This Day in Texas History: Coxey’s Army Marches on El Paso March 22, 1894 On this day in 1894, a contingent of “Coxey’s Army” arrived in El Paso. In the wake of the 1893 panic Jacob Sechler Coxey of Massillon, Ohio, a businessman and reformer, led an army of jobless men to Washington to induce…
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This Day in Texas History: Historic Fire Decimates Paris March 21, 1916 Although Paris was founded in the mid-1840s, many of its historic structures were lost in America’s third largest fire that destroyed almost half the town in 1916. The blaze started about five o’clock on the afternoon of March 21, 1916, at the S.…
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This Day in Texas History: Legendary Texas Yodeler Silenced March 20, 1987 On this day in 1987, legendary Austin country singer and tavern owner Kenneth Threadgill died of a pulmonary embolism. Threadgill was born in Peniel, Texas, in 1909, the son of a minister. As a youngster, Threadgill was working at Beaumont’s Tivoli Theater when…
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Cafe Sign I-20 West Texas May 2010 I found this delightfully decaying highway sign in the middle of nowhere on a road trip to El Paso. My favorite aspect of this sign is the classic curved arrow, no longer pointing to anything valid – and missing the brightly-colored flashing lights with which to attract our…
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This Day in Texas History: Council House Fight Destroys Comanche-White Relations March 19, 1840 On this day in 1840, Republic of Texas soldiers killed some thirty Penateka Comanche leaders and warriors and five women and children in the Council House Fight in San Antonio. The Comanches had come to San Antonio seeking to make peace.…
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This Day in Texas History: Nearly 300 Die in New London School Blast March 18, 1937 On this day in 1937, a massive explosion caused the steel-framed school building in New London, in Rusk County, to collapse, killing a reported 298 people. It was the worst school disaster in United States history. Of the 500…
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This Day in Texas History: Convention of 1836 Breaks Up in a Hurry March 17, 1836 On this day in 1836, the Convention of 1836 adjourned in haste as the Mexican army approached Washington-on-the-Brazos. The convention, which met on March 1, drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the Republic of Texas,…
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This Day in Texas History: Indians Attack San Sabá Mission March 16, 1758 On this day in 1758, some 2,000 Comanches and allied North Texas Indians descended on Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá, on the San Saba River near the present site of Menard. The mission had been established the previous year to Christianize…
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This Day in Texas History: Big Band Leader Born March 15, 1916 On this day in 1916, Harry James, jazz trumpet player and big-band leader, was born in Albany, Georgia. Though thought by many to be a native Texan, he did not arrive in Texas until the 1930s, when he and his parents moved to…
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Standing sentinel atop a hill on the outskirts of Frisco, Texas, with a tombstone leaned against it’s trunk, this bald cypress struck me as majestic – and a little lonely. Lone Tree Zion Cemetery, Frisco, TX Page 138 in Texas As I See It. Order your signed / personalized copy of Texas As I See…
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