a tropical bird at Moody Gardens in Galveston
EUROPEAN EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS AND STATEHOOD
THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION
Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive in Big Bend National Park.
Texas defies geographic categorization, yet another reason for its residents to beam with pride. Most states easily fit into a comfortably accepted natural compartment, such as plains, coasts, or mountains, but Texas has as many as 13 distinct geographic regions, including prairies, mountains, basins, and a valley. Together, these various geographical areas make up a land area of 261,914 square miles, roughly the size of New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina combined. Not surprisingly, Texas’s geography contains enormous extremes. The highest point in the state is Guadalupe Peak, at 8,749 feet above sea level, and the lowest point is, well, sea level along the Gulf Coast. Texas occupies nearly 7 percent of the landmass of the United States and boasts the distinction of being larger than any European country.
Attempting to pin down a decisive and accepted approach to Texas’s geographical regions is challenging. A variety of factors—natural, physical, cultural, even political—contribute to the complexity. For clarity’s sake, a good way to tackle the subject is from a fairly unbiased standpoint: natural and physical features. However, even this supposedly simplified method reveals the intricate natural composition of the Lone Star State—its four main geographic regions (the Basin and Range Province, the Great Plains, the Interior Lowlands, and the Gulf Coastal Plains) contain more than 20 geographical subregions.
Texas’s smallest geographic region is in far West Texas, bounded by New Mexico to the north, the Rio Grande to the south and west, and the Toyah Basin/Stockton Plateau to the east. Precipitation is very slight and erratic in this area—the average annual rainfall in El Paso is about eight minuscule inches—and most of the land is divided into large ranches.
The Basin and Range Province also contains a small portion of the Rocky Mountain system, though geologists continue to debate this claim. This entire area is also referred to as the mythic Trans-Pecos region, a rugged landscape that has captured the imagination of those who appreciate the beauty of nature in a panoramic and isolated setting.
This area is also home to the state’s three main mountain ranges, the Guadalupe Mountains along the southern New Mexico border (home to the state’s highest point, the 8,749-foot Guadalupe Peak), the Davis Mountains just north of Big Bend, and the Franklin Mountains in El Paso. Big Bend National Park, located along the biggest turning of the Rio Grande, contains the Chisos Mountains, where the highest elevation, Emory Peak, reaches a respectable 7,832 feet.
The basins of the region are noteworthy for not having a drainage outlet to the nearby Rio Grande. Instead, they channel the scant rainfall into “salt lakes.” These areas are typically dry as a bone, and the exposed solid minerals in their beds were once a major source for commercial salt.
In its entirety, this region extends all the way from Canada to Central Texas’s Balcones Fault. It may seem like a stretch to connect these almost polar opposite regions of North America, but for the Panhandle residents who experience subfreezing temperatures when “blue northers” blow in, it’s a chilling reality.
Because of its rocky surface composition, this region encompasses a variety of physical features, from the High Plains in the north to the Edwards Plateau in the south. The geologic structure of the Great Plains region also produces some of Texas’s most breathtaking natural features. Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo is a multicolored, otherworldly sight to behold, and the Hill Country’s magnificent Enchanted Rock is a massive pink dome of solid granite that has beckoned people for centuries with its mystic aura.
This portion of the state is considered by many to be the most compelling and evocative region of Texas, especially in the southwestern area, which transitions into the fabled Trans-Pecos region. It’s big sky country, where the surrounding natural beauty is astounding. Endless vistas, colorful rock formations, and the magnificent blue heavens are tourist attractions unto themselves, drawing visitors from around the globe who consider the wide-open spaces they have heard about to be merely a myth.
The western portion of the Panhandle is known as the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plains. According to legend, Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado marked his trek through the region with wooden stakes since the area was (and still is) virtually void of physical landmarks.
The lack of water—rainfall and rivers are scarce in the area—has been problematic throughout the history of the High Plains. Perhaps as a concession, the region inherited mineral wealth in the form of oil and natural gas deposits. These petroleum gold mines were discovered in the 1920s in the Panhandle and in the Permian Basin area near the cities of Midland and Odessa.
The southern portion of this region, the Edwards Plateau, is marked by the Balcones Escarpment, a geologic rift in the underlying layers of rock stretching roughly from Del Rio eastward to Austin. This area has a thin limestone-based soil and is primarily used for cattle, sheep, and goat ranching, resulting in its distinction as one of the major regions for wool and mohair production in the country.
Much like Texas’s Great Plains, the Interior Lowlands extend from North Texas through the Midwest all the way to Canada. An abundance of rivers, hills, and cultivable land ties Texas’s Interior Lowlands to its midcontinent neighbors, resulting in its largely agricultural use. Unlike the arid conditions of the Basin and Range Province, this region averages up to 30 inches of rain annually.
Within the Interior Lowlands are several subregions, including the North Central Plains, which comprise roughly two-thirds of the entire region. This area is marked by rolling hills and the West Texas Rolling Plains, which are just as their name implies—pleasant yet unimposing.
Other subregions reflect natural nomenclature—the Western and Eastern Cross Timbers and the Grand Prairie. These three areas stretch eastward to Fort Worth and are primarily home to cattle ranches and crops such as wheat and cotton. The region’s absence of a major water-producing aquifer necessitated the construction of several reservoirs for irrigation as well as strict conservation regulations. Two of Texas’s major rivers, the Trinity and the Brazos, also traverse the area, allowing agricultural production of cotton and grain to continue.
The last of Texas’s geographic regions is its largest, comprising the southern and eastern third of the state. This area has the lowest elevation in Texas—less than 1,000 feet above sea level—and contains several bands of physical features and soil types formed by the weathering of underlying rock layers. As its name implies, the Gulf Coastal Plains include Texas’s entire coastline and the mouths of most of the state’s major rivers.
The Pine Belt comprises the eastern portion of this region along the Louisiana border. Pine trees, hay fields, and cattle pastures dominate the area, which is home to several national forests and the state’s lumber industry. The region’s natural features also include two major oil fields—Spindletop near Beaumont and the East Texas Oil Field.
West of the Pine Belt lie the Post Oak and Blackland Belts. These regions are known for their fertile soil and rolling prairies, and cotton remains the major crop. Settlers coveted the clear streams and quality soil in the Blackland Belt, which stretches east from Del Rio and northward through San Antonio, Austin, Waco, and Dallas. The prime agricultural conditions fueled Texas’s growth, and the region retains some of the state’s most densely populated areas.
Texas’s southern tip is mostly comprised of the Rio Grande Plain, which includes the Lower Rio Grande Valley, known throughout the state simply as “the Valley.” The Rio Grande Plain extends southward into Mexico for several hundred miles. Much of the area is covered with cacti, mesquite trees, and wild shrubs. Cattle production is also significant in the southern Rio Grande Plain, including on the famous King Ranch southwest of Corpus Christi. The Valley, meanwhile, thrives agriculturally, thanks to the rich delta soils and absence of freezing weather.
