Texas History
April 18, 2024
New Markers Remember Enslaved People Brought to Texas by Sea
Volunteers and historians are breaking new ground in a less widely told story of slavery in Texas.
Texas History
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Texas History
April 18, 2024
The Former Slave Who Became a Cowboy, a Rancher, and a Texas Legend
Daniel Webster Wallace was born in bondage in South Texas. By the time of his death, nearly eight decades later, he'd amassed a fortune—and a place in West Texas history.
Texas History
April 15, 2024
Laredo’s La India Packing Co. Has Been Healing With Its Spices for 100 Years
The company started in 1924 as a way to counter inflammation from Tejanos’ beloved chiles, and today its homeopathic products still help with all manner of aches and pains.
Books
April 15, 2024
Waring Cuney Is the Best Harlem Renaissance Poet You’ve Never Heard Of
He hung out with Langston Hughes and wrote verses inspired by his Galveston roots, but he’s largely been forgotten. A new biography seeks to change that.
Texas History
April 11, 2024
Texas’s First College for Black Women Lies in Ruins. Can It Find a New Purpose?
In a small East Texas town, Mary Allen College offered opportunity to thousands of Black women, and later men, for nearly nine decades. It’s been shuttered since 1977, but efforts are underway to restore it.
Texas History
April 3, 2024
His Art Was Real. His Native American Heritage Wasn’t.
Texas writer and artist Roxy Gordon loved Native culture so much that—at least in his own mind—he “became” an Indian.
Libations
March 25, 2024
Beer Nerds, Get Thee to the Library!
The Munday Library at St. Edward's University in Austin, that is, where the Texas Craft Brewing Collections keeps artifacts from the state's illustrious craft beer history for the public to view.
The Texanist
February 29, 2024
The Texanist: Why Doesn’t Dallas Have a Rodeo?
An investigation into Big D's lack of a big, dusty to-do.
Texas History
February 27, 2024
The Forgotten Poets (and Unlikely Alliance) of Crystal City
More than three thousand people were locked up in the South Texas camp, which closed 76 years ago today. Internees and descendants have joined forces with community members to honor their shared history.
Texas History
February 13, 2024
Barred From a Segregated Golf Course, These Texas Teens Built Their Own
The team from Del Rio went on to win the Texas high school golf championship in 1957—and soon will see its story told in movie theaters around the country.
Texas History
February 7, 2024
Ah, the Sweet Scent of Mission’s Citrus Fiesta
All hail Queen Citrianna and the Duchess of Ruby Red, who ride atop floats adorned with hundreds of slices of fresh fruit.
Sports
January 31, 2024
Inside America’s Last Ninepin Bowling Enclave
Once a national craze, ninepin bowling is now practiced in just eighteen Texas clubs, where a vibrant cast of characters keep the sport alive.
Texas History
January 11, 2024
Felix Longoria Died a Hero in World War II. Then His Texas Hometown Refused to Host His Memorial.
His family fought back—and made a lasting impact on the fight for Mexican American rights.
Texas History
December 19, 2023
The Thorny History of the Poinsettia’s Namesake
Joel R. Poinsett, the first American minister to Mexico, was supposed to help the U.S. buy Texas. He meddled in local politics instead.
Texas History
December 4, 2023
This 1879 Map Is Now the Priciest Map of Texas Ever Sold at Auction
It fetched $705,000, topping the list of about 165 items from Ted Lusher's Texana collection.
Texas History
November 30, 2023
A Treasure Trove of Texas History Is Up for Auction. Here Are the Coolest Items.
An original broadsheet announcing the fall of the Alamo, the first book published in Texas, and other stuff that Phil Collins will probably buy.
News
November 21, 2023
Sixty Years After JFK’s Assassination, Two Authors Claim “Incontrovertible Proof” of a “Conspiracy”
In their new book ‘Chokeholds,’ researchers argue Lee Harvey Oswald was just one piece of a sprawling conspiracy—one that other investigators claim never existed at all.
Sports
November 14, 2023
The Pioneering, Barnstorming Women’s Basketball Stars of the Texas Cowgirls
The Texas Cowgirls weren’t all from the state, but the groundbreaking women’s pro team promoted itself with loads of Texas mystique.
Film & TV
October 27, 2023
The Horror Sequel That Made All of Texas Out to Be Insane
Tobe Hooper’s ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ satirizes yuppie greed by painting the entire state with a broad and bloody brush.
Books
October 17, 2023
Dispatch From the Ghosts of Bookstores Past
The independent bookstores of sixties and seventies San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas created community and opened whole new worlds for Texans.
Film & TV
October 16, 2023
Ken Burns’s ‘The American Buffalo’ Isn’t Really About Bison
It’s about the violence that white settlers wrought upon the West—and the path to redemption.
Texas History
October 11, 2023
The U.S.S. Texas, Once the World’s Most Formidable Battleship, Gets a Dramatic Makeover
The famously powerful dreadnought was hailed by Hemingway and played a key role in several famous battles.
Texas History
October 4, 2023
Come for the Dr Pepper Float, Stay for the Civil Rights History
Waco’s Dr Pepper Museum offers an insightful exhibit on the 1960s lunch counter protests that helped desegregate Texas.
The Texanist
October 2, 2023
The Texanist’s Texas Trivia Test 3
Beans in chili, the Houston Oilers, and mutton busting: test your knowledge of all things Texan.
Style & Design
September 25, 2023
Frank Lloyd Wright Built Just One Freestanding Theater in His Lifetime. Dallas Has Let It Fall Into Disrepair.
The Kalita Humphreys Theater was built by arguably the most famous American architect of the twentieth century. It’s now a shell of its former self, and the city can’t decide how—or if—it’ll restore it.
