Texana

The San Jacinto Monument, east of Houston, commemorates the Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas won its independence from Mexico and became a republic. Texas joined the United States in 1845. 1. A now-defunct government agency played a key…
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Texas, as I’ve written elsewhere, has its share of cities named for heroic and historic figures. (Texas tends to outdo itself there.) But on Thanksgiving, perhaps it’s fitting to celebrate a town named for the main course at many households…
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Some Texas cities are named in honor of Texas heroes; for example, Austin and Houston. Other city names are for prominent figures of the day; for example, Fort Worth, named for U.S. Army General William Jenkins Worth, and Galveston, named…
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If you want to live in the White House, yet not leave Texas, much less run for office, you’re in luck. This month a Texas mansion modeled after the White House was put up for auction. The house, located at…
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Last week’s article talked about Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, and Gus Grissom, four of the original Mercury Seven astronauts. This week’s article touches on the other three astronauts. 1. Wally Schirra won a Clio advertising award. Imagine having…
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While America has had plenty of astronaut heroes—Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, and Scott Kelly, to name but three—the space program began with the selection of seven test pilots. Their first project was Project Mercury, so they became known as the…
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1. The Texas Capitol is taller than the U.S. Capitol. It’s been said that everything is bigger and better in Texas. Surely this is the case with the Capitol building. According to the Texas State Preservation Board, the Texas Capitol…
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Gov. Fletcher Stockdale was in the news this week. Someone removed his official portrait from the third floor of the Capitol rotunda and threw it to the ground. (All former governors have official portraits on display in the rotunda.) The…
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As football fans prepare for the annual Texas-Oklahoma weekend in Dallas, it’s always fun to remember past games and the people who made those memorable moments. For Texas fans, the list of notable Longhorns would have to be led by…
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Many Texas historical sites—the Alamo, for example—also serve as popular tourist attractions. They are there for your viewing, enjoyment, and reflection. Nobody would mistake the Santa Anna Capture Site as a tourist attraction. But its importance to Texas, and the…
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