The region’s Coastal Prairies stretch across the Gulf of Mexico coastline, reaching as far as 60 miles inland. The eastern portion of this region is thick with vegetation and supports crops ranging from rice to cotton. The southern portion contains grasslands and supports citrus fruits and vegetable farming.
Texas probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind when talk turns to environmental responsibility, but the state has its fair share of activists and defenders. One of Texas’s chief environmental concerns is air pollution, particularly from vehicle emissions.
Since most of Texas’s big cities sprawl into outlying wide-open spaces, cars are the preferred method of transportation. The state’s steady increase in population has become problematic for environmentalists. Air pollution concerns in Texas’s cosmopolitan areas have prompted ozone alerts, and Houston has been jockeying with Los Angeles for the coveted title of “smoggiest city.”
Other troublesome issues for Texas environmental activists are water pollution and unsafe waste disposal. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, a state agency dedicated to protecting Texas’s natural resources, oversees a multitude of monitoring efforts and public awareness campaigns designed to maintain control over potentially dangerous environmental hazards. The agency’s air monitoring endeavors, water conservation districts, and efforts to keep tabs on industrial waste are commendable but don’t always reach citizens at the local level.
That’s where grassroots organizations like the Texas Campaign for the Environment come into play. The group’s mission is to inform and mobilize Texans to maintain their quality of life and health. Their primary focus is improving trash and recycling policies to limit air, water, and soil pollution.
The indomitable Texas spirit is also represented in the environmental activism scene. PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) spearheaded a project called the Texas Toxic Tour. It highlights more than 20 locations throughout the state identified as environmental problem areas. The group’s informative and entertaining website—featuring a state map with site locations marked by skulls and crossbones—features stories from Texans living next to the chemical plants, toxic waste sites, and polluting industries. The organization’s goal is to educate the public about ways environmental hazards impact individual Texas residents.
The plant and animal kingdoms in Texas are a source of fascination. Thousands of plant varieties and more than 500 animal species call Texas home, and their compelling assortment is as diverse as the state’s landscape. There’s the expected (cacti, armadillos, and longhorn cattle) and the unexpected (pine forests, badgers, and cougars).
More than 750 miles separate the eastern and western portions of the state, and the northern and southern tips are nearly 800 miles apart; the resulting broad range of life throughout Texas is rather stunning. Texas’s foliar variety mirrors its geographic regions, with 10 corresponding vegetational areas ranging from gulf marshes to high plains. The state’s wildlife is tied to its geography and climate. Most of Texas’s mammals (aside from livestock) live in warmer, forested areas, and many exceptional birds and insects pass through the state on migratory routes.
Like most vegetation, the abundance and assortment of trees and shrubs in Texas are tied to the quality and quantity of soil and water. In West Texas, where annual average rainfall totals are often in single digits, only drought-resistant desert shrubs survive the arid conditions, and the main tree species—juniper and ponderosa pine—are found mostly in the higher elevations. As environmental conditions improve toward the east, tree species expand to include mesquite, live oak, and pecan, as well as colorfully named shrubs such as blackbrush, whitebrush, and greenbriar. The East Texas forests consist mainly of pine trees, with a healthy mix of oak, elm, and hickory.
Texas leads the United States in numbers of grasses, boasting more than 570 species, subspecies, and varieties. Cacti are not nearly as diversified (merely 106 species), yet they also represent a noteworthy aspect of Texas’s ground-level vegetation. Found mainly in far West Texas, these spindly yet captivating plants—including the flowering prickly pear, agave, yucca, and even the hallucinogenic peyote—come in a fascinating variety of sizes, shapes, and colors.
Texas’s grasses, meanwhile, are less viscerally intriguing and more botanically appealing. Although a fair number of native grasses have been lost to overgrazing, the several hundred remaining varieties endure in spite of Texas’s variable weather and topography. Tolerant species such as sideoats grama (the official state grass), Texas grama, buffalo grass, and Indian grass still provide meals for livestock, while their hardiness also helps contain soil erosion.
Wildflowers in Texas are akin to fall foliage in New England. For most of March and April, nature puts on a brilliant display of iridescent blues, dazzling reds, and blinding yellows across fields and along highways throughout the state. The prime viewing area is the Hill Country, where landscapes are painted with bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, Mexican poppies, and black-eyed Susans.
bluebonnets in the Hill Country
Texas’s wildflowers have been around for more than 130 million years, and the different species are greatly affected by the differences in the state’s soils (azaleas thrive in acidic East Texas soil but struggle in the chalky Central Texas earth). Central Texans are fortunate since they’re in the middle of several overlapping ecoregions. This biodiversity results in a plethora of springtime wildflowers—nearly 400 varieties in all—and a majority are native species.
The scenery is just as good in East Texas, home to blooming azaleas, yellow jasmine, dogwoods, and wisteria. Texas’s arid and sandy regions don’t offer quite the same visual spectacle, but daisies, cacti, and yucca in West Texas offer dashes of color to the monochromatic natural surroundings.
Nearly 150 animal species traverse Texas’s terrain, yet only two are emblematic of the Lone Star State. Texas’s official small mammal is the armadillo (fun fact: female armadillos always have four pups, and all four are always the same sex), and the state’s official large mammal is the Texas longhorn.
Though these iconic creatures can typically be seen from the road—in the armadillo’s case, it’s usually flat on the road—the animals lurking in forests and canyons are the most interesting. Cougars are still fairly common in the southwestern portions of the state, and Texas-worthy mammals like the javelina (a feral, tusked piglike creature officially known as the collared peccary), the kangaroo rat, and the antelope-ish pronghorn roam the prairies and brush country, especially in West Texas.
a javelina on the move in West Texas
Also of interest is Texas’s bat population, which includes 33 of the country’s 43 known bat species. The world’s largest bat colony lives in Bracken Cave near San Antonio, and each summer, more than one million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from beneath Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge, much to the delight of tourists and townies. Texas’s less distinctive yet still notable mammals include the white-tailed deer (estimated at nearly four million), black bear, coyote, and beaver.
Texas is a destination and crossing point for myriad bird species during migratory seasons. It’s also home to hundreds of native varieties. More kinds of birds (approximately 600) are found in Texas than any other state—primarily due to its south-central location. Feathered pals from the eastern and western parts of the country occupy Texas’s air space, and international travelers cross the Mexican border, drawing avid bird-watchers from across the United States.
Texas birds can be grouped into five major categories: permanent residents (mockingbirds, roadrunners, screech owls), migrants (snow geese, scarlet tanagers, various sandpipers), winter residents (common loons and terns, red-bellied woodpeckers), summer residents (purple martins, yellow-breasted chats, orchard orioles), and accidentals (greater flamingos, red-footed boobies, yellow-billed loons).
Spring is the prime time for bird-watching. Serious and amateur birders from across the country visit the Gulf Coast and Rio Grande Valley to catch a glimpse of migrating and native bird species. Pelicans, spoonbills, egrets, and herons are fairly easy to spot. Those looking for a unique birding experience can join a boat tour to spy whooping cranes, the massive white birds boasting a seven-foot-wide wingspan that were nearly extinct before efforts were made to revive the species. Now more than 100 spend their winters in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast.
