Topic · Page 8
History & Culture
Local Notes
History & Culture notes
Kleberg County · Courthouse
Kleberg Avenue Points Straight at the Courthouse
Kingsville's historic main street was laid out to end at a 1914 courthouse square, giving the young county a civic front door.
Kleberg County · Campus history
Ten Thousand Texans Came Before Kingsville's College Even Opened
An estimated 10,000 people came to Manning Hall's cornerstone ceremony, then 276 students arrived for Kingsville's first college classes.
Kleberg County · Local History
The King Ranch Shaped Kleberg County
The King Ranch, founded in 1853 on a Spanish land grant, drove the settlement and growth of nearly everything in Kleberg County.
Knox County · Local History
Knox County grew from open range to cotton country
Knox County started as open cattle range in the 1880s and shifted to cotton farming by the early 1900s — a pattern that still shapes the land today.
La Salle County · Historic Connection
Lyndon Johnson Taught in Cotulla Before Becoming President
In 1928, the future U.S. president taught Mexican-American students at Welhausen School in Cotulla.
La Salle County · Local History
Ranching Built La Salle County
Cattle ranching has driven the economy of La Salle County since the 1870s and still dominates today.
Lamar County · County Origins
Lamar County Was Founded in 1840 and Named for a Republic President
Lamar County was created by the Republic of Texas in 1840 and named for Mirabeau B. Lamar, the fourth president of the Republic.
Lamar County · Local History
Paris Burned Twice and Rebuilt Both Times
Major fires in 1877 and 1916 destroyed much of Paris, which is why most of the older downtown buildings date from the early 20th century.
Lamar County · Education & Community
Paris Junior College Has Served the Area Since 1924
Paris Junior College is a long-established community college in Lamar County that offers both academic and workforce programs.
Lamar County · State Historic Site
The Sam Bell Maxey House Preserves a Slice of Reconstruction-Era Texas
A state-owned Victorian home in Paris interprets how a prominent local family lived through Reconstruction and into the early 20th century.
Lamb County · Agriculture
Cotton and Grain Farming Still Shape Lamb County's Economy
Lamb County transitioned from open-range ranching to irrigated farming in the early 1900s, and cotton and grain remain the backbone of the local economy today.
Lamb County · County Seat History
Littlefield Was Built on a Ranch Sale and a Railroad Stop
Littlefield grew from a single railroad station on a giant cattle ranch into the county seat and commercial center of Lamb County.
Lampasas County · County History
How Lampasas County Came to Be
Lampasas County was formed in 1856 from parts of three older counties. Its name comes from the river and mineral springs that drew early settlers.
Lampasas County · Agricultural History
Lampasas Helped Start a National Farm Movement
In 1875, Lampasas County farmers formed the first Farmers' Alliance. It grew into a national movement for rural economic reform.
Lavaca County · Settlement History
Lavaca County has deep Czech and German roots
German and Czech immigrants shaped Lavaca County in the late 1800s and their influence is still visible in local towns, churches, and food traditions.
Lavaca County · Historic Landmark
Lavaca County's 1899 courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places
The Lavaca County Courthouse in Hallettsville was built in 1899 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
Lee County · Historic Courthouse
Lee County's 1899 Courthouse Was Designed by a Celebrated Architect
The Lee County Courthouse in Giddings was built in 1899 in Romanesque Revival style by James Riely Gordon, who designed several notable Texas courthouses.
Lee County · Immigrant Heritage
Serbin: A Wendish Settlement That Still Stands in Lee County
In 1854, more than 500 Wends from Lusatia (in present-day Germany) settled near what is now Serbin and built the first Missouri Synod Lutheran church in Texas.
Leon County · County History
Leon County was formed in 1846 and Centerville has been county seat since 1851
Leon County was carved out of Robertson County in 1846, and Centerville replaced Leona as county seat in 1851 because the law required the seat to be near the county's geographic center.
Liberty County · Oil and Gas
Liberty County has a long oil and gas production history
Oil exploration began in Liberty County around 1901, with major fields at Daisetta and Hull producing hundreds of millions of barrels over the twentieth century.
