Topic · Page 6
History & Culture
Local Notes
History & Culture notes
Hardin County · Oil History
The 1903 Batson oil discovery helped launch the Texas Gulf Coast oil industry
The Batson-Old oilfield, discovered in southwestern Hardin County in 1903, was one of the fields that established Southeast Texas as the birthplace of the modern Texas oil industry.
Hardin County · Timber History
Timber shaped Hardin County long before oil arrived
Logging and sawmills drove Hardin County's first economic boom in the late 1800s, and commercial timber production continues in the county today.
Harris County · WWII History
Four Railcars Opened a Wartime Depot on the Ship Channel
The San Jacinto Ordnance Depot got its first load in 1942, turning nearly 5,000 acres by the Ship Channel into a wartime supply point.
Harris County · Oil History
Harris County Had One of Texas's Early Oil Discoveries
The Goose Creek Oil Field near Baytown in Harris County was one of the early Texas oil discoveries that helped fuel the county's industrial growth.
Harris County · Size and Scale
Harris County Is One of the Largest Counties in the U.S.
Harris County covers about 1,778 square miles and has grown to be one of the most populous counties in the United States.
Harris County · Demographics / Culture
Harris County Is One of the Most Diverse Counties in the U.S.
Harris County has grown through successive waves of immigration and migration, making it one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse large counties in the country.
Harris County · County History
Harris County Was Founded in 1836 and Named After an Early Settler
Harris County was established by the First Congress of the Republic of Texas and named after John R. Harris, who built an early port town on Buffalo Bayou.
Harris County · Industrial History
Houston Opened Its Ship Channel With a Whistle, Roses, and a Cannon
Harris County voters helped pay to bring deep water inland, then marked the 1914 opening with a dredge whistle, white roses, and a cannon fired by remote signal.
Harris County · City History
Houston Was Founded in 1836 and Named After Sam Houston
The city of Houston was founded in 1836 by two brothers who bought land on Buffalo Bayou and named it after the hero of San Jacinto.
Harris County · Space History
NASA Chose Clear Lake While Hurricane Debris Was Still on the Ground
The future Johnson Space Center began on coastal prairie where NASA's first visitors found cattle, a windmill, and debris left by Hurricane Carla.
Harris County · State Historic Site
San Jacinto's Battle Lasted 18 Minutes; Recognition Took Years
Sam Houston's army won a surprise victory in 18 minutes, but the agreements that followed were rejected and did not bring immediate Mexican recognition.
Harris County · Industrial Heritage
The Ship Channel's Industrial Scale Is Part of the Home-Search Map
Refineries, chemical plants, storage terminals, neighborhoods, and schools share the Houston Ship Channel corridor, so broad regional air labels do not tell the whole local story.
Harrison County · County History
How Harrison County Got Its Name and County Seat
Harrison County was created in 1839 by the Republic of Texas and named for Jonas Harrison, a leader in the Texas independence movement.
Harrison County · Civil War History
Railroads and the Civil War Shaped Marshall
Marshall was a major railroad town and a Confederate military center during the Civil War. That history still shapes the town today.
Harrison County · Higher Education
Wiley College: A Historic HBCU in Marshall
Wiley College was founded in Marshall in 1873 and remains a historically Black college with deep East Texas roots.
Hartley County · Local History
Channing Grew Out of One of the Largest Ranches in American History
The county seat of Channing was founded as a railroad stop for the XIT Ranch and was so tied to that operation that the original courthouse was moved to town by XIT cowboys.
Haskell County · County history
How Haskell County got its name and county seat
Haskell County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1858 but not organized until 1885, when the county seat was named for a soldier who died at Goliad in 1836.
Hays County · Depot town
Buda started as 'Du Pre' and may be named for a pair of widows
When the railroad put a depot down in 1881, the whole nearby community of Mountain City picked up and moved to it, and the new town went through two names before it settled on Buda.
Hays County · Historic Courthouse
Fire and Shifting Ground Kept Hays County Rebuilding
Hays County held court in a church-schoolhouse before a frame courthouse burned, a limestone replacement shifted, and another courthouse lost its upper story.
Hays County · County Founding
Hays County began with a borrowed courtroom
The new county took John Coffee Hays's name in 1848, then held court in a log church-schoolhouse while San Marcos took shape.
