Traces of Texas

When Texas Highways Became the Official Travel Magazine of Texas

January 19, 2024

Decades before Texas Highways became a public-facing travel magazine, it was known by the slightly less charming name Construction and Maintenance Bulletin, an internal publication for employees of the Texas Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation).

A Christmas Feast for San Antonio’s Newsboys

November 21, 2023

Thanks to the annual Newsboys’ Christmas Dinner in San Antonio, newsboy Gregorio Cortez was able to delight in a slice of pumpkin pie at the Alamo City’s Gunter Hotel on Dec.

Traveling Texas by…Dog?

October 24, 2023

Texas has always attracted its share of odd people, and Bill Brown was no exception. Brown, shown here with his team of “sled dogs” in Tulia on July 22, 1913, told reporters he was a noted sled-dog driver who had bet a group of wealthy miners in Nome, Alaska, $10,000 that he could drive his dog sled from Nome to all 48 state capitals within six years.

‘Slinging’ Sammy Baugh’s Groundbreaking Football Career

September 19, 2023

“Slinging” Sammy Baugh, pictured here as quarterback for the Washington Redskins (now Commanders), embodied Texas toughness, tenacity, and loyalty.

What Happened to the Wild Bunch, the Most Notorious Train Robbers in the Old West?

August 22, 2023

While the men pictured appear respectable, they were actually infamous outlaws—members of what was known as the Wild Bunch, the most notorious group of train robbers in the Old West.

The Rise of San Angelo

July 25, 2023

Photographer M.C. Ragsdale, who took this photo of San Angelo with the newly built Tom Green County Courthouse in the background, found his photography business taking off in tandem with the nascent town.

Meet Isabella Neff, the Mother of Texas State Parks

May 2, 2023

Gov. Pat Neff, who established the Texas State Parks Board in 1923, wasn’t the only member of his family who played a crucial role in developing Texas’ parks system.

Snake Farms Were Big Business in the 1900s Rio Grande Valley

March 28, 2023

Nobody knows what compelled Joe Guerrero to make his living handling rattlesnakes. But as this circa 1908 photo shows, that’s exactly what he did while working for Frank B.

A Local Boy’s Pioneering Efforts To Protect the Big Thicket in East Texas

February 28, 2023

The Big Thicket of Southeast Texas is one of Earth’s most biodiverse regions, home to more than 4,300 documented species of plants, animals, and insects.

A Playful Day at Barton Springs in Austin

January 24, 2023

In 1837, settler William “Uncle Billy” Barton moved his family to a remote Hill Country creek near its confluence with the Colorado River.

The Curious Historical Trend of Photographing Children in Goat-Drawn Carts

December 29, 2022

Given the ubiquity of cell phones today, it’s hard to believe photographers once carved out a living taking novelty pictures of kids in goat carts.

The Tex-Mex Christmas Tradition of Tamales

November 23, 2022

Stocking up to make tamales for the holidays, Maria Moreno stopped by a San Antonio shop to buy corn husks on Nov.

Finding Isolation on Pinto Canyon Road in West Texas

October 27, 2022

Even today, Pinto Canyon Road in the Chinati Mountains of far West Texas is a lonely place.

A Look At Terlingua’s Chili Origins

September 29, 2022

The so-called Great Chili Confrontation started on Oct. 21, 1967, when journalists H. Allen Smith and Wick Fowler met in Terlingua for a cookoff to decide who could make the best chili.

El Paso Artist Tom Lea’s ‘Pass of the North’ Is an Enduring Tribute to His Homeland

August 25, 2022

El Paso native Tom Lea, born in 1907, wore many hats over his 93 years, among them muralist, illustrator, historian, novelist, and World War II artist correspondent.

A Family Photo Depicts a Blacksmith Shop in Keller

July 28, 2022

 
With a population of close to 50,000, Keller is now a substantial Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, but it was a small rural community when this photo was taken in about 1915.

Rinsing Wagons in the San Antonio River

June 30, 2022

Though small by Texas standards, the San Antonio River has played an outsized role in the state’s history.

Cockfighting Flourished in Texas in the Early 1900s

May 26, 2022

Cockfighting goes back to ancient times when cultures including the Greeks and Persians pitted roosters against one another for entertainment.

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Quanah Parker and Three of His Wives

May 12, 2022

Comanche leader Quanah Parker with three of his eight wives at his “Star House” in what is now Cache, Oklahoma, 1892.

