 1879,  he was a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention. From 1880 to 1884, he was a state senator<ref name=ssenate>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana State Senate since 1880: Bienville, Bossier,  

In 1879,  he was a delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention. From 1880 to 1884, he was a state senator<ref name=ssenate>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana State Senate since 1880: Bienville, Bossier,  

Claiborne, and Webster parishes|publisher=senate.la.gov|accessdate=March 24, 2015}}</ref> and chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He was the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat in the [[United States House of Representatives]] but was denied the position because of [[Reconstruction]] political wrangling.<ref name=mindenmem/> In 1884, Watkins was a successful presidential elector for [[Grover Cleveland]] in the hard-fought national campaign against Republican former House [[Speaker]] [[James G. Blaine]] of [[Maine]].<ref name=bio/>

Claiborne, and Webster parishes|publisher=senate.la.gov|accessdate=March 24, 2015}}</ref> and chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He was the [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] nominee for Louisiana's 4th congressional district seat in the [[United States House of Representatives]] but was denied the position because of [[Reconstruction]] political wrangling.<ref name=mindenmem/> In 1884, Watkins was a successful presidential elector for [[Grover Cleveland]] in the hard-fought national campaign against Republican former House [[Speaker]] [[James G. Blaine]] of [[Maine]].<ref name=bio/>

When Watkins left Minden Male Academy, his assistant, [[Alexander Banks George]], became the principal. The academy was the ''[[alma mater]]'' of many of the leading citizens of North Louisiana, including Watkins's son, [[John T. Watkins]] and John N. Sandlin (1872-1957), both eight-term members of Congress for the 4th District. Sandlin unseated John T. Watkins in the 1920 Democratic [[primary]] election. Sandlin's brother, [[McIntyre H. Sandlin]], was [[mayor]] of Minden from 1894 to 1896, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1896 to 1900, and the Webster Parish tax assessor from 1904 to 1937. [[Thomas Wafer Fuller]], another Minden Male Academy alumnus, editor of the ''Minden Signal-Tribune'' and the Webster Parish school superintendent,<ref name=mindenmem/>  served a term in the state Senate as well.<ref name=ssenate/> [[William G. Stewart]], a pioneer farmer who lived in Webster Parish as a child prior to the Civil War,  was later president of the Webster Parish School Board. The since defunct [[William G. Stewart Elementary School]] in west Minden was named in his honor. Daniel Webster Pratt, a two-term nonconsecutive Webster Parish [[sheriff]], also graduated from Minden Male Academy. [A. M. Leary|Alexander McIntyre Leary]], a businessman and the mayor of Minden from 1903 to 1905, was still another Minden Male Academy alumnus. The institution was supported by such families as the Drakes, [[Richard Cleveland Drew|Drews]], Crichtons, and Webbs.<ref name=mindenmem>{{cite web|url=http://www.mindenmemories.org/Parks%20and%20Highways.htm|title=The Impact of the Minden Male Academy|publisher=''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'' in mindenmemories.org|author=John A. Agan (Webster Parish official historian)|accessdate=March 24, 2015; website no longer on-line}}</ref>

When Watkins left Minden Male Academy, his assistant, [[Alexander Banks George]], became the principal. The academy was the ''[[alma mater]]'' of many of the leading citizens of North Louisiana, including Watkins's son, [[John T. Watkins]] and John N. Sandlin (1872-1957), both eight-term members of Congress for the 4th District. Sandlin unseated John T. Watkins in the 1920 Democratic [[primary]] election. Sandlin's brother, [[McIntyre H. Sandlin]], was [[mayor]] of Minden from 1894 to 1896, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1896 to 1900, and the Webster Parish tax assessor from 1904 to 1937. [[Thomas Wafer Fuller]], another Minden Male Academy alumnus, editor of the ''Minden Signal-Tribune'' and the Webster Parish school superintendent,<ref name=mindenmem/>  served a term in the state Senate as well.<ref name=ssenate/> [[William G. Stewart]], a pioneer farmer who lived in Webster Parish as a child prior to the Civil War,  was later president of the Webster Parish School Board. The since defunct [[William G. Stewart Elementary School]] in west Minden was named in his honor. Daniel Webster Pratt, a two-term nonconsecutive Webster Parish [[sheriff]], also graduated from Minden Male Academy. [A. M. Leary|Alexander McIntyre Leary]], a businessman and the mayor of Minden from 1903 to 1905, was still another Minden Male Academy alumnus. The institution was supported by such families as the Drakes, [[Richard Cleveland Drew|Drews]], Crichtons, and Webbs.<ref name=mindenmem>{{cite web|url=http://www.mindenmemories.org/Parks%20and%20Highways.htm|title=The Impact of the Minden Male Academy|publisher=''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'' in mindenmemories.org|author=John A. Agan (Webster Parish official historian)|accessdate=March 24, 2015; website no longer on-line}}</ref>