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New / Popular Features |
| Steel
Dust by Clay Coppedge 6-16-13
Old
timers believed the Steelduster is a separate breed but the horses can trace back
to single horse named Steel Dust.Williams
Ranch by Barclay Gibson 6-3-13
Guadalupe
Mountains National Park
Culberson County |
| Cavalry
of the West by Jeffery Robenalt 6-1-13
Late
in the fall of 1863, Union forces under the control of General Nathaniel Banks
occupied the lower Rio Grande valley and sealed off the border between Texas and
the French-dominated Empire of Mexico to disrupt the flow of Southern cotton to
Europe. It would be left to John “Rip” Ford and his Calvary of the West to drive
the Union out and restore the flow of the Confederate’s lifeblood. |
Small
Town Rumors by Dianne West Short 6-2-13
Snake
stories in Texas are hardly rare. One story, however, deserves recounting. |
| Dissention
and the Draft in Civil War Texas by Jeffery Robenalt 5-1-13
Not
all Texans were in agreement about secession and the Civil War and many more were
opposed to the Confederate Conscription Act. Historians estimate that nearly 30
percent of the Texas population had Unionist sentiments, though the great majority,
like Sam Houston and James Throckmorton, remained loyal to Texas. However, as
events would bear out, many dissenters paid a heavy price for expressing their
doubt of the Southern cause and their opposition to the draft. |
Two
Poems for George Jones
"If we all could sound like we wanted to, we'd all
sound like George Jones." - Waylon JenningsThe
Possum by David Knape 4-27-13A
Picture of Us Without George by Luke Warm 4-27-13 |
|
| | Writing
the Story of Texas 4-23-13
Edited
by Patrick L. Cox and Kenneth E. Hendrickson Jr. Austin: University of Texas Press,
2013.
Review by Dr. Kirk Bane |
| The
Civil War in Texas War
on the Texas Gulf Coast by Jeffery Robenalt 4-2-13
In
light of the North's vast naval superiority, one of the most remarkable feats
of the American Civil War was the Texans tenacious defense of their Gulf Coast
ports. From Sabine Pass in the north to Brownsville in the south, the Texans bent
now and then but they refused to break. |
| | World
War II
George
Olsson Short
(1920-2003)
Chapter Three
Surviving
WWII, and Arriving Home
How
his soldier brother became his savior and how he managed to get home to a post-war
Texas life
3-15-13 | |
| | Mrs.
A.P. Borden by John Polk 2-4-13
"I spent many
hours with Mrs. Borden and Theo O’Neal as a 10 year old boy." Here is the
complete story. |
| Secession:
Texas leaves the Union by Jeffery Robenalt 2-1-13
After
the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860, events moved swiftly toward
secession. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union and other
states in the old south quickly followed suit, but in Texas newly elected Governor
Sam Houston stubbornly refused to call a convention to even discuss the issue.
|
The
Great Texas / British TV Hoax of 1953 Mike Cox 1-10-13
On
the afternoon of Sept. 14, 1953, television viewers over a large area of England
supposedly saw on their screens the test pattern and call letters of KLEE – a
TV station located 4,860 miles away in Houston. |
| Trouble
along the Rio Grande: The First Cortina War by Jeffrey Robenalt
1-5-13
With
the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo on February 2, 1848, and the ending
of the Mexican-American War, the official boundary between Texas and Mexico was
established at the Rio Grande, leaving a large portion of the Cortina family land
grant on the United States side of the border. The stage was now set for conflict. |
| The
Yucatan Adventure by Jeffrey Robenalt 12-1-12
In
the spring of 1840, the Navy of the Republic of Texas was immersed in a political
battle between President Mirabeau Lamar and arch-enemy, former president Sam Houston,
currently serving as a member of the Texas Congress. Into the midst of this acrimonious
struggle, stepped a 28-year-old naval first lieutenant, Edwin Ward Moore. |
Railroad
in the Red, and Brazilian Bats by Mike Cox 11-29-12
"Some
three million Brazilian free-tailed bats live in the abandoned tunnel from May
through October each year, along with a much smaller population of Cave myotis
bats."Austin
Mystery Murders by Mike Cox 11-21-12
Only
a village with a few hundred residents in 1841, Austin experienced at least a
couple of homicides that year that by today’s standards read more like big-city
whodunits. |
| Battle
of Antelope Hills by Jeffrey Robenalt 11-4-12
During
the years 1856 to 1858, Comanche raids on the Texas frontier began to escalate
as settlers encroached further into the Comancheria. Ironically, matters finally
came to a boil when four white outlaws disguised as Comanches massacred James
B. Cambren and his two sons, who were plowing a new field on their homestead bordering
the Brazos River in the far northwest corner of Young County. |