Hays County · Geography
IH-35 follows the edge between two Hays Counties
The Balcones fault zone places rocky Hill Country west of the corridor and lower, gentler country to the east.
Hays County · Railroad town
Kyle was a 200-acre railroad townsite before it was a boomtown
Long before it became one of the fastest-growing towns on the Austin-San Antonio corridor, Kyle was 200 acres of prairie two men handed to a railroad.
Hays County · City History
San Marcos has been a crossroads since before Texas was a state
People have gathered at the springs near San Marcos for thousands of years, and the city has grown into a regional hub for education and commerce.
Hays County · Higher Education & Economy
Texas State Started With One Building, Then LBJ Brought a Law Home
Old Main was the whole campus when classes opened in 1903. Six decades later, alumnus Lyndon B. Johnson returned as president to sign the Higher Education Act.
Hays County · Natural Springs
The Glass-Bottom Boats Outlived Aquarena's Swimming Pig
Spring Lake went from mill pond to theme park to water-research center, while its glass-bottom boats found a new job showing visitors the springs.
Hemphill County · Local History
Canadian Became the County Seat When the Railroad Arrived in 1887
The town of Canadian owes its existence to the railroad, which drove out the open-range cattle empires and put a permanent town on the map.
Henderson County · Settlement History
Letters from Normandy drew Norwegian families toward Brownsboro
Johan Reinert Reiersen helped found the first Norwegian colony in Texas near present-day Brownsboro in 1845.
Henderson County · Historic Building
The Athens square has carried four county courthouses
The present courthouse opened in 1914 after Henderson County rebuilt its civic center several times.
Henderson County · County History
The county name settled before the county seat did
Henderson County took its name from Texas's first governor in 1846, while its government was still moving from place to place.
Hidalgo County · County Seat History
Edinburg Was Renamed in 1911 After a Scandal
The county seat was originally called Chapin but was renamed Edinburg in 1911 after one of its founders was involved in a homicide.
Hidalgo County · Downtown Edinburg
Edinburg's 1910 Jail Marks the County-Seat Move
A Texas Historical Commission marker links the 1910 jail in Edinburg to the county-seat move from Old Hidalgo.
Hidalgo County · Demographics
Hidalgo County Has One of the Largest Hispanic Populations in Texas
About 91 percent of Hidalgo County residents are Hispanic, reflecting the region's centuries-old Spanish and Mexican ranching roots.
Hidalgo County · County Facts
Hidalgo County Is One of the Most Populous Counties in Texas
Hidalgo County covers 1,596 square miles and had a population exceeding 831,000 by 2014—making it one of the largest counties in Texas by population.
Hidalgo County · County History
Hidalgo County Was Formed in 1852 and Named for a Mexican Hero
The county was established in 1852 and named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, who began Mexico's fight for independence from Spain.
Hidalgo County · Local landmark
La Lomita Chapel Helps Explain Why Mission Is Called Mission
A Texas Historical Commission marker ties La Lomita Chapel to the name and early story of Mission.
Hidalgo County · Downtown McAllen
McAllen's Old Post Office Anchors a Downtown Heritage Corner
The Texas Historical Commission marker says McAllen's 1935 post office later became a civic and heritage building downtown.
Hidalgo County · Courthouse history
Old Hidalgo Still Has the County's Courthouse Story in Brick
The Texas Historical Commission marker says the Old Hidalgo County Courthouse served the county before the seat moved to Chapin, later Edinburg.
Hidalgo County · Settlement History
Spanish Ranchers Settled This Area More Than 275 Years Ago
The lower Rio Grande Valley was settled by Spanish ranching families in 1749 under José de Escandón, making it one of the older continuously settled regions in Texas.
Hidalgo County · Old Hidalgo
The Old Hidalgo Jail Also Carried a Newspaper Chapter
The Texas Historical Commission marker says the Old Hidalgo County Jail served the county until 1908 and later housed The Hidalgo Advance newspaper.
Hidalgo County · Pumphouse
The Old Hidalgo Pumphouse Mixes Border History, Trails, and Birds
The City of Hidalgo runs the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse Museum and World Birding Center with tours, trails, birding, gardens, and nature programs.