Texas’s other main endangered bird species is the golden-cheeked warbler, a migratory songbird that breeds only in Ashe juniper woodlands in Central Texas. Its habitat was reduced by about a quarter by encroaching development, but highly publicized campaigns to protect the species have helped secure its nesting grounds.
An amazing variety of marine animals live in the Gulf of Mexico, home to thousands of fish and shellfish that depend on the coast’s diverse habitats for food and shelter. These environs are typically categorized by five distinct water areas—salt marshes, coastal bays, jetties, nearshore waters, and the Gulf of Mexico.
Fish and shrimp enter salt marshes looking for food or for a place to lay their eggs. They’re joined by several species of crabs (fiddler, hermit, and stone), snails, mussels, and worms. Coastal bays and beaches are home to two types of jellyfish, the Portuguese man-of-war (stay away from this purplish baggy creature with the poisonous blue tentacles) and the relatively harmless cabbagehead, which looks like its namesake and is occasionally used by dolphins as toy balls.
The beach area also supports oysters, spotted sea trout, and several species of catfish. Jetties, which are used to prevent ship channels from piling up with sand and silt, consist of large stones providing shelter and food for a wide range of sealife, including sea anemones, urchins, crabs, grouper, and sea trout. Artificial reefs (stone rubble, old ships, oil rigs) open nearshore waters to mussels, shrimp, crabs, and a host of other animals, including the fish that feed on them (tarpon, kingfish, and others).
The Gulf of Mexico is home to some of Texas’s heaviest hitters. Great barracuda and hammerhead, lemon, and bull sharks devour smaller varieties such as bluefish, striped bass, and tuna. When the currents and temperatures are just right, tropical species such as parrotfish, angelfish, and spiny lobsters also visit the gulf waters.
Snakes slither across much of Texas’s surface, and the state’s range of reptiles is rather impressive. Texas is home to 16 varieties of poisonous snakes (including 11 types of rattlesnakes), which can be extremely hazardous to hikers and campers. Other dangerous snakes include cottonmouth, copperheads, and Texas coral snakes.
Snakebites from these varieties require a few basic first-aid techniques if medical care is not immediately available. The American Red Cross suggests washing the bite with soap and water and keeping the bitten area immobilized and lower than the heart. Equally as important is avoiding popular remedy misconceptions: Do not apply hot or cold packs, do not attempt to suck the poison out, and do not drink any alcohol or use any medication.
Texas is also home to hundreds of nonvenomous snake species, some of which mimic their poisonous counterparts. The Texas bull snake realistically imitates a rattlesnake, all the way down to the rattling sound, and the milk snake and coral snake look disturbingly alike, with the same colors but in different orders. A time-honored Texas adage helps differentiate the two: Red and yellow, kill a fellow (the coral snake has red next to yellow stripes); red and black, friend of Jack (the milk snake has red next to black stripes).
Not to be overlooked are Texas’s other distinctive reptiles. The official state reptile is the Texas horned lizard (charmingly referred to as the horny toad), which is primarily found in West Texas. The state’s other noteworthy reptiles include alligators, sea turtles, geckos, and spinytail iguanas.
Nearly 100,000 different kinds of pesky insects buzz around Americans’ heads and ankles, and a third of those bugs have been found in Texas. The Lone Star State proudly claims to have more different kinds of insects than any other state.
Texas also has more butterfly species than any other state. Its 400 varieties number more than half the butterfly species in the United States and Canada. The recognizable monarch butterfly makes its annual migratory flight through Texas en route to its wintering grounds in Mexico. The southward flight in late summer and fall can be quite a spectacle, when monarchs fill the air and gather on trees by the thousands.
Texas’s insects are just as numerous but not nearly as charming. Most of these winged and antennaed creatures are ecologically beneficial, but the two insects that creep immediately to most Texans’ minds are the bothersome mosquito and the squirm-inducing cockroach.
Like most living things in Texas, amphibians are well represented due to the tremendous diversity in climate and temperature. Frogs, toads, and salamanders are common in all areas of the state, but the greatest abundance and diversity are in the relatively wet habitats of the eastern third of the state. Camping near lakes and streams in this area offers visitors an audio sampler of the various croaks and calls of Texas’s native frog and toad species.
Perhaps the best-known Texas amphibian is the Barton Springs salamander, a tiny creature found only among the rocks of Austin’s legendary spring-fed swimming pool. In 1997, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added the Barton Springs salamander to the endangered and threatened wildlife list, and the city of Austin later caused a big stir when it adopted strict development guidelines to protect this pint-size creature.
A weather map in March or November tells the story of Texas’s variable climate in a visually stunning way—the entire spectrum of colors is represented across the state. From icy 20°F blues in the Panhandle to balmy 90°F reds in the Valley, the rainbow of Texas’s diverse climate is a revealing diagram.
When it comes to weather-related records, Texas’s books are virtually off the chart. Consider these extreme extremes: The state’s record temperatures range from -23°F (Seminole, in the southwestern Panhandle, 1933) to 120°F (Seymore, north of Abilene, 1936). Texas’s greatest annual rainfall was 109 inches (Clarksville, in northeastern Texas, 1873), and the least was 1.8 inches (Wink, in far West Texas, 1956). Also of note, Texas’s highest sustained wind velocity was 145 mph, when Hurricane Carla hit the Gulf Coast in 1961.
Otherwise, the state’s average rainfall typically exceeds 56 inches annually in East Texas, while El Paso and other parts of West Texas typically receive less than 8 inches each year. The average annual precipitation in Dallas is nearly 35 inches, and Houston averages approximately 48 inches. One final note of interest: The Route 66 town of Vega in the Texas Panhandle receives an average of 23 inches of snow per year, while Brownsville at the mouth of the Rio Grande has no measurable snowfall on record.
Texas has two main seasons—a hot summer that lasts from approximately May through October, and a winter that starts in November and usually lasts until March. By the time summer is over, most of Texas’s landscape is too crisp and dry for fall foliage. Some colors are visible in the East Texas forests, but most of the state settles into a brownish hue until rains bring life and greenery back in March.
When it comes to climate, meteorologists usually divide Texas into three areas—modified marine (aka subtropics), continental, and mountain. These climate types aren’t set off by strict boundaries, but the vast majority of the state falls into the subtropics region (Central and East Texas), which can be further divided into four subcategories based on humidity. We’ll just stick with the basics.
The subtropics region is primarily affected by tropical airflow from the Gulf of Mexico, and its four humidity-related subheadings delineate the moisture content of this northwest-moving air stream. The continental region is largely in the Panhandle and is similar to the U.S. plains states, with major temperature fluctuations, low relative humidity, and moderate amounts of randomly occurring rainfall. Cooler temperatures, low humidity, and arid conditions characterize the mountain climate in far West Texas.
Using these climate regions as a guide, it’s safe to assume the following about Texas’s weather: the eastern third of the state has a humid climate noted for its warm summers; the central region of Texas has a subhumid climate resulting in hot summers and dry winters; and most portions of West Texas tend to have semiarid to arid conditions, often with extreme differences in temperature throughout the year.