Liberty County · County History
Liberty County traces its roots to a Spanish colonial settlement from the 1750s
The area that became Liberty County was settled by Spanish colonists in the 1750s and set up as a municipality in 1831 under Mexican rule.
Liberty County · Courthouse
Liberty County's courthouse is a 1931 Moderne building
The active courthouse on Sam Houston Street gives Liberty a limestone-and-aluminum civic landmark from 1931.
Liberty County · Courthouse square
Liberty's courthouse square started as one of five public squares
The courthouse grounds in Liberty sit on a public square platted during the Mexican Texas years.
Liberty County · Regional archives
Liberty's Sam Houston Center is a whole Southeast Texas memory house
The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center turns Liberty into a serious research stop for Southeast Texas history.
Limestone County · Texas History
Fort Parker and Cynthia Ann Parker: A Pivotal Texas Story
In 1836, a Comanche and Kiowa raid on Fort Parker in what is now Limestone County changed Texas history and the life of Cynthia Ann Parker.
Limestone County · Local History
Why Groesbeck Became the County Seat (and Springfield Disappeared)
Limestone County was formed in 1846 with Springfield as its seat, but the railroad era moved power to Groesbeck by 1873.
Lipscomb County · Local History
Lipscomb County Grew from Open-Range Cattle Ranches
Lipscomb County was carved from the Texas Panhandle in 1876, and its first economy was dominated by large cattle operations before wheat farming and later oil changed the land.
Live Oak County · County History
George West Built a Town by Donating Land and a Railroad
The town of George West was literally built by its namesake, a rancher who donated land, cash, and railroad right-of-way to move the county seat there in the early 1900s.
Llano County · Downtown Landmark
Badu House Brings a Granite-Era Story to Downtown Llano
Badu House gives downtown Llano another piece of its stone-built past, tied to a 19th-century local businessman and the courthouse-square era.
Llano County · History & Identity
Llano County's Granite Geology and German Settlement Roots
Llano County sits on an ancient granite formation called the Llano Uplift. Its first settlers were mostly German immigrants who came in the 1840s after a peace treaty with the Comanche.
Llano County · Courthouse Square
Llano's Granite Courthouse Anchors the Square
The 1893 Llano County Courthouse uses granite, limestone, and brick to give the county seat its Hill Country shape.
Llano County · Historic Jail
The Red Top Jail Is a Smaller Granite Landmark
Llano's old jail brings the same granite character down to a rougher, more human scale than the courthouse.
Loving County · County History
Loving County Was Organized Twice — Oil Made It Stick
Loving County was first organized in 1893 under fraudulent circumstances and collapsed; it was reorganized in 1931 after oil was discovered, and its population has remained among the smallest of any county in the country.
Lubbock County · Disaster History
A 1970 Tornado Reshaped the City
A tornado struck Lubbock on May 11, 1970, killing 26 people and prompting major changes to the city's downtown.
Lubbock County · Music history
Lubbock Claims Buddy Holly — and Built a Center for It
The city-run Buddy Holly Center preserves the legacy of Lubbock's most famous son and the broader music story of West Texas.
Lubbock County · Agriculture
Lubbock County Is One of Texas's Top Cotton Producers
Cotton farming has shaped Lubbock County's economy and landscape for nearly a century, making it one of the most productive cotton-growing regions in the state.
Lubbock County · Archaeology
Lubbock Lake Landmark Holds 12,000 Years of Plains History
Lubbock Lake Landmark, in a bend of Yellowhouse Draw, preserves one of the longest unbroken records of human life on the Southern High Plains.
Lubbock County · Regional Role
Lubbock Serves as the Hub for a Large Surrounding Region
Lubbock is the main place to shop, see a doctor, and get services for about 51 counties in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.
Lubbock County · Military history
Silent Wings Museum Tells Lubbock's WWII Glider Story
At the Lubbock airport, the city-run Silent Wings Museum preserves the history of the WWII glider program that trained most of the nation's combat glider pilots on the High Plains.
Lubbock County · Historic chapel
St. Paul's Chapel Is Lubbock's Oldest Church Building
Built in 1913, St. Paul's on the Plains Chapel is the oldest existing church building in Lubbock, twice moved and now restored in Clapp Park.
