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The last Civil War battle fought in Texas was near Brownsville on May 13, 1865. In the battle, Confederate General John S. Ford defeated 800 Union troops. … [Read more...] about Texas History – Where was the Last Civil War Battle Fought in Texas?

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. Edmund Hillary … [Read more...] about Thought for the Day:

The Guadalupe bass, a member of the sunfish family, was named the official state fish of Texas by the 71ST Legislature in 1989. … [Read more...] about Texas History – What is the Official State Fish of Texas?

Put your future in good hands - your own. Author Unknown … [Read more...] about Thought for the Day:

A one-time powerful Texas politico nicknamed Cactus Jack tried to make his favorite flower, the cactus flower, the Texas state flower. The Colonial Dames of Texas spoke for the bluebonnet flower, including presenting an oil painting of the flower to the legislators, many of whom had never seen a bluebonnet, and got the bluebonnet designated as the state flower. John Nance (Cactus Jack) Garner, then vice president, lost his bid for the cactus. … [Read more...] about Texas History – Who Tried to Make the Cactus Flower the State Flower of Texas?

Often, what seems an impossible climb is just a staircase without the steps drawn in. Robert Brault … [Read more...] about Thought for the Day:

Funding by the federal government through the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 to establish agricultural colleges fostered the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now Texas A&M University, at College Station. Classes began in 1876. At the same time, the state opened a vocational agricultural school for African Americans at Prairie View (Alta Vista Agricultural College), but the school failed for lack of students. In 1879, the legislature changed the purpose of the school, now Prairie … [Read more...] about Texas History – What is the Oldest Public Institution of Higher Learning in the State of Texas?

Life's problems wouldn't be called "hurdles" if there wasn't a way to get over them. Author Unknown … [Read more...] about Thought for the Day:

During the early days of oil discovery and development in Texas, drilling crews frequently found accessibility to their work hampered by seas of mud around the drilling rigs. According to Houston wildcatter Glenn McCarthy, at times the so-called roads were hip-deep in mud on a man and belly-deep on a horse or mule. When vehicles were so mired, drilling crews would lay logs on the roads to travel on. These were referred to as "corduroy roads." … [Read more...] about Texas History – What were the “Corduroy Roads”?

In 1901, Texas drillers hit a tremendous strike at Spindletop near Beaumont. The well brought about the Big Oil era in Texas as wildcatters and major petroleum companies expanded explorations. … [Read more...] about Texas History – What was the First Big Oil Spike in Texas?