Even the weather is extreme in Texas. Menacing hurricanes, treacherous tornadoes, and dangerous floods can strike at any time, and they wreak their havoc swiftly before clear skies and calm conditions return. Fortunately, Texans have learned from previous atrocities, resulting in evacuation plans and safety procedures. Though most of these events are seasonal, there’s an unpredictable nature to Texas’s nature, so visitors should be prepared for potential flash floods.
Historically, hurricanes have hit Texas’s Gulf Coast about once every decade, usually in September or October. Most Gulf Coast communities have evacuation plans in place, along with reinforced buildings and homes to brace against the torrential winds. Many seaside structures are also raised on piers to prevent damage from the crashing waves during a tropical storm.
In the past decade, however, the hurricane activity in the gulf has been more frequent and severe. In addition to the devastation brought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston Island on September 13, 2008, leaving an enormous swath of destruction in its wake. Ike completely leveled several nearby communities, and its 110 mph winds ripped apart hotels, office buildings, and countless homes in Galveston, Houston, and the surrounding area. Of the nearly 7,000 documented historic buildings in Galveston, upward of 1,500 were seriously damaged.
Things were quite different a century ago. Galveston experienced the most destructive storm in U.S. history (before Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike) in 1900, when a hurricane left at least 6,000 dead and leveled most of the city. A storm of equal intensity hit Galveston in 1915, but the city was prepared with its new seawall. The death toll was a comparatively low 275.
Texas also lies in the path of Tornado Alley, with its central corridor running from the Panhandle north through Kansas. The state’s worst tornado on record struck downtown Waco in 1953, killing 114 people, injuring 597, and destroying or damaging more than 1,000 homes and buildings. In 1997, a mile-wide tornado (as in one mile wide) wreaked havoc on the Central Texas town of Jarrell, leaving only the concrete slabs of dozens of homes in its wake.
Floods have also taken their toll on Texas. Thunderstorms are a major event—they typically come barreling in from the west, spewing lightning and firing occasional hailstones everywhere in their path. Appearing as massive, intimidating red blobs on the radar screen, they furiously dump heavy sheets of rain on Texas’s lands, leaving saturated fields and overflowing rivers and streams in their wake.
One of the most destructive rainstorms in Texas history occurred in 1921, when floods in Central Texas killed 215 people. San Antonio was sitting under nearly nine feet of water, and 36 inches of rain fell north of Austin in just 18 hours (a U.S. record).
No place has a sense of itself like Texas, and that sentiment is indelibly tied to the state’s fascinating past. Texans are proud of their history, and for good reason. The state was once its own country, and many modern-day residents would likely welcome a return to the idea of isolationism. Above all, there’s something reverential about the pride Texans take in their heritage, from the Native American contribution of the word tejas (meaning friends), to the state’s nearly 400-year-old Spanish mission buildings, to the aforementioned Republic of Texas, to the role Texas played in the Civil War, to its ranching and oil heritage.
Being proud of what a state represents is somewhat distinctive to Texas. Not to take away anything from other states’ history, but a term like “Rhode Island pride” or the concept of a proud Idaho heritage just doesn’t resonate the way Texas Pride does. It’s a badge of honor, and the state’s rough-and-tumble past makes it a deserved title.
Everyone knows about the Alamo, but those who set out to discover Texas’s dynamic heritage will encounter fascinating stories, like the 4,000-year-old Native American pictographs in a rock shelter along the Rio Grande, the discovery of the 1686 Gulf Coast shipwreck of French explorer La Salle, the influence of Mexican vaqueros on Texas’s cowboys, and life in an oil boomtown in the 1930s. And that’s just scraping the surface.
Depending on the source, Texas’s prehistoric past can be traced as far back as 13,000 years. That’s 11,000 BC. Most archaeologists and historians divide the state’s prehistoric era into three periods: Paleo-Indian, Archaic, and Late Prehistoric.
The Paleo-Indian period is significant for containing references to the earliest known inhabitants of the state (circa 9200 BC). Archaeologists have discovered numerous distinctive Clovis fluted points (a type of arrowhead) from this era, which were sometimes used for hunting mammoth.
The longest span of Texas’s prehistory falls under the Archaic period (circa 6000 BC-AD 700). It’s noted for the changes in projectile points and tools, and the introduction of grinding implements for food preparation. A significant weapon used during the Archaic period was a spear-throwing device known as an atlatl.
The bow and arrow were introduced during Texas’s Late Prehistoric period (AD 700 to historic times). Pottery is present during this period among the hunters and gatherers in Central, South, and coastal Texas. Bison hunting was also very important to people living in most regions of the state’s present-day boundaries.
Historians have identified hundreds of Native American groups in Texas. The validity of their naming is problematic, however, because explorers used different languages (mainly Spanish, French, and English) to record what they heard of the newly “discovered” tribes they encountered.
Regardless, most historians agree that European diseases decimated Texas’s native people. Anthropologist John C. Ewers identified at least 30 major epidemics (mostly smallpox and cholera) that wiped out as much as 95 percent of the state’s Native Americans between 1528 and 1890. Until then, the four major tribes playing roles in Texas history were the Apache, Caddo, Comanche, and Kiowa.
The Apaches arrived in the area that would become Texas circa AD 1200. They were a nomadic tribe subsisting almost completely on buffalo, dressing in buffalo skins and living in tents made of tanned and greased hides. The Apaches were a powerful tribe that raided most groups they encountered. Eventually, their aggressive behavior turned their neighbors into enemies, and the Apaches had fled before the Comanches entered the region.
The Caddos were a collection of about 30 distinct groups, including the Tejas Indians, from whom Texas got its name, who had a similar language, political structure, and religious beliefs. Based in the current-day East Texas Piney Woods, the Caddos were mainly agricultural, living in permanent villages (as opposed to being nomadic). They weren’t especially warlike, except for minor territorial conflicts they had with smaller nearby tribes over hunting grounds.
The Comanches were known as exceptional equestrians who played a prominent role in Texas frontier history in the 1700s and 1800s. They occupied much of what is now North, Central, and West Texas. Because of their trading skills, the Comanches controlled much of the region’s commerce by bartering horses, buffalo products, and even captives for weapons and food. They lived in portable tepees constructed of tanned buffalo hide stretched over as many as 18 large poles.
The Kiowas acquired horses, slaves, and guns from the Spanish and eventually evolved a nomadic, warring lifestyle until they became one of the most feared tribes in the region that became Texas. By the late 1700s, the Kiowas had made a lasting peace with the Comanches and continued to live in the area until peacefully joining the Comanches with the Southern Cheyennes and Arapahos.
The arrival (via shipwreck) of Spanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca in 1528 was one of Texas’s first contacts with the Old World. His subsequent trek across the land that would become the Lone Star State offered Europeans some of the first clues about this newfound foreign region.
By 1685, the French were in on the action, dispatching explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle to find the mouth of the Mississippi River. He missed it by a long shot, ultimately wrecking his ship La Belle in a bay between present-day Houston and Corpus Christi. More than 200 years later, the Texas Historical Commission discovered the contents and remains of La Belle, which offered a rare glimpse at the material culture of a 17th-century New World colony in the form of glass trade beads, dinnerware, gunflints, and even a human skeleton.
