This day in Texas History: Indian Captive Reunited With Husband February 19, 1838 On this day in 1838, Indian captive Rachel Plummer was reunited with her husband after spending over a year with the Comanches. Born Rachel Parker in Illinois in 1819, she moved to Texas with her father, James W. Parker, and her family…
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This day in Texas History: Brewster County Exposes “Dummy Town” February 08, 1910 On this day in 1910, a Brewster County grand jury exposed the Progress City swindle. The grand jury, led by well-known cattleman and Sul Ross State University founder Joseph D. Jackson, reported on the Progress City Town Site Company. This bogus organization…
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This day in Texas History: Virginia Point Benefits from Galveston Island Bridge February 06, 1860 On this day in 1860, the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad completed its bridge from Virginia Point to Galveston Island. Virginia Point, on the mainland west of Galveston, was an outlying part of Stephen F. Austin’s Coast Colony. The bridge…
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This day in Texas History: Commission Established to Plan Central National Road February 05, 1844 On this day in 1844, the Texas Congress established a five-man commission to oversee the construction of the Central National Road. The road was to begin on the bank of the Trinity River in Dallas County and run to the…
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This day in Texas History: Republic of Texas Authorizes Ill-Fated Peters Colony February 04, 1841 On this day in 1841, the Republic of Texas passed a law authorizing the president to enter into an empresario contract with William S. Peters of Pennsylvania and his associates. The contract required Peters to bring 200 colonists to North…
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This day in Texas History: Buddy Holly Dies in Plane Crash February 03, 1959 On this day in 1959, Charles Hardin Holley, better known as Buddy Holly, died in a plane crash near Mason City, Iowa. After a show on the night of February 2 in Clear Lake, Holly, J. P. Richardson (the “Big Bopper“),…
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