Lubbock County · Higher Education
Texas Tech Has Shaped the City Since 1925
Texas Tech University has been in Lubbock since 1925. It drives the city's growth, jobs, and identity.
Lubbock County · County History
The County Was Named for a Confederate Ranger, Not the City
Lubbock County was created in 1876 and named after Colonel Thomas S. Lubbock, a Texas Ranger who later served as a Confederate officer.
Lubbock County · Ranching heritage
The National Ranching Heritage Center Is a Whole Ranch Town
On the edge of the Texas Tech campus, the National Ranching Heritage Center walks you through more than 50 real ranch buildings rescued from across the region.
Lynn County · County History
Lynn County grew from open range to cotton fields in just a generation
Lynn County was created in 1876 but sat unorganized for nearly 30 years, then transformed quickly from cattle ranches into one of the High Plains' major cotton producers.
Madison County · County History
Madisonville Began With 200 Acres and a Log Courthouse
Madison County formed from Grimes, Walker, and Leon counties in 1853; its new county seat took President James Madison's name and started on donated land.
Marion County · Historic District
Jefferson's downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places
A 47-block area of Jefferson was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, preserving dozens of 19th-century buildings from the town's days as Texas's leading inland port.
Marion County · County Origins
Marion County was carved from Cass County in 1860 and named for a Revolutionary War hero
Marion County was created on February 8, 1860, from the southern part of Cass County, and named for Francis Marion — the 'Swamp Fox' of the American Revolution.
Marion County · Historic Courthouse
The 1913 Marion County Courthouse was restored and reopened in 2021
The Marion County Courthouse in Jefferson was built in 1913 and underwent a full historic restoration, finishing with a ribbon-cutting in May 2021, under the Texas Historical Commission's courthouse program.
Martin County · Local History
Stanton Has Worn Three Names and Has Deep Roots in Oil and Farming
Martin County's county seat has a layered past, with railroad settlers, German Catholic immigrants, a cotton boom, and then oil all shaping the town now called Stanton.
Mason County · County history
German Settlers and Fort Mason Shaped This County
Mason County was carved out of frontier territory in 1858 and settled largely by German immigrants whose influence still shows in local family names, architecture, and culture.
Matagorda County · Major Industry
A large nuclear power plant operates in this county
The South Texas Project nuclear power plant, about 12 miles south of Bay City, is one of the largest nuclear stations in the country and a major local employer.
Matagorda County · Local History
Bay City replaced an older town as the county seat in 1894
Bay City was founded in 1894 on the Bay Prairie between the Colorado River and Caney Creek, then quickly grew into a railroad and rice-farming hub.
Matagorda County · County History
Matagorda County was one of Texas's first counties
Organized in 1836, Matagorda County is among the original 23 counties created when Texas became a republic.
Maverick County · Culture & Community
Eagle Pass Is a Deeply Bicultural Border City
Eagle Pass and its sister city Piedras Negras, Mexico share deep economic and cultural ties across the Rio Grande.
Maverick County · Civil War History
Eagle Pass Was a Key Confederate Cotton Port
During the Civil War, Eagle Pass became an important shipment point for Confederate cotton exports after Union forces occupied Brownsville, making it one of the most active border crossings in the South.
Maverick County · Military History
Fort Duncan Shaped Eagle Pass From the Start
Fort Duncan, established in 1849, was the military anchor that turned a river crossing into the city of Eagle Pass.
Maverick County · County Origins
The County Is Named for a Man Who Didn't Brand His Cattle
Maverick County was created in 1856 and named for Samuel A. Maverick, a Texas land owner whose unbranded cattle gave the English language a new word.
McCulloch County · Agriculture History
McCulloch County built its economy on cattle, sheep, and goats
Cattle drives, wool, mohair, and later turkey farming shaped McCulloch County's farm economy from the 1870s onward.
McCulloch County · Local Landmark
The geographic center of Texas is in McCulloch County
The geographic center of Texas is 16 miles northeast of Brady in McCulloch County. Brady has embraced that fact as part of its local identity.
McLennan County · Higher Education
Baylor University Has Called Waco Home Since 1887
Baylor University relocated to Waco in 1887 and remains a major presence in McLennan County's economy and culture.