By 5 p.m. the afternoon of September 15, 1896, nearly 50,000 people had gathered anxiously on a wide stretch of Texas prairie near Waco. Moments later, they watched two 35-ton locomotives, each pulling seven boxcars, collide head-on at a combined speed of 120 miles per hour. The publicity spectacular was staged at Crush, Texas, a … Read more
The Texas Constitution establishes the fundamental laws under which all of its citizens are governed. The Constitution that we use today was first adopted in 1876. However, Texas has operated continuously under a constitutional government since 1824, a dozen years before the Fall of the Alamo! Under the Mexican Constitution of 1824, the regions of … Read more
There have been 8 different Capitol buildings used by the Republic of Texas, then by the State, starting from the beginning of the Texas Republic through today’s capitol. Washington-on-the-Brazos (1836) The ad interim government of the Republic of Texas was formed at the Convention of 1836, which met in primitive quarters at Washington- on-the-Brazos from March 1 … Read more
Following the California gold rush of 1849, there became an increasing need to protect and supply the growing population of Americans in the southwest. After attempts to build a transcontinental railroad succumbed to sectional politics, U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis decided to experiment with camels as a means for transporting military provisions across west … Read more
Six different governments have controlled Texas and six national flags have flown over Texas since the first European exploration of the region by Cortez in 1519. The six flags are the Spanish, French, Mexican, Republic of Texas, Texas Confederacy, and finally the United States Flag. Check out the flags, dates, and details below. Texas Under … Read more
As early as the 1860’s, balloonists in Texas took to the air in experiments that seemed to defy the laws of gravity. Within a few years, however, these early efforts in aviation were directed toward the development of the winged craft. Even today, claims persist that Texas inventor Jacob F. Brodbeck became the world’s first … Read more
In an armed prelude to the Texas Revolution, the Battle of Velasco marked the first bloodshed in the then deteriorating relations between Texas and Mexico. In the conflict, Domingo de Ugartechea, the Mexican commander in charge of a fort at the town of Velasco, attempted to block attempts by the Texans to transport a cannon … Read more
Ordered by Sam Houston on October 3, 1842, the Somervell Expedition was organized as a punitive measure following Mexican raids on San Antonio. After a general call, nearly 700 eager volunteers streamed into San Antonio to participate in the affair. The expedition departed San Antonio on November 25. It captured Laredo on December 8. They … Read more
Throughout the period of the Republic of Texas and ending with the Compromise of 1850, Texas claimed a large area to the north and west of its current boundaries. This area included a large stretch of the Santa Fe trail, a lucrative trade route that linked Missouri (then the eastern boundary of the United States) with … Read more
The Runaway Scrape is the period in early 1836 generally beginning with the Siege and Fall of the Alamo and ending with the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21. It was a period of terror and panic among the settlements of Texas, as Santa Anna and the Mexican armies swept eastward from San Antonio, … Read more