Gail Borden, Jr. – Penniless to Wealthy Condensed Milk Inventor

After a long string of business failures, Gail Borden in mid-life was left virtually penniless and abandoned by his second wife. His recovery and the magnitude of his ultimate success, however, would inspire any Texan. Born November 9, 1801 in New York state, Borden spent parts of his childhood in New York, Kentucky, and Indiana. … Read more

Peter H. Bell (1812-1898)

Peter Hansborough Bell participated in all of the military struggles of Texas from the Revolution to the Civil War. As statesman, he served two terms as governor and in the U. S. Congress. Born 12 May 1812 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, Bell remained in Virginia until he left to join the fight for the Texas … Read more

Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836)

Born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri, Stephen Fuller Austin is considered the founder of Anglo-American Texas. At the age of eleven years, he attended school in Connecticut and later graduated with distinction from Transylvania University in Kentucky. In 1813, at the age of twenty-one years, he was elected to the territorial Legislature of … Read more

Branch T. Archer (1790-1856)

When Branch Tanner Archer came to Texas in 1831, he had already enjoyed a successful career in Virginia. Born December 13, 1790, he attended William and Mary College, then received a medical degree in 1808 from the University of Pennsylvania. He practiced medicine in Virginia and represented Powhattan County in the General Assembly of Virginia … Read more

Baylor University History

In 1841, 35 delegates to the Union Baptist Association meeting voted to adopt the suggestion of Reverend William Milton Tryon and R.E.B. Baylor to establish a Baptist university in Texas, then a self-declared republic still claimed by Mexico. Baylor, a Texas district judge and onetime U.S. Congressman and soldier from Alabama, became the school’s namesake. … Read more

Texas State Chrome Trailer Hitch Cover

The shape of Texas is one of those things that, once seen, is hard to forget. Texas’ current shape evolved through a series of treaties, beginning with the 1819 Adams-Onis agreement between the United States and Spain that established the Red and Sabine rivers as boundaries. The Compromise of 1850, which established the Rio Grand … Read more

Texas Lone Star Crome Trailer Hitch Cover

The Texas Lone Star State nickname originates from the star on the 1836 flag of the Republic of Texas. The world-famous Lone Star is also found on the Texas Flag the Texas State seal as well as the Texas state commemorative quarter. Now you can demonstrate your pride in the Lone Star State with our … Read more

Texas Ranger Hall of Fame – Waco, Texas

The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame No, we’re not talking about a baseball team, we’re talking about the historic Texas Ranger Division, the world-famous law enforcement agency that has been solving crimes in the State of Texas since 1823. Texas Rangers provided protection in the Republic of Texas from 1836 – 1845, and with a … Read more

Texas State Capital – Austin, Texas

Texas State Capital It was back in 1839 when five mounted scouts rode across the Republic of Texas, looking for the perfect spot for a new capital city.  On the north bank of the Colorado River, in a central location, was a little settlement of four families called Waterloo. In September of 1839, fifty ox-drawn … Read more