This Day in Texas History: Failed Assassination Attempt in El Paso April 17, 1881 On this day in 1881, Dallas Stoudenmire survived an assassination attempt by former city marshall Bill Johnston by shooting him down in the city streets. Dallas Stoudenmire (1845–1882), gunfighter-cum-lawman, was born on December 11, 1845, in Aberfoil, Macon County, Alabama, to…
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This Day in Texas History: Legendary Texan Born in Virginia April 03, 1817 On this day in 1817, Bigfoot Wallace was born in Lexington, Virginia. He arrived in Texas during the Texas Revolution, fought Gen. Adrián Woll‘s invading Mexican army near San Antonio in 1842, and then volunteered for the Somervell and Mier expeditions. Some…
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This Day in Texas History: John Selman Kills John Wesley Hardin August 19, 1895 On this day in 1895, Constable John Selman killed the notorious John Wesley Hardin in a gunfight at El Paso’s Acme Saloon. Hardin was born in 1853 in Bonham and revealed a violent personality at an early age. In 1867 he…
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This Day in Texas History: Law Arrives West of the Pecos August 02, 1882 On this day in 1882, the commissioners of Pecos County officially appointed Roy Bean justice of the peace. He retained the post, with short interruptions, until he retired voluntarily in 1902. Roy Bean, a frontier justice of the peace known as…
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This Day in Texas History: Killing of Sheriff Precipitates Ballad Tradition June 12, 1901 On this day in 1901, Gregorio Lira Cortez shot and killed Karnes County sheriff W. T. Morris and fled. The apparent misunderstandings that led to the killing, and the extended pursuit, capture, and trials of Cortez made him a folk hero.…
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This Day in Texas History: Republic of Texas Defeats Revolutionary Plotters May 17, 1839 On this day in 1839, Manuel Flores and his band were defeated on the North San Gabriel River by Texas Rangers. Flores had led an expedition from Matamoros carrying war supplies to Texas Indians whom the Mexicans were trying to organize…
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This Day in Texas History: Jones Appointed Commander of Frontier Battalion May 02, 1874 On this day in 1874, Governor Richard Coke appointed John B. Jones to command the newly raised Frontier Battalion of Texas Rangers. Jones, a veteran of the Civil War, was well suited to execute the governor’s mandate to put an…
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This Day in Texas History: Pioneer Memoirist Born in Missouri April 28, 1825 Dilue Rose Harris (1825–1914), pioneer and memoirist, the daughter of Dr. Pleasant W. and Margaret (Wells) Rose, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 28, 1825. The family arrived in Texas in April 1833, stopped temporarily at Harrisburg, and settled at…
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This Day in Texas History: Marshal Guns Down Notorious Outlaw / Lawman April 05, 1896 On this day in 1896, in El Paso, U.S. deputy marshal George A. Scarborough shot constable John Selman, a celebrated gunman and gambler who had just left the Wigwam Saloon. Selman died the next day on the operating table. Scarborough…
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