Stephen Harrigan on His Big and Wonderful Chronicle of Texas
Stephen Harrigan has written about Texas for most of his life. He was born in Oklahoma and grew up in Abilene ... Read More »
Photo: Fort Worth families made the most of this snowy day in January 1889
Winter in Texas means everything from Christmas tamales to New Year’s black-eyed peas, Gulf Coast fishing to ... Read More »
A Fredericksburg Native Reckons With His Hometown’s Evolution From a German Enclave to a Tourist Destination
“Do you know much about this town?” “I suppose so,” I answered. I was starting across Main Street in ... Read More »
My Hometown: Bay City, agricultural town on the Bay Prairie
Bay City sprouted from the fertile bottomlands that stretch between the Colorado River and Caney Creek, just ... Read More »
Against All Odds, Caddo Lake Prevails
The great cypress swamp is lovely, dark, and deep. There is no debating this. The wildly intricate and critter-infested maze of bayous, lakes, ponds, sloughs, and interconnected channels known as Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou is one of the country’s most spectacular nature shows. It contains arguably the most diverse collection of species in Texas. The place has a mystical feel, too, an impression enhanced by the ghostly Spanish moss that drapes the trees, by the cypress roots known as “knees” that rise from the swirling mists like Excalibur in the Arthurian legend, by the lily pads with lotus flowers that spread everywhere and suggest Celtic fairylands. Read More »
Traces of Texas Is on a Quest to Preserve the State’s Past Through Photography
“Somebody should photograph all this vanishing Texas before it’s forever lost.” What began as a chronicle of one man’s love affair with a state became one of the biggest online communities devoted to the history, people, and culture of the Lone Star State. Read More »
New Management in Place for 7 of Texas’ Most Historic Sites
This week, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department transferred seven sites, including the San Jacinto Monument, Washington-on-the-Brazos, and the Port Isabel Lighthouse, to the Texas Historical Commission. Aimed at efficiency, the change is not expected to result in changes for visitors. Read More »
Big Bend Fossils Reveal New Dinosaur Species
Recent research reveals that fossils found in Big Bend National Park 35 years ago belong to an entirely new species of duck-billed dinosaur. Read More »
My Hometown: A Weslaco Native on the Bicultural Beauty of His Rio Grande Valley Burg
A stroll through downtown Weslaco feels like a visit to a bygone era, when department stores and hardware shops in Spanish colonial buildings lined the streets. Founded in 1919, Weslaco grew into a farming hub, famous as the home of the ruby red grapefruit and 1015 onion. The same mild climate that attracted farmers makes Weslaco a hotspot today for winter Texans—typically retirees from cold climates—and birders, who come to see Rio Grande Valley specialties like the green jay. When the town slows down in the summer, locals refresh with icy raspas and beach trips to nearby South Padre Island. Read More »
A Refurbished Baker Hotel Signals a New Beginning in Mineral Wells
The venerable but long-vacated Baker Hotel, which opened in Mineral Wells in 1929 and once hosted personalities such as Judy Garland, Clark Gable, and president Lyndon Johnson, is poised to surge back to life under a newly announced $65 million renovation slated for completion in 2022. Read More »
San Antonio’s Juneteenth Educates Future Generations
Texans are celebrating Juneteenth with events across the state this week, including today’s state government holiday. Read More »
Retrace the Life and Legacy of World-Champion Boxer Jack Johnson in Galveston
“Jack Johnson was a real person from a real place called Galveston,” Collins says while standing in his church clothes outside Old Central Cultural Center, formerly Central High School, the first black high school in Texas. In the park behind Old Central, located on Avenue M, a life-size bronze statue depicts Johnson in his prime: roughly 6 feet, 200 pounds, and ready to rumble. Read More »
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