The Fire in the State Capitol by Mike Cox 10-18-12
Shortly
before noon on Nov. 9, 1881, the wind blew out of the north and a light rain fell
from a sky as gray as an old Confederate Army coat...Highway's
History is Personal by Mike Cox 10-11-12
SH
207 cuts through Palo Duro Canyon and crosses the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the
Red River. That segment, one Texas’ most scenic drives, honors Will H. Hamblen
who spent much of his life making that roadway a reality. The
Night the Ghost Hounds Came by C. F. Eckhardt 10-8-12
"When I got
outside the hounds had the house surrounded. I could hear them baying in chase
all around me. I could see nothing. There was no movement in the grass, no shadows
among the trees. The brilliant moon showed a tranquil landscape—but all around
me were the sounds of hounds in chase..." |
| Jamming
at the Rice Hotel by Mike Cox 8-16-12
But
imagine some 3,000 people crowded into a hotel lobby on a sultry summer afternoon
waiting to use the elevators in the days before air conditioning... |
Wilson
Pottery by Clay
Coppedge 8-4-12
One
of the first if not the very first African-American owned businesses in Texas
was in Capote, not far from Seguin in Guadalpe County... The Wilson Pottery Foundation,
with its own museum, is dedicated to preserving the memory and works of Hiram
and the other Wilsons who, in bondage and as free men, created durable and practical
stoneware that today is worth more than what any of the Wilson potters made in
a lifetime. |
| The
Meusebach-Comanche Treaty
by Jeffrey Robenalt 8-1-12
In
early spring of 1847, a remarkable treaty between German settlers and Native Americans
was negotiated on the banks of the San Saba River in the hill country north of
Fredericksburg, Texas. |
| | The
Cotton Pickin’ Theater by Bob Bowman 7-29-12
At Point, a small
town of some 700 souls in northern Rains county..., a sturdy old gin has found
a new life as an entertainment venue that draws crowds from all over East Texas
and performers like Mark Chestnut, Pee Wee Walker, and Gary Busey. |
| The
Great Flood of 1935 by Edward Aquifer 7-22-12
"A Narrow
Escape" Excerpted from the diary of Maryleene Bolen Christensen
Vintage
photos courtesy TXDoT |
Captain
Hamer's Barber by Mike Cox 7-19-12
Knowing
I had written some books on Texas Ranger history, Jim mentioned one visit that
I sure ought to talk with Mr. Frost if I ever found him in the shop. Back in the
day, he had been the legendary Capt. Frank Hamer’s barber. "The
Indians are coming! The Indians are coming!" by Mike Cox 7-11-12
Destined
to gain a national reputation as a fearless Texas Ranger captain, William Jesse
McDonald came to the Panhandle in the winter of 1891... |
| Sam
Walker Texas Ranger and the "Walker" Colt by Jeffrey Robenalt
7-1-12
Thirty-two
years is not a long life as measured against most men, but Texas Ranger Sam Walker's
brief years were an epic adventure filled with Indian battles, wars, public renown,
and honor. |
| Island
Hogs a Lot of History
by Wanda Orton 7-1-12
The
sand and surf of Hog Island, through two centuries, beheld myriad scenes in state
and local history, running the gamut from pigs to petroleum. |
In
Quercus Veritas by Mike Cox 6-27-12
When
cartoonist friend Roger T. Moore, a West Texan with a sense of humor as big as
one of the dozens of wind turbines looking down on his ranch, told me that the
largest oak forest in North America covers some 40,000 acres near Monahans, it
sounded like a setup... |
| | Combat
Over Texas by Dan
Heaton 6-8-12
Aviation
pioneers Byron Q. Jones & Thomas D. Milling
No
listing of the key locations in the early days of flight – particularly the development
of military air power – would be complete without a reference to the southern
Texas city of Brownsville. It was from there that America’s first combat mission
was flown, way back in 1915. |
| | 1943
Secret Storm by Wanda Orton 6-17-12
In
the summer of ’43, German U-boats prowled the Gulf of Mexico, too close for comfort
for Texas coastlanders... |
| | Rope
Walker
by Dianne West Short
6-17-12
In
the old Hebrew Cemetery in Corsicana, Texas is a headstone with only two words
on it, “Rope Walker.” Almost nothing is known of the man in the grave except the
manner of his death... |
|
Kit
Carson at Adobe Walls Clay Coppedge 6-16-12
When
historians talk about the Battle of Adobe Walls they are usually talking about
the Second Battle of Adobe Walls... The First Battle of Adobe Walls occurred some
10 years earlier and featured a man who was a legend in his own time... |
|
Paint
Rock: The Last Comanche Fight of Jack Hays by Jeffery Robenalt
6-1-12
Some
historians have questioned the Rangers' victory at Paint Rock as pure fiction
or an attempt to revise history, however, Jack Hays and the Texas Rangers need
no help from me or any other historian to bring glory and honor to their name.
