Texas is an amazing state with a lot of history behind it, and amazing people and places within it. Most everyone knows that Austin, Texas is the capital of the state, but most do not know that West Columbia was actually the first capital of Texas. West Columbia lies within the amazing historical county of Brazoria. Texas is also the home of the historical Jones Creek, where the great Stephen F. Austin lived, which also lies in Brazoria County.
Austin, Texas is the capital of the state of Texas, but Austin is not where Texas began. Most people are not aware that Texas actually began in West Columbia in October 1836, where it was simply named Columbia. West Columbia is located in the southernmost part of Brazoria County where it served as the
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Brazoria County gets its name from the Brazos River which runs through the county and is also the longest river in Texas. The first traffic bridge was built across the Brazos River in 1912, which provided transportation between the eastern and western parts of the county. The bridge was made out of wood and with lack of maintenance it fell into the river in the 1930s. Brazoria County is also the home of the San Bernard River. People come from all over the county, and surrounding counties, to water ski. The San Bernard is also the river that is transportation for many barges to get to the intercostal waterway. Brazoria County is also the home of many plantations. One of those plantations is known as Varner Hogg, which is also located in the historical West Columbia. The Varner Hogg plantation started in 1824, where a “rum distillery was established and livestock was raised” (….varner website) There once was a sugar mill on the property, but all that remains now is a line of bricks that surrounds the large kettle. Varner Hogg plantation is now a place of history where you're able to visit the plantation house and other buildings on the property. Varner …show more content…
Austin first settled at the mouth of the Brazos River in December 1821. Stephen F. Austin came to Brazoria County for the land and business opportunities. Stephen F. Austin also brought a colonist of 300 families, where each family received approximately 1200 acres at twelve cents an acre. The 300 families that came to settle in the Austin colony are now known as the “Old Three Hundred” in Texas history today. (……) Stephen F. Austin was known as a “pioneer leader in the movement to colonize Texas” (Awbrey and Dooley 263). The original gravesite of Stephen F. Austin is in a church cemetery located in the town of Jones Creek. The cemetery is located on the “Peach Point Plantation” (Awbrey and Dooley 263). Austin's remains were taken to the state capital in Austin at a later date. Jones Creek is located in “Southwestern Brazoria County along Highway 36”. (……..) It is located close to Bryan Beach, Quintana Beach, and Surfside Beach. There are also several areas to go shopping in the nearby cities of Lake Jackson, Freeport, and Brazoria. (……..) (internet site of villageofjonescreektexas.com) Surfside Beach is “a quaint little town on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico”. (gulfscapes magazine) It has been voted as the number one beach community in Texas. Surfside beach is known as a nice place to take your family with fantastic fishing and little traffic with the nearby
Ramos, Raul A. Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861. The University of North Carolina Press. 2008.
McLeRoy, Sherrie. Black Land, Red River: a Pictorial History of Grayson County, Texas. Virginia Beach, Va.: Donning, 1993. Print.
When most people think of Texas legacies, they think of Sam Houston or Davy Crockett, but they don’t usually think of people like Jane Long. Jane Long is known as ‘The Mother of Texas’. She was given that nickname because she was the first English-speaking woman in Texas to give birth. Jane was born Jane Wilkinson on July 23, 1798, in Charles County, Maryland. She was the tenth child of Captain William Mackall and Anne Herbert Wilkinson.
When people think of Texas, one of the first images that come to mind are cattle and the cowboys that work them. Some of those cowboys amassed fortunes and assets that helped to write their names into the annals of history, but one of the great cattle barons achieved a status that is somewhat legendary. Richard King. Capt. King, as he was known during his steamboat days, soared from an indentured jewelry apprentice to the king of an empire. Forever immortalized through the town and ranch that bear his namesake, King lived up to his last name while establishing the King Ranch and, after his death, the town of Kingsville. The task of finding a Texan who hasn’t heard of the King Ranch or Kingsville would be difficult, but finding individuals who know the history of the man presents a far greater task.
The American way of living and thinking in Texas have changed tremendously over the past century. Political ideals are one thing that changes with time, and have transformed with the changing times well. The Texas constitution of 1876 was a landmark for the state and has been part of the state’s history since then. The Texas constitution of 1876 is still in use today but with all its harsh restrictions it is considered one of the most confusing of all the state constitutions. The constitution became one of the most prominent changes to Texas education system and politics.