By the early 1700s, the Spanish had solidified their presence in the region with several new mission buildings (the Alamo being one of them) used primarily to “civilize” the area’s Native American tribes by converting them to Christianity. It didn’t work as well as they’d hoped. By the early 19th century, European diseases had decimated most of the state’s Native Americans, and many tribes had mixed in with other cultural groups, rendering the missions’ objective obsolete.
Around this same time, the first wave of Germans arrived in Texas. Word spread quickly about Texas’s bountiful land and ideal climate (perhaps they visited in springtime), prompting thousands of Germans to take root along rivers and streams in the state’s fertile prairies and scenic hills.
An 1835 skirmish between colonists and Mexicans over ownership of a cannon is generally considered the opening battle of the Texas Revolution; subsequently, a provisional government was established in 1836 when delegates adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2 (which remains a state holiday). Texas’s most famous battle occurred a week later with the 13-day siege of the Alamo. Mexican troops led by Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna eventually killed the remaining Texas defenders.
Later that month, about 350 Texan prisoners were executed by order of Santa Anna at Goliad. With these setbacks in mind, the Texans, led by Sam Houston, defeated Santa Anna’s Mexican army on April 21 with rallying cries of “Remember the Alamo!” and “Remember Goliad!” Houston reported 630 Mexican troops killed, with only nine Texan lives lost. The revolution’s end became official in May 1836 when both sides signed the Treaties of Velasco.
A year later, the United States, France, and England officially recognized the new Republic of Texas, and plots of land were soon sold in the republic’s new capital, named for Stephen F. Austin, the state’s preeminent colonist. In 1845, Texas became a U.S. state after Congress passed an annexing resolution, which was accepted by the republic’s Texas Constitutional Convention and overwhelmingly supported by Texas voters.
From 1846 to 1848, Texas and Mexico engaged in a boundary battle known as the U.S.-Mexican War, which ultimately established the current international boundary. A decade later, the federal government moved Native American tribes in West and Central Texas to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).
Texas struggled with complexities during the Civil War. Some people supported the Union, including Governor Sam Houston, who refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. It eventually cost him his office. For the most part, however, Texans identified with the rest of the southern United States, and in early 1861 that support became official when Texas seceded from the Union and became the seventh state accepted by the provisional Confederate States of America government.
After four years of border skirmishes, Gulf Coast naval battles, and prisoner of war camps, Texas troops marked the true end of the Civil War with a battle near Brownsville, more than a month after the war officially ended (due to the time involved for the news to reach Texas). In June, it was announced that slavery had been abolished, an event still commemorated today during Juneteenth festivals in African American communities statewide.
Much of Texas’s history during the late 1800s centers around the arrival of the railroads, which put towns on and off the map depending on their routes. Cattle rustling was an important part of Texas’s commerce and identity before railroads took over the responsibility of moving cattle northward. Texas’s development was made possible by the railroads, and they continued to sustain the local economy for decades since so many areas of the state still needed railroad service, including the lower Rio Grande Valley, the South Plains, the Panhandle, and West Texas.
The 20th century kicked off with a boom—a 100-foot oil gusher blew in at Spindletop near Beaumont in 1901, boosting Texas into the petroleum age. Oil wells would be discovered for several decades, turning small communities into boomtowns with tens of thousands of wildcatters and roughnecks arriving overnight to work on the rigs.
The Wild West arrived in West Texas when the Mexican civil war (1911-1920) spilled across the border; as a result, supply raids and refugee harboring became common occurrences. The notorious Mexican general Pancho Villa was involved with some of these skirmishes.
By the 1950s and 1960s, Texas was gaining a reputation for its intellectual resources, resulting in the Dallas-based development of the integrated circuit (used in semiconductors and electronics) and the opening of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston.
In one of the darker moments of Texas and U.S. history, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. It marked the end of the optimism of the nation under the Kennedy administration and ushered in a new president—Texan Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson would go on to play a major role in advancing the country’s civil rights movement. The final two decades of the 20th century were notable for two additional Texans being elected to the U.S. presidency: George H. W. Bush and his son George W. Bush.
Texas was annexed to the United States as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. From Reconstruction (the late 1800s) through the early 1960s, the Democratic Party dominated Texas politics. Keep in mind, the Democrats of those days differed considerably from the current political party. For almost a century, Texas Democrats consisted mainly of white conservatives, who prevailed in almost all statewide elections.
A Texas-worthy phrase was used during this era to describe the especially dedicated party members: “Yellow Dog Democrats” were the state’s die-hard partisan loyalists who would vote for a yellow dog if it ran on the Democratic ticket. The phrase is now used to describe any Democratic loyalist, although the recent dominance of Republicans in Texas is rendering the term nearly obsolete.
Texas’s bicameral legislature is comprised of 31 Senate members who serve for four years, and the House of Representatives, with 150 members elected for two-year terms. The legislature meets for its regular session in the spring of odd-numbered years, but the governor may convene a special session for the legislators to address particular issues. The governor of Texas is elected to a four-year term in November of even-numbered, nonpresidential election years.
Texas is divided into a whopping 254 counties that average nearly 1,000 square miles in size. West Texas’s Brewster County is especially enormous—at 6,169 square miles, it’s roughly the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
Cotton, cattle, and crude (oil)—Texas’s venerable “Three Cs” dominated the state’s agricultural and economic development until the mid-20th century, and these land-based resources continue to support much of the state’s wealth. Other factors contributing to Texas’s economy are various industries not exclusive to the Lone Star State, such as retailing, wholesaling, banking, insurance, and construction.
Many national corporate headquarters have relocated to Texas (especially to the midcontinental location of Dallas), and petroleum companies continue to search for new sources of energy to provide fuel. In addition, Houston is home to many federal air installations and the NASA Space Center, while Austin is home to Dell Computers and other esteemed high-tech companies. Tourism has also become a major business, particularly in San Antonio, and Texas has become a leader in the areas of medicine and surgery.
Cattle and cotton remain staples of Texas’s agricultural economy. The state’s wide-open spaces allowed both commodities to spread freely when settlers arrived in the mid-1800s, and Texas’s remaining abundance of available land continues to make it the most important cattle-raising state in the country.
Nearly all of the state’s 254 counties derive more revenue from cattle than any other agricultural commodity; those that don’t almost always rank cattle second in importance. Cattle dominates Texas’s livestock production, contributing approximately 70 percent of the state’s livestock and products sales. And if those aren’t enough agricultural accolades, consider this: Texas ranks first nationally in production of cattle, beef cattle, sheep, lamb, wool, goats, and mohair.
Cotton, meanwhile, became a prominent crop due to the immigration of settlers from the Deep South, who continued their plantation system of agriculture when they arrived in Texas. Cotton production grew steadily after 1900, and the crop became a major economic factor when suitable varieties were developed for the West Texas climate. Since that time, Texas has led all states in cotton production virtually every year, and it provides approximately one-quarter of the country’s cotton supply.