Texas History
September 25, 2023
One Woman Brought Funnel Cake to the State Fair of Texas—And Changed the Game Forever
Fernie the Funnel Cake Queen made the deep-fried, sugar-dusted treat a best-seller, and now her daughters continue her legacy with innovations including a funnel cake–flavored wine cocktail.
Texas History
September 18, 2023
The Donkey Lady Has Haunted Generations of San Antonians. She Has Her Own Talk Show.
The legendary Donkey Lady is alive (sort of) and has a lot to say about San Antonio.
Style & Design
September 12, 2023
North Texans Are Rallying to Save a Marvel of Space-age Architecture—and a True Crime Landmark
The Como Motel, where Candy Montgomery famously met up with Allan Gore, has recently been sold. Locals are organizing to ensure it doesn’t end up as a parking lot.
Libations
September 12, 2023
At 90, Riley’s Tavern Is Filled With Smoke, Music, and History
This Hill Country bar and honky-tonk—the first in the state to obtain a liquor license after Prohibition—still fosters community after nine decades.
Energy
August 15, 2023
We’re All Living in the World Enron Created
When the go-go Houston corporation collapsed in spectacular fashion, it became a punch line across the nation. But some of the bad guys had the last laugh.
Texas History
July 28, 2023
The Myths and Melodies of Forgotten Bluesman Texas Alexander
The early blues singer helped define the genre and achieved major success—until a story of murder tainted his legacy.
Politics & Policy
July 18, 2023
Texas Is Now a Majority-Minority State. Why Haven’t Our Politics Changed?
Since 2004, non-Hispanic white residents have been outnumbered in Texas. And to the apparent surprise of many, that hasn’t worked out all that well for the Democratic Party.
Critters
July 6, 2023
The Surprisingly Sinister History Behind Texas’s Cliff Chirping Frog
It’s named for frontier naturalist Gabriel Marnoch, who led a life of crime while discovering new species.
Texas History
June 29, 2023
The Texanist’s Texas Trivia Test 2
It’s time to find out just how much you know about the Lone Star State.
Libations
June 26, 2023
Eight Things You Need to Know About the History of Texas Whiskey
Andrew Braunberg, author of ‘Fires, Floods, Explosions, and Bloodshed: A History of Texas Whiskey,’ shares some fascinating details from his book.
Texas History
June 20, 2023
What Hurricane Harvey Taught Us (and Didn’t Teach Us)
Six years ago, the mother of all storms arrived and brought home a lesson too many of us have refused to learn: our penchant for bravely adapting to circumstances has its limits.
Texas History
June 16, 2023
Opal Lee, Fort Worth’s “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” Is Still Marching at 96
She led the movement to gain federal recognition of the holiday. This June 19, she’ll again walk 2.5 miles, marking the 2.5 years it took for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas.
Texas History
May 18, 2023
The Story We’ve Been Told About Juneteenth Is Wrong
The real history is much messier—and more inspiring.
Texas History
May 16, 2023
Selena and the Geto Boys Changed Texas Music at the Same Time
The Geto Boys and Selena set the stage in the early nineties for the transformation of Texas music.
The Texanist
May 16, 2023
The Texanist: What’s the Oldest Bar in Texas?
An Austin man wants to know whether Austin’s Scholz Garten or San Antonio’s Menger Bar can claim the title of oldest continually operating bar in the state.
Texas History
May 3, 2023
Marrying an Elephant, Adopting a Chimp: Tales From the Life of Houston’s Wildest Zookeeper
Charismatic German immigrant Hans Nagel revolutionized the Houston Zoo and kept it afloat during the Great Depression.
Texas History
April 27, 2023
Why These Ugly, Abandoned Longview Homes May Be Worth Saving
Behind the run-down exteriors of these concrete houses lies the story of an East Texas innovator and his one-of-a-kind machine.
Texas History
April 14, 2023
The Glowing Letter That Brought Thousands of German Immigrants to Texas Was a Lie
Friedrich Ernst’s missive portrayed Texas as a paradise. His wife and daughter begged to differ.
Texas History
April 11, 2023
The Oil Boom That Went Bust
In the eighties, petroleum prices went through the roof, and Texans, flush with cash, went a little crazy—before it all came crashing down. Will we ever learn?
Texas History
April 10, 2023
A Writer Revisits His Search for His Grandfather’s Darkest Secrets
Author John Phillip Santos’s 2010 “Tejano elegy” explores family secrets that reveal “the deepest mysteries of being human.”
Texas Country Reporter
March 31, 2023
An East Texas Local Wants You to Remember Trammel’s Trace
The early road used by Native Americans and settlers ran through what would become Gary Pinkerton’s family farm in Rusk County.
Texas Country Reporter
March 31, 2023
A Group of Singing Quilters Shares the History of the Underground Railroad
From the rural East Texas community of Pleasant Hill, a group of women depicts the sights and sounds that guided people to freedom.
Style & Design
March 21, 2023
Eighty Years Later, Houston’s Eldorado Ballroom Swings Back to Life
Built in 1939, the nightclub once hosted Duke Ellington and Ray Charles. After a $9.7 million renovation, it’ll welcome a new generation of music lovers.
Texas History
March 20, 2023
What Is Left to Say About Waco? ‘Waco: American Apocalypse’ Doesn’t Even Try
Netflix’s new docuseries revisits the 1993 standoff between David Koresh and the federal government without any agenda—or real purpose.
Texas Country Reporter
March 19, 2023
A Small-town Gun Museum Tells a Story of Our Past
Dale Acker is the collector behind the Up in Arms museum in Nazareth, which is home to more historical weapons and artifacts than the town has people.