|
Hello,
Sucker by Clay Coppedge
6-6-12
Necessity
may be the mother of invention but it can also be the mother of re-invention.
Other than perhaps Kinky Friedman, nobody exhibits that twist on the old axiom
more than Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan, known to history as Texas Guinan and for
her famous greeting: “Hello, Sucker.” |
|
Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar: A Contrast of Visions by Jeffery Robenalt
5-1-12
Former Presidents of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar, differed
in many ways. Their vastly different visions for the new Republic would do much
to shape the future of Texas. |
| Signal
Peak Road Side Park by Barclay Gibson 5-4-12
Culberson County
abandoned roadside park The
State of Jefferson by Mike Cox 4-25-12
If
a state senator from Hall County had gotten his bill through the Legislature in
1915, the Panhandle and much of the rest of West Texas would have become a separate
state named for Thomas Jefferson. |
| The
Battle of San Jacinto by Jeffery Robenalt 4-1-12
In eighteen glorious
minutes, Sam Houston and his fellow Texans won a remarkable victory, establishing
Texas as an independent republic and opening the door for United States expansion
southwest to the Rio Grande and all the way west to the Pacific Ocean. |
| Mission
Tejas State Park by Dana Goolsby 4-20-12
East Texas is full
of amazing history and natural beauty. Mission Tejas State Park fully encompasses
both the rich history of East Texas and the natural wonder and beauty of the Pineywoods. |
| Berlin
Wall Crisis 1961-1962 by Bruce Martin 3-23-12
The 49th Armored Division, Texas National Guard activated in September, 1961.
First person account of training in Ft. Polk, LA., and home coming.Country
Graveyards Here and There by Bob Bowman 3-18-12
I
have grown to prefer cemeteries where the tombstones stand high against the sky,
where tall trees shade the graves, and where people get together once a year for
a graveyard working and homecoming. |
The
Poison Spring by Mike Cox 3-15-12
For as long as mankind
has had the ability to tell and pass along stories, springs and wells have provided
a free-flowing source of legend and lore. |
| Massacre
at Goliad: A Texas Tragedy by Jeffery Robenalt 3-1-12
The massacre at Goliad
branded Santa Anna as an inhuman despot and the Mexican people, whether deserved
or not, with a reputation for cruelty. As a result of the needless slaughter,
a burning desire for revenge arose among the people of Texas, and Americans became
firmly united behind the Texas cause of independence. |
| The
Battle of the Alamo 1-27-12
After
the defeat of General Cos at the siege of San Antonio, Texans thought their independence
was won. They failed to understand that General Santa Anna was enraged over the
disturbances at Anahuac and Cos's surrender. The dictator would never rest until
his soldiers either killed every Anglo-American and Tejano rebel who openly defied
his rule or drove them across the Sabine River and out of Texas for good. |
Rusk’s
Capitol Role by Bob Bowman 1-23-12
Over
one hundred and thirty years ago Texans celebrated the completion of the Texas
Capitol in Austin. But, as in past observances, there will be little acknowledgment
of the role that East Texas, especially the town of Rusk, played in the capitol’s
completion. |
| The
Siege of San Antonio de Bexar 12-30-11
On
October 2, 1835, the Texas "shot heard round the world" was fired in a brief skirmish
between Mexican troops and Texas settlers known as the Battle of Gonzales. After
the battle, volunteers from all over Texas continued to gather in Gonzales, and
on the morning of October 13, newly elected commander, Stephen F. Austin, marched
the "Army of the People" toward San Antonio. |
| | Texas
Centennial
Index by Sarah Reveley
During the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration,
the state built memorial museums, restored historical structures, improved parks,
erected statues of important Texans, and installed over 1,000 historical markers.
This
ongoing project will examine the extant Centennial projects and include the stories
behind them. |
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