In total value of farm crops, Texas has consistently ranked in the top five among the states since the mid-20th century and has been a leading producer of grain sorghums, peanuts (groundnuts), and rice. Incidentally, nearly all of the mohair produced in the United States comes from Texas’s Angora goats.
Texas’s manufacturing roots lie with its agricultural processing—cotton gins, cottonseed mills, meatpacking plants, flour mills, oil field equipment, and canning plants. These days, the state’s largest employment sector is categorized as the “trade, transportation, and utilities industry,” which includes jobs in retail, wholesale, and finance.
Jobs in the petroleum, construction, and service industries are also typically steady across the state. Texas’s top exported products are chemicals, petrochemicals, and transportation equipment. The state’s remarkable number of exports is attributed to its proximity to Mexico, which receives nearly half of Texas’s products. Texas is also responsible for a large number of U.S. exports to Mexico (approximately 50 percent).
Oil changed everything for Texas. It transformed the state from a backwoods frontier to an industrial giant. In January 1901, a gusher blew in at Spindletop near Beaumont, and the Texas oil boom erupted into the nation’s consciousness. Thirty years later, an even more significant event occurred—the discovery of the enormous East Texas Oil Field. Within two years, 5,600 wells had been drilled near the cities of Kilgore and Longview, and 25,000 wells were in place by 1938.
Oil became the basis for Texas’s mammoth petrochemical industry and provided the funding to develop the state’s educational and highway systems. On the flip side, a massive drop in oil prices in the early 1980s resulted in a decline in Texas’s economy.
Regardless, oil and natural gas remain the state’s most valuable minerals, contributing nearly 20 percent of the country’s oil production and 30 percent of its gas production in recent years. Texas leads all other states in oil and natural gas production. It also ranks first in oil-refining capacity.
The state’s official travel slogan aptly captures its allure: “Texas, It’s Like A Whole Other Country.” More than 200 million people visit Texas annually—70 percent are leisure travelers, and 30 percent are traveling for business. International travelers account for approximately 10 percent of Texas’s total visitor spending.
The five countries with the highest visitation numbers are Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. The top five destination cities for out-of-state visitors are Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, various “rural Texas destinations,” San Antonio, and Austin. The top tourist sites include the Alamo, the San Antonio River Walk, outlet malls in San Marcos (south of Austin), SeaWorld of Texas (San Antonio), and the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park near Dallas.
The people of Texas equally reflect and defy all stereotypes associated with their dynamic nature. For every good ol’ boy set in his ways, there’s a progressive genius building her web-based empire. For every brash oilman making millions, there’s a humble educator affecting lives. Intense football coaches coexist peacefully with environmental activists.
Like anywhere else, people in Texas have their differences, but there’s one thing that transcends obstacles and is unique to this state—the common bond of being Texan. Not that it solves all problems, but most Texans look kindly upon their fellow citizens and genuinely display the spirit of Southern hospitality. It’s infectious—“Y’all come back” becomes a true expression of kindness rather than a silly stereotype.
Transplants from the northern and eastern United States may initially be taken aback by random strangers in the grocery store commenting on their purchases, but they’ll later find themselves doing the same thing. Offers of assistance are genuine rather than obligatory, and people make direct eye contact when they mutter a polite “Howdy.”
There are many ways to categorize Texans—by age, ethnicity, religion, income level, etc.—but labels don’t capture the soul of the state’s residents, who aptly represent the character of the word friend in the origins of the word Texas.
Texas’s rate of population growth has exceeded the nation’s in every decade since Texas became a state (1845), and recent population increases have been substantial. Population has more than doubled in the past 25 years, from roughly 11.2 million to more than 27 million. Estimates based on recent growth rates suggest the state is surging by nearly 500,000 people annually.
From 2000 to 2010 (the most recent available official census figures), Texas led the country in growth, increasing in population by 20.6 percent (an addition of about 4.3 million people), which is more than twice as fast as the United States overall. Growth was generally concentrated in four areas: the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Houston-Galveston, San Antonio-Austin, and the Rio Grande Valley.
Interestingly enough, this growth has been anything but uniform, with some counties in West Texas losing as much as 22 percent of their population and others around Dallas and Austin growing by more than 60 percent. In fact, recent demographic reports associated with the 2010 census reveal that nearly 85 percent of the state’s population lives east of the I-35 corridor, which stretches north-south from Dallas to Laredo.
Austin’s suburbs were among the state’s leaders in growth, with Williamson County’s (north of Austin) population increasing by 69 percent and Hays County (south of Austin) growing by 61 percent. A dramatic example of the population boom in Williamson County is found in the (formerly) small community of Hutto, the second-fastest growing city in Texas. From 2000 to 2010, the number of residents increased nearly tenfold, from 1,250 to a whopping 14,698.
Since the mid-1800s, most Texas residents have been of European descent, but for the first time in state history, their numbers are no longer the majority. Currently, about 49 percent of the population is of northern European ancestry; roughly 37 percent are Hispanic, and approximately 11 percent are African American. The remaining 4 percent are listed under “other racial/ethnic groups,” though most are of Asian descent.
The healthy pace of Texas’s increased population is largely due to international immigration, which represented nearly 77 percent of the state’s population growth in recent years. The Texas State Data Center projects that by 2020, Hispanics will represent the majority of the state’s population. Of note is the rapid growth of foreign-born residents in Texas’s major metro areas (112 percent) compared to border metro cities (51 percent). Austin witnessed the greatest increase in foreign-born population (172 percent), likely reflecting the city’s economic growth in the technology sector.
Perhaps most significant are major population increases in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, with growth rates continually nearing 40 percent and birth rates significantly higher than the rest of the state. As a result, Texas has the country’s second-highest Hispanic population, behind California.
According to reports from the 2010 census, Hispanics accounted for two-thirds of Texas’s growth over the past decade and now represent about 37 percent of the state’s total population (an increase from 32 percent in 2000). Also of interest is the considerably younger age of the state’s Hispanic population (25.5 years for the median age versus 38 for Anglos). The effect on Texas’s population is a statewide median age of 32.3, the second youngest in the country after Utah.
For the most part, Texas is a devoutly religious state, with Christianity dominating the spiritual scene. Although it mirrors national trends showing slightly declining congregation numbers, residents in the rural areas of the state remain committed churchgoers. In fact, a 15-county area in Texas’s southeastern Panhandle is designated as a candidate for the “buckle of the Bible Belt,” a wide band of the entire U.S. South where a majority of people identify themselves as Baptists.
The two primary religious groups in Texas are Baptist (approximately 22 percent) and Catholic (roughly 21 percent). The percentages are far lower for other religions—Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and other faiths—which are mostly located in the state’s urban areas. Texas’s big cities also had the largest number of people claiming not to be affiliated with a religious group. In Austin, the percentage is roughly 55 percent, while Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth had approximately 50 percent and 48 percent, respectively, of nonaffiliates.
the Buu Mon Buddhist Temple in Port Arthur
English speakers in Texas account for 68 percent of the population, with Spanish running a distant, yet still notable second (26 percent). People speak Vietnamese and German in a few small pockets of the state, but for the most part, it’s Spanish and English (and a few interesting varieties of the two).