Hidalgo County · Economic History
The Railroad and Irrigation Transformed the County After 1904
When the railroad arrived in 1904 and irrigation canals followed, Hidalgo County shifted from open-range ranching to intensive farming, and land values exploded.
Hill County · County Origins
Hill County was formed in 1853 and named for a Republic of Texas official
Hill County was carved from Navarro County in 1853 and named for Dr. George Washington Hill, who served in Sam Houston's cabinet.
Hill County · Agricultural Heritage
Hill County was once a top Texas cotton producer, boosted by a railroad in 1881
Cotton farming and the 1881 arrival of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad shaped Hill County's growth and its immigrant communities.
Hill County · Historic Courthouse
Hillsboro's 1890 courthouse burned in 1993 and was restored with help from Willie Nelson
The Hill County Courthouse in Hillsboro is an 1890 limestone landmark that nearly burned down in 1993, then helped spark Texas' courthouse-restoration push.
Hockley County · County History
How Hockley County Went from Open Range to Cotton Country
Hockley County was carved from ranchland in the early 1900s, grew fast on cotton and irrigation, and later added oil to become the rural High Plains community it is today.
Hood County · Historic Landmark
Granbury Saved Its Clock Tower With Coupons and Pocket Change
After a 1968 tornado damaged Granbury's courthouse tower, newspaper coupons and schoolchildren's coins helped turn a repair campaign into a wider preservation movement.
Hood County · County History
Hood County and Granbury Got Their Names as a Pair
In 1866, Texas lawmakers named both Hood County and its new county seat for Confederate generals, putting two names on the local map in one act.
Hood County · Geography
Lake Granbury Redrew Hood County Around an Old Brazos Bend
Lake Granbury began filling in 1969, then brought water supply, shoreline neighborhoods, marinas, and a new weekend map to Hood County.
Hopkins County · Agricultural Heritage
A 1937 milk plant helped Hopkins trade cotton rows for dairy routes
Carnation's Sulphur Springs plant joined better roads and rail service in turning dairy into a defining Hopkins County industry.
Hopkins County · County Seat
Bright Star became Sulphur Springs when the springs became the pitch
The town changed its name in 1871 as local promoters sold visitors on the promise of its mineral springs.
Hopkins County · County History
Hopkins County's first seat faded; its clockless courthouse did not
Tarrant was the first county seat, but a fire and a refused clock gave Sulphur Springs the courthouse people recognize now.
Houston County · Local History
Why Houston County and Its Seat Are Named What They Are
Houston County was one of the first counties created by the Republic of Texas in 1837, and its seat Crockett was named for the Tennessee frontiersman David Crockett.
Howard County · Historic Structure
A Depression-Era CCC Pavilion Still Stands in Big Spring State Park
Civilian Conservation Corps workers built stone structures in Big Spring State Park in 1934-35 that are still in use today.
Howard County · County History
Big Spring Grew From a Water Hole to a Railroad Town to an Oil Boom City
Big Spring and Howard County went through three waves of growth: a natural spring drew travelers, then a railroad brought settlers, then oil brought a boom.
Hudspeth County · Historic Building
The county courthouse is built from adobe
The Hudspeth County Courthouse in Sierra Blanca, built in 1919, is made of adobe and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hudspeth County · County Origins
This county was born where two railroads met
Hudspeth County formed in 1917 from eastern El Paso County. The town of Sierra Blanca grew up at the spot where two railroads met in 1881.
Hunt County · Agriculture
Beef cattle have replaced cotton as Hunt County's main farm product
Hunt County farms shifted from cotton toward livestock over the 20th century, and cattle still shape the rural economy.
Hunt County · Local History
Greenville became an early Texas leader in public utilities
In 1891, Greenville became the first Texas city to own and operate its own municipally owned electricity generating plant, according to the Handbook of Texas.
Hunt County · Local History
Greenville grew into a cotton hub after the railroad arrived
After rail service reached Greenville in 1880, Hunt County's cotton output grew from a handful of bales to more than 50,000 bales per year by 1900.
Hunt County · County Origins
Hunt County formed in 1846 and sits 51 miles from Dallas
Hunt County was established in 1846 and sits in the Blackland Prairie region about 51 miles northeast of Dallas.