Texas History
IF THERE’S ONE THING MOST TEXANS ARE PROUD OF, IT’S BEING TEXAN. THE STATE’S UNIQUE HISTORY, CULTURE and sometimes a certain “twang” are part of the state’s identity—but Texans are quick to point out there’s a lot more to it than that. The state’s heritage might broadly be described as a blend of Southern, Western and Mexican traditions, which you can taste in its breakfast tacos and see in its cowboy hats (said to be a modifi ed version of the hats Spanish vaqueros wore). Six nations’ fl ags have fl own over its territory, and people from many other places have brought their own cultures here to share. Visitors driving across the state will fi nd that the local fl avor can change as fast as the landscape, from the Cajun and Creole
A PAST AS BIG AS TEXAS
fl air of the southeastern bayous, to Tex-Mex food and language on the southern plains, to German names and architecture in the Hill Country. Centuries before the Battle of the Alamo,
many Native American tribes inhabited the lands now known as Texas. Spanish explorer Alonso Alvarez de Pineda was the fi rst Eu- ropean to discover the territory in 1519, but settlement didn’t begin until a French group led by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, attempted a colony in 1685, mistakenly thinking they had reached the Mississippi River (it was Matagorda Bay). Archeologi- cal fi nds from the colony, which ultimately failed, are featured in seven coastal museums
on the La Salle Odyssey Trail and at the Bull- ock Texas State History Museum in Austin.
COLONIAL ERA Aſt er the Spanish discovered the remains
of the French colony, their settlement of Texas began in earnest through the 1700s. Missions popped up across the state to pro- tect Spanish holdings and minister Christi- anity to native people. While many fell to attacks and other hardships, some of these historic missions still stand in San Antonio, Goliad, El Paso and Socorro. San Antonio Missions National Historical Park and the Alamo preserve fi ve of these important out- posts for Spain’s colonial ambitions in the
New World, all founded decades before the United States declared independence from Britain. Mexico won independence from Spain in
1821 and soon began off ering land grants for settlers to develop and defend its territory in Texas. Stephen F. Austin and his band of Anglo-American settlers, known as the Old 300, were the fi rst to receive permission to settle along the Brazos River in 1822. T ou- sands of Anglo immigrants came to Texas in the next decade, and as the Mexican gov- ernment passed laws to regulate settlement, colonists bristled. Confl ict began with “the fi rst shot fi red for Texas independence” in Gonzales in
HISTORY MUSEUMS THE ALAMO, San Antonio
BULLOCK TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM, Austin
FORT CONCHO, San Angelo
FORT WORTH MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY, Fort Worth
HISTORIC HOMES AND THE STRAND, Galveston
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY, College Station
GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, Dallas
GEORGE RANCH HISTORICAL PARK, Richmond
INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES, San Antonio
KING RANCH MUSEUM, Kingsville Texian Market Days
is held every October at George Ranch HIstorical Park.
PHOTO: KEVIN STILLMAN/TXDOT
LYNDON B. JOHNSON PRESIDEN- TIAL LIBRARY, Austin
MUSEUM OF SOUTH TEXAS HISTORY, Edinburg
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE PACIFIC WAR, Fredericksburg
NATIONAL RANCHING HERITAGE CENTER, Lubbock
PANHANDLE-PLAINS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, Canyon
SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK, San Antonio
SAN JACINTO BATTLEGROUND MONUMENT AND BATTLESHIP TEXAS, La Porte
STAR OF THE REPUBLIC MUSEUM, Washington
TEXAS STATE CAPITOL COMPLEX, Austin
USS LEXINGTON, Corpus Christi
SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM AT DEALEY PLAZA, Dallas
WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS STATE HISTORIC SITE, Washington
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