How Prison Labor Helped Build the Texas Capitol in the 1880s

April 28, 2022

Plans were already in the works for a new Texas Capitol when a fire burned its predecessor in 1881.

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: An Aerial View of the Astrodome

April 7, 2022

Traces of Texas reader Frank Pasket was in the Coast Guard during the 1960s and was nice enough to send in this amazing picture of himself flying a helicopter over the Astrodome in Houston back in 1965.

Once the Tallest Span in the U.S., the Pecos High Bridge was a Nerve-Wracker

March 24, 2022

Standing 320 feet above the Pecos River, the Pecos High Bridge was the tallest bridge in America when it opened in 1892 to improve the Southern Pacific Railroad’s route between El Paso and San Antonio.

A 1920s Modernist Interpretation of Texas Bluebonnets

February 24, 2022

Everett Gee Jackson didn’t plan to become an artist. Born in Mexia in 1900, Jackson enrolled at Texas A&M University in 1918 to study architecture.

Raising ’em Right for Stock Show Season

January 27, 2022

Remembering the Beaton Hotel of Corsicana’s Oil Boom Days

December 23, 2021

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Pappy O’Daniel’s Giant BBQ

December 9, 2021

Former Gov. Wilbert Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel was an iconic Texas character. When he was inaugurated in 1941, he held a giant barbecue at the governor’s mansion in Austin, serving 40,000 pounds of meat.

A Traveling Show Rolls into Small-Town Texas in 1921

November 24, 2021

A Visual History of Cowboys in Texas

November 17, 2021

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Cowboys on Turkey Track Ranch

November 11, 2021

The Old Nighthawk No. 2 in Austin

October 28, 2021

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: A Woman and Her Calves

October 21, 2021

Traces of Texas reader Daphne Hatcher sent in this nifty photo of her mom, Hazel Harbison Roehr, mugging for the camera while wearing her dad’s boots, hat, and gun belt, and posing with her calves.

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: A Newlywed Couple in Swisher

October 14, 2021

Traces of Texas reader Kim Crumbley graciously shared this 1910 photo of her great-grandparents on their wedding day in Swisher, located in the Panhandle.

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Election Day in Eastland

October 7, 2021

Election Day in the North Texas town of Eastland in the early 1890s. This photo was sent in by Janice Chambers.

Sheriff Rufe Jordan Kicks Back with Honey

September 23, 2021

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Stude’s Bakery and Confectionery

September 16, 2021

This picture taken in Houston in about 1890 shows Stude’s Bakery and Confectionery. Alphonse Stude, a prominent businessman and Houston booster, owned the shop.

The Legend of Pioneering Black Rodeo Cowboy Bill Pickett

August 26, 2021

A Look at Small-Town Texas

August 23, 2021

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Matador Land and Cattle Company

August 19, 2021

Claud Jefferies works with a bronco at the Matador Land and Cattle Company, a ranch established in 1878 in Motley County where the Upper, Middle, and Lower Pease rivers flow.

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Coca-Cola Delivery near Sabinal

August 12, 2021

Every week, Traces of Texas sends us a vintage photo to share for Throwback Thursday.
Traces of Texas reader Courtney Kennedy kindly sent in this circa-1915 photo of his grandfather delivering Coca-Cola in the area around Sabinal in South Texas.

A Nocturnal Motorist Stops for Gas at a San Augustine Sinclair Station in 1939

July 29, 2021

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Prom Night in Marlin, 1960

July 15, 2021

Traces of Texas reader Bob Caperton kindly sent in this 1960 photo of his wife, first on the lower right, and a group of her friends as they were getting ready to go to what was then called the Junior-Senior Banquet in Marlin.

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Women Do the Heavy Lifting in Beaumont, 1943

July 8, 2021

A woman moves a pole at the International Creosoting Company in Beaumont, 1943. This job had traditionally been done by men, but the absence of the male workforce due to World War II paved the way for women to assume many such jobs.

Boaters Pose in Front of the Marble Falls Around 1900

June 24, 2021

The Raising of Galveston After the 1900 Hurricane

May 27, 2021

175 Years of Fredericksburg in Photos

May 6, 2021

Looking Back on the Dedication of the LBJ Library 50 Years Ago

April 29, 2021

Traces of Texas’ Throwback Thursday: Theodore Roosevelt at the Rough Riders Reunion

April 8, 2021

President Theodore Roosevelt posed in his tent at a Rough Riders reunion in San Antonio for this 1905 photograph.

A Chili Queen Holds Court in 1904 San Antonio

March 25, 2021