John Paris’ father, Andy, was one of the most famous men alive in post-WWII America and Mexico—that is, until his bubblegum empire crashed hard.
Answers to all of Texas's most pressing questions can be found in the brand-new edition of the Texas Almanac.
A Christmas carousel built nearly a century and a half ago is a welcome reminder of Texas’s deep German heritage.
In search of the mysterious, absurdist, and lyrical East Texas writer William Goyen.
The dishes, glassware, and silver that John F. Kennedy never got to use.
Peace and quiet among our most famous gravestones.
The textbooks are all right.
The presumed killer of John F. Kennedy died in Texas, but his gravestone didn't rest in peace.
Four other Confederates will maintain their vigil over the university, but Jefferson Davis is being moved out of plain sight.
The story behind rodeo star Tad Lucas’s little red riding boots.
As five new books make clear, our thirty-sixth president refuses to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
LBJ, voting rights, and a complex legacy.
From the Bryan Daily Eagle, July 7, 1910
A trove of Texas memorabilia.
Stephen F. Austin was a Texas pioneer—of image management.
Twenty-two Texans on why they will (or won’t) go to the ballot box.
Among other things, Charles Goodnight basically invented the food truck. (He called it the chuck wagon.)
“Our water squirters again find employment by amusing themselves in sprinkling our streets.” —San Saba County News, April 7, 1893
As Houston basketball fans mourn the end of the Rockets season, we remember the efforts of one of the team’s all-time greats.
A 181-year-old book reminds us that Texas was once much more German—and far more radical—than we realize.
“Lightning killed near Blossom, Tex., a mule and cow at the same time. They were a mile apart.”—Jefferson Jimplecute, May 1, 1908
In drought-ravaged West Texas, cotton farmers find good omens in unlikely places.
A century ago, no battleship could do without a twelve-gallon silver punchbowl with matching cups and ladle.
The Confederate Memorial of the Wind in Orange will remind 55,000 motorists a day of the rebel heritage many Texans would just as soon forget.
The story of Texas can be reduced to one sentence: somebody has something somebody else wants and will put up a fight to get.In the beginning, these fights were over land. The Spanish explorers came here in the 1500’s; ignoring native peoples, they claimed a vast region that included
A keepsake taken from a fallen warrior’s body 135 years ago hasn’t lost its power.
“Pistol carrying is now so prevalent here as to be a first-class nuisance. The young men, white and black, hardly consider themselves in party attire unless they have on a pistol.”—Brenham Weekly Banner, May 27, 1886
Oh boy.
The most effective weapon of the Texas Revolution, even if it couldn’t save the mission’s defenders.
An Illustrated Look at Curious Headlines From a Bygone Era.
The Golden Globe-nominated film about the Civil Rights Movement is the subject of some unexpected controversy regarding its depiction of the relationship between Martin Luther King and President Lyndon Johnson.
An Illustrated Look at Curious Headlines From a Bygone Era.
“Tramps are overrunning the towns of Eastern Texas, and will soon overwhelm Austin.” —Weekly Democratic Statesman, December 16, 1875
Buddy Holly’s trademark black-rimmed glasses were a key part of his public persona. But he was too blind to see it that way at first.
Lone Star was just a brew for dads and cowboys, until Jerry Retzloff helped turn it into the coolest beer in the country.
Why did hunter-gatherers bury their arrow points on the tallest peak in the Davis Mountains?
'Booming Austin Fears It Will Lose Its Charms' is a story that could be—and has been—written any number of times over the past 30+ years, the evidence shows.
“An irate gentleman went for the city editor of the Dallas Herald a few days ago, but was met with a six-chambered apology-maker. It might as well be understood now that all local editors in Texas have their pants made with pistol pockets in them.” —San Marcos Free Press, June 19,
The legendary speaker of the House had his own version of a little black book—and it included numbers for a florist, a fishing buddy, and two future presidents.
“There are so many mad dogs in Denton county that people won’t send their children to school, and people riding about o’nights ride like Arabs on dromedaries, crossing their nice little legs in front of them.” —Weekly Democratic Statesman (Austin), June 3, 1875
Faced with the realities of a rugged land, a band of sixteenth-century explorers left behind their dreams of conquest, as well as this chain mail glove.
RIP Robert Strauss.
Tejanos at the Alamo.
In this installment, the missus of a sheep farmer visits Waco—as a mister.
A rare relic of slavery in Texas—and one woman’s freedom.
In this installment, the King Ranch receives a mighty substantial shipment of barbed wire.
An El Paso man pled guilty to the most heinous offense against Texas history imaginable: Peeing on the Alamo. Does this make him the next Ozzy Osbourne?
No ideas but in things.
The story behind an unusual trophy of the Texas Revolution.
In this installment, Dallas feasts for six months on something called the "boss turtle."
