Today in Texas History: French Expedition Fizzles in El Paso
The expedition was organized by fraudulent promoter Parker H. French in New York. French promised “fast and safe” passage to the California gold fields for $250 a passenger
This Day in Texas History: Plane Crashes Into Religious Shrine
This Day in Texas History: Plane Crashes Into Religious Shrine October 23, 1970 On this day in 1970, the lower Rio Grande Valley town of San Juan made international headlines when Francis B. Alexander smashed a rented single-engine plane into the Virgen de San Juan del Valle Shrine. The town of San Juan was organized…
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This Day in Texas History: Benavides Crosses Rio Grande in Pursuit of Mexican “Unionists”
This Day in Texas History: Benavides Crosses Rio Grande in Pursuit of Mexican “Unionists” September 1, 1863 On this day in 1863, Maj. Santos Benavides, the highest-ranking Mexican American to serve in the Confederacy, led seventy-nine men of the predominantly Tejano Thirty-third Texas Cavalry across the Rio Grande in pursuit of the bandit Octaviano Zapata.…
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This Day in Texas History: Mexican Raiders Strike Texas Ranch
This Day in Texas History: Mexican Raiders Strike Texas Ranch March 25, 1918 On this day in 1918, in what proved to be the last serious incident of the border troubles initiated by the Mexican Revolution, Mexican raiders attacked the Neville ranch in northwest Presidio County. Edwin W. Neville’s isolated ranch stretched for eighteen miles…
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This Day in Texas History: New Fort Anchors Texas Line of Frontier Defense
This Day in Texas History: New Fort Anchors Texas Line of Frontier Defense June 24, 1851 On this day in 1851, Fort Belknap was established in what is now Young County, in north central Texas. Since the chosen site lacked water, the fort was moved two miles to its present location beside the Brazos River.…
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This Day in Texas History: Congress Creates United States Border Patrol
This Day in Texas History: Congress Creates United States Border Patrol May 28, 1924 On this day in 1924, the U.S. Congress established the United States Border Patrol as part of the Immigration Bureau, an arm of the Department of Labor. Its duties included the prevention of smuggling and the arrest of illegal entrants into…
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This day in Texas History: Grocery Chain Founder Born in Tennessee
This day in Texas History: Grocery Chain Founder Born in Tennessee April 09, 1895 On this day in 1895, Howard Edward Butt was born in Memphis, Tennessee. While he was a child, his family moved to Kerrville, Texas, because of his father’s tuberculosis. His mother, Florence Butt, opened a small grocery store there in 1905;…
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This Day in Texas History: First Train Crosses the Pecos High Bridge
This Day in Texas History: First Train Crosses the Pecos High Bridge March 30, 1892 On March 30, 1892, The first train to cross the Pecos High Bridge was a Special carrying C. P. Huntington, president of the Southern Pacific. Trains on the Sunset Route of the Southern Pacific lines have crossed the Pecos River…
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This Day in Texas History: Mexican Raiders Attack Nuecestown
This Day in Texas History: Mexican Raiders Attack Nuecestown March 26, 1875 On this day in 1875, a party of Mexican raiders attacked Nuecestown. The raid can best be explained as part of a cycle of violence among Mexican citizens, Hispanic Texans, and Anglo Texans. By 1875 raids and murder were common on the part…
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This Day in Texas History: Roy Bean Stages a Prize Fight
This Day in Texas History: (from the Texas State Historical Association archives) Roy Bean Stages a Prize Fight February 21, 1896 On this day in 1896, colorful lawman Roy Bean staged a heavyweight championship fight on a sandbar just below Langtry, on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. Bean, known as the “Law West of the…
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