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On April 29, 1856 the first shipment of camels arrived in Indianola, Texas. During the early summer the camels were driven to Camp Verde via Victoria and San Antonio. Reports from initial tests were largely positive. The camels proved to be exceedingly strong and able to move quickly across terrain which horses found difficult. Their legendary ability to go without water proved valuable. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, the Camel Corps was mostly forgotten. Handlers had had … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What Animals Were Used for Transportation for the Army Soldiers in Texas?

Sam Rayburn attended the University of Texas School of Law while teaching school and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1908. After being admitted to the bar, he won election to the Texas House of Representatives, beginning his first term in 1909. During his second two-year term in the Texas House, he was elected Speaker of the House at the age of twenty-nine. The following year he won election to the United States House of Representatives in District 4. He entered Congress in 1913 at the … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know How Many Years Sam Rayburn Served in the U.S House of Representatives?

The hurricane, or the 1900 Storm, as it became known, was a tidal wave that struck Galveston on September 8, 1900. The storm took the lives of 6,000 people, mostly by drowning. After the storm, the town’s population had been reduced by one-third, counting not only the dead and missing, but the 7,000 who moved out of Galveston and never returned. … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know How Many Lives Were Lost in the Hurricane of 1900?

In April 1917, the State Highway Department was established and it took over the vehicle registration duties from the county. On July 1, 1917, the statewide registration process began and the state issued the first official Texas license plates. The white on dark blue embossed iron plates were undated and intended to be permanent. The letters "TEX" went down the right side and 400,000 pairs were made in the first batch. A round "radiator seal" (white on red) was used to validate the plate. In … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know When License Plates Were First Issued in Texas?

On May 18, 1953, the Texas Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 16, which proposed an amendment to the Texas Constitution providing that qualification for service on a jury should "not be denied or abridged by reason of sex." It passed the Texas House by a vote of 123 to 6 and the Texas Senate by a vote of 32 to 7. The proposed Constitutional amendment was presented to the voters of Texas on November 2, 1954. The amendment passed with 57 percent of the votes favoring the change. Less than a … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know When Women First Served as Jurors in Texas?

Judge Roy Bean’s combination courtroom and saloon, known as the Jersey Lily, was located along the Rio Grande in a desolate stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert of Southwest Texas. Bean did not allow hung juries or appeals, and jurors, who were chosen from his best bar customers, were expected to buy a drink every court recess. After his death, Western films and books cast him as a hanging judge, though he is known to have sentenced only two men to hang, one of whom escaped. … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know the Name of Judge Roy Bean’s Combination Courtroom and Saloon?

Thomas Mitchell Campbell never held a political office until he served as governor from 1907 to 1911. In his two terms in office, Campbell initiated a number of reforms involving railroad regulation, equitable taxation, and lobbying restrictions. The most significant legislation centered on prison reform, as Campbell’s administration ended the contract lease system for inmates and implemented more humane treatment of prisoners. Under Campbell, many state agencies also came into being, including … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What Texas Governor Never Held Office Prior to Becoming Governor?

The Fence Cutting War occurred at the end of the 19THcentury and was a dispute between advocates of the open range and ranchers who wished to fence off their property in Texas. The first real incidents of the war started in 1883, when open range advocates, cowboys really, began cutting any fences they came across. There were many cases when large ranch owners not only fenced property they claimed ownership over, but also property considered public land. This led to hostilities between the two … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know What the Fence Cutting War Was?

Probably the best known rancher in Texas, Colonel Charles Goodnight established the first large Panhandle ranch in 1876. At the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the Confederate States Army. After the war he became involved in the herding of feral Texas Longhorn cattle northward from West Texas to the railroads. In 1866, he and Oliver Loving drove their first herd of cattle northward along what would become known as the Goodnight-Loving Trail. After Loving’s death, Goodnight and Chisum … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know Who Established the First Large Ranch in the Panhandle?

Annette Strauss became Dallas’s first elected woman mayor. She was born in Houston, Texas, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1944. Strauss served as mayor from 1987 to 1991. She was the second female mayor - Adlene Harrison was acting mayor of Dallas in 1976, succeeding Wes Wise when he resigned to run for the U.S. Congress. She served until the election of a new mayor, Robert Folsom, at the end of the year. … [Read more...] about Texas History – Do You Know Who Was the First Woman Elected Mayor of Dallas?