The state of Texas has had six constitutions. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was written in 1836 between the fall of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio and Sam Houston's stunning victory at San Jacinto. The constitution was written quickly and while on the run from Santa Anna. It was written by George Childress along with Sam Houston. .The Texas Constitution is the second longest constitution in the United States, and one of the oldest still in effect. Since the constitution has been adopted it has been amended 439 times and consists of seventeen amendments.
Many people that were indigenous to New Spain and latter, Mexico had settled in Texas when it was a northern State of Mexico. Many contributed in an effort to tame the wild paradise and bring civilization to the region beyond what the Spanish missionaries had begun a century before. In 1821, Mexico gained independence from Spain, and began to actively recruit people to populate the land north of the Rio Grande with far more urgency that did Spain. The residents were both of Spanish decent as well as Euro-American. Those delegated the authority to organize these settlements were called Empresarios. The Empressarios applied for huge tracts of land and then had the authority to sell to those that wished to settle it and swear an allegiance to Mexico---- agreeing to become citizens as well as become Catholics. Mexicans that moved north to Texas were known as Tejanos ( Tejanas for the females) .In 1836, when Texas acquired independence from Mexico, Tejanos remained concentrated in settlements founded during the eighteenth century, namely Nacogdoches, San Antonio, Goliad, and Laredo. Other communities with a primarily Mexican descent population in 1836 included Victoria, founded by Martín De León in 1824, and the villages of San Elizario, Ysleta, and Socorro in far west Texas. ( Arnoldo De León,).
Texas is a unique place with a colorful history of legendary cowboys and tall tales. The state stretches over the middle section of the southern United States. Texas has experienced shifts in governmental control within the United States. French, Spanish, Mexican, and Confederacy, and all having once been in charge, not to mention the time Texas spent as an independent republic. Texas has had many battles and wars within its borders, resulting in seven different constitutions within a span of fifty years between each document.
Some of those towns are still here today, such as New Braunfels, Brenham, and Boerne. Those are German towns. Also, immigrants from the Czech Republic settled heavily in Fayette and Brazos. People from many other foreign countries settled in Texas as well. There were so many, more than half the settlers were foreign-born
The United States House and Senate, in turn, accepted the Texas state constitution in a Joint Resolution to admit Texas as a State which was signed by the president on December 29, 1845 . Although the formal transfer of government did not occur until February 19, 1846, Texas statehood dates from the 29th of December.
It covers Van Zandt, Rains, and Hunt counties Texas, and is approximately 15 miles south of Greenville.
Not only was it Texas's major port, but unfortunately it was the Unions major target resulting in a Federal Naval assault. during the first year of the Civil War. Knowing the importance of Galveston to Texas, Federal troops in 1862. took the port and surrounding areas thus making it one of only a handful of Union victories in the Lone Star state. Fearful of losing their "property", many slave owners in the areas surrounding Galveston, fled the area into the North of Texas to avoid any clashes with Union troops.
"Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836)." Lone Star Junction: A Texas and Texas History Resource. http://www.lsjunction.com/people/austin.htm (accessed October 5, 2013).
His grave is located in north Huntsville in the Oakwood Cemetery. Houston chose this location across the street from where the Steamboat House once stood. Sam Houston was important to our nation's history because he was a true hero. He stood up for his beliefs, served his country, and took charge in actively shaping a nation by starting with its largest state, Texas. He was strong enough to fight for the rights of Native Americans and face the consequences.
Traditional Texas dialect began when settlers from the Eastern United States migrated, and founded modern day Texas. The settlers that discovered modern day Texas, were originally from the southeastern united states. Because of this, the settlers naturally carried with them a strong southern accent, along with country dialect. Texas dialect is a very distinct language. “In this position the vowels produced by the merger are also characterized by a strong feature of retro flexion that is simultaneous with the vocalic gesture” (Walsh 1974, pg. 42). The settlers that founded modern day Texas were highly uneducated and so they almost never used proper English. In traditional Texas dialect, it is rare for three syllables to be used. For example, words like “Italy” are traditionally pronounced “It’ly.” Language like this is unlike any other in the world. Unique dialect is what makes Texas a culture, and using language like this is considered a norm or value. As settlements in Texas began to grow, the more their dialect spread. Eventually, the native people of the region learned English from observing the language the settlers used. This caused all of the natives to speak the same way as the settlers. Texas language spread across the state, and eventually it became a normal part of Texas life. Through the years the dialect has remained almost unchanged. In modern day Texas,