Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association Mailing Address: PO Box 5428, Austin, TX 78763
Telephone: (512) 471-2600

In its edition for this day in 1870, the Kansas Daily Commonwealth made the earliest known printed reference to the Chis...
05/27/2026

In its edition for this day in 1870, the Kansas Daily Commonwealth made the earliest known printed reference to the Chisholm Trail, the major livestock route out of Texas. Cattle drovers followed the old Shawnee Trail by way of San Antonio, Austin, and Waco, where the trails split. The Chisholm Trail continued on to Fort Worth, then passed east of Decatur to the crossing at Red River Station. It followed the same route as modern U.S. Highway 81 from Fort Worth to Newton, Kansas. Although the Chisholm Trail was used only from 1867 to 1884, the longhorn cattle driven north along it provided a steady source of income that helped the impoverished state recover from the Civil War. Pictured is the Chisolm Trail map as printed, a cowboy on the trail, and Jesse Chisolm.

Today we recognize Memorial Day and honor the men and women who died serving our country. Texas has a long storied past ...
05/25/2026

Today we recognize Memorial Day and honor the men and women who died serving our country. Texas has a long storied past of dedicated service members, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice.

Pictured here is Navy Cross recipient Doris Miller, Medal of Honor recipient Robert G. Cole, and the legendary 90th Infantry Division, originally nicknamed the "Alamo Division" before earning fame on the battlefields of Europe as the "Tough 'Ombres."

You can learn about their heroic actions and sacrifice in The Handbook of Texas.

On this day in 1934, celebrated Depression-era Texas outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were killed in a roadside am...
05/23/2026

On this day in 1934, celebrated Depression-era Texas outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were killed in a roadside ambush arranged by Texas Ranger Frank Hamer outside of Gibsland, Louisiana. Riddled by some 167 bullets, the bodies were taken to Arcadia and later put on public display in Dallas before being buried in their respective family burial plots.

On this day in 1971, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum was dedicated on the campus of the University of Texas...
05/22/2026

On this day in 1971, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum was dedicated on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. It was the nation's fifth presidential library and the first to be located on a university campus. It serves as a center for scholarly research and as a historical museum. Scholarly interest in the LBJ Library centers on its unusually rich archives of manuscripts and audiovisual records. More than 30 million pages of manuscripts, mostly papers of President Johnson, form the core of the research collection. As the most comprehensive single collection of materials on a president of the United States, the library's holdings span Lyndon Johnson's entire political career. Added to the Johnson papers are those of Lady Bird Johnson and many of Johnson's contemporaries and associates. Operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, the LBJ Library is part of a system of presidential libraries devoted to research through preservation of materials related to those who have held the job of president of the United States.

On this day in 1849, C. F. Carl (Charles) Steinhagen, early Texas cabinetmaker and German emigrant, arrived in Galveston...
05/21/2026

On this day in 1849, C. F. Carl (Charles) Steinhagen, early Texas cabinetmaker and German emigrant, arrived in Galveston from Bremen aboard the Galliott Flora. He was a wheelwright by trade who made furniture for his family as a hobby. Steinhagen settled in Anderson, where he died in 1893. Ima Hogg, who collected many of his fine pieces of household furniture for the University of Texas Winedale Properties at Roundtop, described Steinhagen as "one of the most outstanding-if not the finest-cabinetmaker who came to early Texas."

The piece of furniture featured is the Empire Sofa by Carl Steinhagen. Image Courtesy of the Winedale Historical Complex, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

On this day in 1836, a large force of Comanche warriors, accompanied by Kiowa and Kichai allies, attacked Fort Parker, l...
05/19/2026

On this day in 1836, a large force of Comanche warriors, accompanied by Kiowa and Kichai allies, attacked Fort Parker, located on the headwaters of the Navasota River in what is now Limestone County. During the raid the Comanches seized five captives, including Cynthia Ann Parker. The other four were eventually released, but Cynthia remained with the Indians for almost twenty-five years, forgot white ways, and became thoroughly Comanche. She was perhaps the most famous Indian captive in Texas history. Her son Quanah became a celebrated Comanche chief.

Check out this really great bit of information on the history of Texas flags from the Texas Almanac!
05/18/2026

Check out this really great bit of information on the history of Texas flags from the Texas Almanac!

Join us for our Texas Talks webinar tomorrow, May 19th at 7:00 PM! Professor, journalist, and author Dale C. Blasingame ...
05/18/2026

Join us for our Texas Talks webinar tomorrow, May 19th at 7:00 PM! Professor, journalist, and author Dale C. Blasingame will be with us to discuss his latest book, Lonely Planet - Texas, a comprehensive guide to traveling the Lone Star State.

Discover Texas' most popular experiences and best-kept secrets from admiring artistic masterpieces in the bounty of museums in the Fort Worth Cultural District; to climbing the summit of Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas, in Guadalupe Mountain National park; and feasting on some of the best cooking in Austin at Arbor Food Park.

Dale Blasingame is an associate professor of practice in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, where he received the 2017 Presidential Excellence Award for Teaching and the 2023 Presidential Excellence Award for Service. Blasingame is a part of the Digital Media Innovation faculty, and he teaches courses that introduce students to different aspects of how technology is changing journalism, media and marketing. Some of his classes include Advanced Social Media and Analytics, Drone Storytelling, Web Design and Publishing, and Fundamentals of Digital and Online Media.

Remember: TSHA members register for FREE. Registration link is in the comments!

On this day in 1865, more than a month after the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the last land action of the Civil War ...
05/13/2026

On this day in 1865, more than a month after the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the last land action of the Civil War took place at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville. The battle lasted four hours. Confederate casualties were a few dozen wounded. The federals lost 111 men and four officers captured, and thirty men wounded or killed. Ironically, at the same time, the Confederate governors of Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Texas were authorizing Confederate commander Kirby Smith to disband his armies and end the war.

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