A fair number of Hispanics in South Texas speak an unofficial language known as Tex-Mex, which combines Spanish and English words without any rigid guidelines determining when to use each. It’s a distinctive regional practice, resulting from an impulsive tendency to toss in an English or Spanish word when the translation isn’t immediately on the tip of the tongue, and it’s most evident on Tejano radio stations in Corpus Christi and the Lower Rio Grande Valley, where rapid-fire DJs pepper their announcements in Spanish with random yet instantly recognizable English words.
Learning to speak Texan is an entirely different endeavor. Though the dialect sounds Southern on the surface, there are distinct variations in different parts of the state. In East Texas, vowels are more drawn out, and the slower cadence includes inflections of the Deep South. People in West Texas, meanwhile, speak with more of a tight twang. Pronunciation of the word Texas is a prime example—in East Texas, it often sounds like “Tay-ux-us,” and in West Texas it’s pronounced “Tix-is.”
Just to make things interesting, young adults in the state’s metropolitan areas tend to combine elements of their own Texas dialect with California’s “Valley speak.” Dallas-born actor Owen Wilson’s accent is the quintessential example of this style of speech.
One of the specialty license plates available to Texans features a bold image of the state flag with the phrase “State of the Arts” at the bottom. This motto might not be the first attribute people associate with Texas (California and New York immediately jump to mind), but it’s absolutely befitting of the Lone Star State.
Hundreds of world-renowned writers, artists, musicians, and actors call Texas home, and their influences and styles are as far-reaching as the stars in the West Texas sky. Having 3 of the country’s 10 largest cities also helps maximize exposure for artists and art aficionados. Premier exhibits and tours always include Texas on their schedule, and the dynamic magnetism of the state itself serves as an inspiration for a diverse mixture of creative endeavors. Anywhere that can claim Pulitzer Prize-winning (and Oscar-winning) writer Larry McMurtry and alternative rockers the Butthole Surfers is bound to be brimming with eclectic culture.
Larry McMurtry, famed author of the cattle-drive epic Lonesome Dove and drama Terms of Endearment, as well as screenplay writer for The Last Picture Show and Brokeback Mountain, is emblematic of the literary state of Texas. He approaches his craft with the sweeping majesty of one of his favorite subjects—the mythic Old West, with Texas as a focal point.
Another celebrated literary genre in Texas is folklore, and J. Frank Dobie (1888-1964) was and still is considered the foremost figure in the field. Dobie painted fascinating portraits of cowboys, cattlemen, hunters, and countless other Texas characters and critters. From an intellectual perspective, many Texans cite Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, essayist, short story writer, and novelist Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980) as the state’s most accomplished writer. She is perhaps best known for her acute insight about complex subjects in her works Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939) and Ship of Fools (1961).
An essential book about Texas by a non-Texan is H. G. Bissinger’s Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, A Dream (1990), which accurately and compellingly chronicles the positive and negative aspects of Texas’s passion for high school football. Texas journalist Molly Ivins (1944-2007) gained national fame as a sharp and scathing critic of the country’s right-wing political movement in the early part of the 21st century. President George W. Bush was a frequent Ivins target, and her book Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush’s America, was a success in liberal enclaves of the United States and especially her hometown of Austin. The latest legendary tome is 2013’s The Son by Philipp Meyer. This incredible story, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2014, chronicles 200 years of Texas history through the fictional account of a powerful Texas family.
Texas has perhaps the most compelling music legacy in the country, and many of the state’s artists have become influential figures in popular music history. Texans have contributed essential volumes to the world’s music catalog by introducing and refining styles such as rhythm and blues, Western swing, Tejano, country, and rock. The state’s musical giants are recognizable by a single name—Buddy, Janis, Willie, Selena, and Beyonce—and each have influenced generations of future musicians while getting plenty of boots scootin’ and toes tappin’ in the process.
Texas’s documented musical history began with its initial wave of settlers in the late 1800s. A fascinating mix of cultures, including German, African American, Czechoslovakian, Mexican, and Anglo, resulted in an equally intriguing blend of musical styles. The best-known types of music in the U.S. South—blues and country—evolved into new and intriguing genres when accompanied by a Texas twist. Appalachian “fiddle music” migrated westward with pioneers and merged with distinctly Texan influences such as yodeling, accordions, and 12-string guitar, resulting in unique styles such as Western swing, conjunto, and rockabilly.
One of Texas’s most influential musicians was Blind Lemon Jefferson, who introduced his signature country blues in the 1920s with his raw, potent track “Black Snake Moan.” Borrowing the flamenco-influenced guitar work he heard from Mexican migrant workers, Jefferson’s fast fingers and ear for melody inspired fellow Texas blues legends Huddy “Leadbelly” Ledbetter and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Their work paved the way for generations of Texas blues heroes, including Albert Collins, Freddy King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and Buddy Guy. Legendary Austinite Stevie Ray Vaughan led a blues revival in the 1980s with his soulful guitar wizardry, scoring national hits with albums Couldn’t Stand the Weather and In Step before he was tragically killed in a 1990 helicopter crash at the age of 35.
A wholly distinct sound from Texas is conjunto music (aka Tejano, Tex-Mex, norteno), which combines accordion and 12-string guitar to produce lively dance melodies with South Texas soul. The style originated with Texas and Mexican working-class musicians who adopted the accordion and the polka from 19th-century German settlers. Conjunto music was popular along the Rio Grande and throughout Latin America for decades before artists began reaching larger audiences in the late 1960s. The genre’s best-known artist is Leonardo “Flaco” Jiménez, who has performed with renowned acts such as the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, and Carlos Santana. An underappreciated Mexican-influenced style, dubbed “Chicano soul” or the “San Antonio West Side sound,” emerged from the late-1950s influences of rhythm and blues and doo-wop. The instantly catchy sound represented an innovative blend of soulful Motown-style harmonies and melodies with Mexican-influenced accents from brass and reed instruments.
Although country music has its true origins in Anglo-based folk balladry, Texans took the style and made it their own. Several of country music’s offshoots are Texas products, including Western swing, honky-tonk, and outlaw country. Bob Wills pioneered the jazz-based Western swing style of music in the 1920s, and Ernest Tubb’s walking bass lines were a crucial component of 1940s honky-tonk country. In the late 1960s, Austin became the laid-back capital of outlaw country in response to the slick, produced material coming out of Nashville. A raw and loose version of country music emanated from the city’s storied Armadillo World Headquarters, which regularly featured legendary outlaws like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Overall, Texas’s contributors to country music reads like a track listing from the style’s greatest hits: Gene Autry, Buck Owens, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Larry Gatlin, Barbara Mandrell, Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson, George Strait, Mark Chestnutt, Lyle Lovett, and Pat Green (and that’s just volume one).
