The Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway of Texas came into existence on October 7, 1902, originally chartered to build a railroad from Johnson County to the Beaumont area near the Gulf coast. It took its name from the Trinity and Brazos rivers. It was commonly known as the "Boll Weevil," though it referred to itself as the "Valley Road." The first line opened between Hillsboro and Mexia in 1903, then it was extended north to Cleburne in 1904 for a total of 78 miles of track between Cleburne and … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What Rail Line Was Called the “Boll Weevil Line” During the Early Twentieth Century?

James Buckner (Buck) Barry immigrated to Texas in 1841 and received a headright grant of 640 acres of land near Corsicana. There he did a little farming and a great deal of hunting. Barry soon joined the Texas Rangers, first as a member of an independent company at San Antonio, then as a member of Captain Thomas J. Smith’s Robertson County Rangers, and finally with John Coffee Hays’ company. Barry returned to his native North Carolina where he met and married his wife and began a family. He … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know Who Was the First Sheriff of Navarro County?

Alfred Horatio Belo moved to the Houston area at the end of the Civil War. There he met newswriter Willard Richardson, who published the Galveston Daily News and the Texas Almanac. Belo’s intelligence led Richardson to ask him to become a partner in his publishing business. Belo incorporated the newly-invented telephone by successfully linking his home to the Galveston Daily News. The newspaper was recognized for taking advantage of the latest printing technology available at the time. After … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What Newspaper Publisher Had the First Telephones Installed in Texas?

On behalf of the Federal government, Union General Gordon Granger declared the freedom of all slaves and the nullification of Confederate laws at Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. This declaration set off joyous demonstrations by freedmen and originated the annual "Juneteenth" celebration, which commemorates the freeing of the blacks in Texas. … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know Who, on Behalf of the Federal Government, Declared the Freedom of All Slaves?

The second President of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar, has been called "the Father of Texas Education." During his administration, he convinced the Legislature to set aside three leagues of land (a league of land was 4, 605 acres) for each county to equip schools. He also allotted 50 leagues of land for support of two universities, later named Texas A&M University and the University of Texas. Although nothing was implemented during his term, these actions led to the foundation for … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What Republic of Texas President Pressed for the Establishment of a Public School System?

The oldest continually operated parish in the state of Texas is the Corpus Christi de San Antonio de la Ysleta del Sur located in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo within the municipality of El Paso, Texas. The Ysleta community is also recognized as the oldest in Texas and claims to have the oldest continuously cultivated plot of land in the United States. In 1680 the Tigua Indian tribe was forced to flee from their ancestral home, Isleta Pueblo, located south of present-day Albuquerque, New Mexico. The … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What Is the Oldest Mission in Texas?

The first public institution of higher education in Texas began in 1871 when the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas was established as a land-grant college by the Texas Legislature. Classes began on October 4, 1876. Although Texas A&M was originally established under the Texas Constitution as a branch of the yet-to-be-created University of Texas, subsequent acts of the Texas Legislature never gave University of Texas any authority over Texas A&M. In the 1960s, the Texas … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What Was the First State Sponsored College in Texas?

There was a keen rivalry between the 1870s railroad builders. The Texas and Pacific Railroad reached across Texas to the Arkansas state line. The border was the logical place for the different railways to connect. On December 8, 1873, the Texas and Pacific Railroad sold the first two lots for the future city. It is not known who gave Texarkana its name. … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What Railroad Company Established Texarkana?

Sam Houston’s third wife, Margaret Moffette Lea of Marion, Alabama, spent 14 years trying to convert Sam to the Baptist denomination. With the assistance of George Washington Baines, she was able to convince him. Word had spread about the upcoming Baptism, bringing spectators from neighboring communities into Independence, Texas, to witness the event. On November 19, 1854, Sam Houston was baptized in Little Rocky Creek, two miles south of Independence, and became a member of Independence Baptist … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know the Name of the Historic Baptist Church that Counts Sam Houston as a Member?