Rock ’n’ roll also received a big ol’ Texas brand on it during its formative years. Lubbock’s Buddy Holly and the Crickets refined the country-blues style into a distinct rockabilly sound, which influenced the Beatles in ways far beyond their insect-inspired name. Another West Texan, Roy Orbison, made an impact in Memphis with a smoother approach to rockabilly. Port Arthur’s Janis Joplin wowed Austin with her bluesy swagger in the late 1960s before moving to San Francisco, where she played a major role in solidifying the city’s psychedelic sound. In the 1970s, Texas contributed to the future classic rock scene with artists such as the Steve Miller Band, ZZ Top, and Don Henley (of The Eagles).
During the past 20 years, Texans have continued to make their marks on myriad musical styles. Selena Quintanilla-Perez (1971-1995), known simply as Selena, led a surge in the Latino music scene’s popularity in the early 1990s with her dancy pop tunes that drew thousands of converts to her spirited shows. The Dixie Chicks rose from relative obscurity to become one of the world’s most popular country music acts with a sound inspired by traditional country, folk, and bluegrass. Their album Wide Open Spaces sold 12 million copies, becoming the best-selling album in country music history from a duo or group. Other significant Texas contributions to contemporary music in the early 21st century were Houston acts Destiny’s Child and Paul Wall, and Dallas songstress Kelly Clarkson, along with artists from Austin such as Spoon, Explosions in the Sky, and Gary Clark Jr.
More than 1,300 film projects have been made in Texas since 1910, including Wings, the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture (made in San Antonio in 1927). Film production in Texas has been a vital part of the state’s economy for decades, bringing thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to the state each year.
With mild winters and more than 267,000 square miles of diverse landscape to work with, Texas is an extremely versatile place to shoot movies, TV shows, music videos, commercials, and other independent film projects. Texas locations have doubled for the American Midwest; Mexico; Washington, D.C.; Vietnam; Afghanistan; Bolivia; Africa; Florida; and a host of other places throughout the world.
The Texas Film Commission, a division of the governor’s office, lends filmmakers a hand by providing free information on locations, crews, talent, state and local contacts, weather, laws, sales tax exemptions, housing, and other film-related issues. The assistance certainly pays off, with the state receiving more than $2 billion in film-related expenditures during the past decade.
Filmmakers look kindly upon Texas because the state has experienced crew members, equipment vendors, and support services. On most features shot in Texas, 75 percent of the crew is hired locally, and the production company is 100 percent exempt from state and local sales taxes on most of the services and items they rent or purchase. In addition, Texas has several regional film offices that court the major studios and provide production assistance.
Dozens of acclaimed and influential films have been shot on location in Texas (of the hundreds of projects completed), and several have become celluloid classics. Most notable are the 1956 movie Giant, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean, and John Wayne’s 1960 film The Alamo. Giant was filmed in West Texas, and its legacy is still celebrated in Marfa, where the stately 1930 Hotel Paisano served as home base for the cast and crew. A glass case in the lobby displays movie-related magazine clippings and photos, and guests clamor to stay in James Dean’s hotel room.
The Alamo isn’t always remembered for its integrity as a dramatic film, but its set near the southwest Texas town of Brackettville remains a location for film projects. The Alamo Village bills itself as “Texas’ most active and versatile movie set” and features one of the industry’s largest and most complete backlots, boasting “no false fronts here.” The site has hosted more than 200 major feature films, TV movies, miniseries, documentaries, commercials, and music videos.
Other significant film projects shot in Texas include The Last Picture Show (1971, screenplay by Texan Larry McMurtry), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1973), Urban Cowboy (1979), Terms of Endearment (1983, based on McMurtry’s novel), David Byrne’s brilliant True Stories (1986), McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove (1990), Austinite Richard Linklater’s generation-defining Slacker (1990), David Lynch’s Wild at Heart (1990), Austinite Robert Rodriguez’s groundbreaking El Mariachi (1992), Linklater’s classic Dazed and Confused (1992), Christopher Guest’s hilarious Waiting for Guffman (1995), Dallas native Wes Anderson’s masterpiece Rushmore (1997), Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic (2000), Rodriguez’s Predators (2010), Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011), Texas Chainsaw 3D (2012), Transformers 4 (2013), and the incomparable Boyhood (2014).
In addition to its mighty movie credits, Texas has hosted noteworthy television shows. Perhaps most significant of them all is Dallas (1978-1990, and again in 2013), which entranced audiences around the globe with its Texas-worthy dramatic storylines centered around oil magnate J. R. Ewing and his family. Equally as remarkable yet more artistically viable is PBS’s venerable Austin City Limits (1975-present), showcasing top-notch country, roots, and alternative music across the United States and spawning its thriving annual music festival. In 2011, the program made a dramatic venue change, from the University of Texas’s communications building to a swanky new theater on the ground floor of the upscale W hotel. Other notable Texas TV shows include a season of MTV’s The Real World shot in Austin (2005), NBC’s critically acclaimed Friday Night Lights (2006-2011), HBO’s The Leftovers (2014-2017), and finally, in the bizarro category, Barney and Friends, filmed in Dallas (1992-2010).
The visual arts scene in Texas is particularly captivating, due in large part to available funding from the state’s land and oil barons. World-class artwork is regularly exhibited throughout Texas in big cities and small towns, where philanthropists give generously to construct ornate museums and draw exceptional exhibits.
In addition, the Texas Commission on the Arts state agency funds education and cultural programs. Its grants help fund projects to educate Texas citizens about the importance of art, and the agency has been lauded for its work with at-risk youth and children with disabilities.
For the most part, Texas’s fine arts opportunities are located in its metropolitan areas. Some of the country’s best art museums are in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. Of particular note is Fort Worth’s Kimbell Museum, where the facility housing the artwork is as impressive as the work it holds. Designed by architect Louis I. Kahn, its softly arching ceilings provide the perfect amount of natural light to complement the interior artwork by masters such as Picasso, Monet, Rembrandt, El Greco, Cézanne, and others in addition to its impressive collections of Asian and African art.
Other must-see art museums in Fort Worth are the Amon Carter Museum, showcasing high-quality Western art (Georgia O’Keeffe, Ansel Adams, Winslow Homer), and The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, a glass structure designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando that seems to float in a surrounding shimmering pool. Inside are more than 26,000 works by renowned artists such as Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock.
Dallas’s premier art attraction, the Dallas Museum of Art, features an impressive $32 million two-acre sculpture garden showcasing the work of Miró, Rodin, Moore, de Kooning, and many others. The facility is also known for its Museum of the Americas, which showcases an impressive collection of historic art from North, Central, and South America.
Houston is the other main hub for Texas’s fine arts, with nearly 20 major museums and galleries. The city’s Museum of Fine Arts houses approximately 31,000 works of American, European, Latin American, Native American, and Asian art spanning 4,000 years. Its concentration is on the Renaissance and impressionism, but there are treasures hiding around every corner, especially the primitive Native American pieces.
Other worthy Houston museums are the Contemporary Arts Museum, which rotates exhibits every six weeks, offering visitors a fresh experience year-round, and the Menil Collection, which features rotating displays along with its permanent 10,000-piece collection including a stunning mix of styles, from African and Byzantine to surrealist and contemporary.