Texas

Texas is not a state so much as it is a declaration—of size, spirit, and independence. From the piney woods of the east to the stark Chihuahuan Desert of the west, it sprawls across nearly 270,000 square miles, more land than any European country save Russia. Its very geography defies constraint: mountain peaks and coastal plains, prairies and basins, and more road miles than any other state—each a stage for history’s long procession.

But Texas is not only big—it’s bold. It’s where six flags have flown, each leaving behind a chapter in the cultural ledger. Spanish missions, Tejano revolutions, cattle trails, oil derricks, space shuttles, and semiconductor chips all share the same canvas. Whether it’s the echoes of Sam Houston’s charge at San Jacinto or the beat of steel guitars inside a honky tonk, Texas tells its story loud and proud.

In this landmark hunt across the Lone Star landscape, we’ve sought out not just the marquee legends but also the overlooked oddities: from Civilian Conservation Corps murals in Kilgore to a world’s-record windmill in Littlefield. We paused at barbed wire museums and movie sets, at laboratories where microchips reshaped the world and at rest stops where weary travelers found both relief and regional flair. Through it all, a constant rhythm: innovation grounded in grit, tradition tempered by reinvention.

To wander Texas is to travel through time and terrain with the past never too far behind—and the next marvel always just over the next rise.

Santa Gertrudis cattle... octagon houses... the “Prince of the Pines”... iron horses... windmills... pecans... high school football... Harvey Houses... the CCC... rose bushes... camels... kit houses...the golden age of motoring... irrigation canals... early aviation... the rise of suburbia... urban bats... Buffalo soldiers... rammed earth buildings... courthouses... Frank Lloyd Wright... movie sets... dance halls... integrated circuits... Rosenwald schools... Carnegie libraries... This book will have you telling stories like a native in no time.

The photos and stories collected here are a fast and fun way to learn the explanations behind the quirks, the traditions and the secrets that make Texas uniquely Texas. What is the oldest product brand in Texas? Solved. What was the Red River Bridge War? A mystery no more. What Texas airfield did flying legend Charles Lindbergh train at? Identified. The first golf course in the Texas Golf Hall of Fame? Revealed.

in print and ebook
A bowl born when the Kiwanis dreamed,
With desert sun and bleachers teamed.
From high school scrums to college pride,
Where Lindsey called and stars would slide.
Still CBS returns each year—
For gridiron drama and fan cheer.

A bowl born when the Kiwanis dreamed,
With desert sun and bleachers teamed.
From high school scrums to college pride,
Where Lindsey called and stars would slide.
Still CBS returns each year—
For gridiron drama and fan cheer.

Art Deco bricks in chevron rows,
Where trains once steamed and business flowed.
The lobby gleamed, the nickel shone—
Then silence took this travel throne.
But now it hums again with pace—
As trains return and condos grace.

Art Deco bricks in chevron rows,
Where trains once steamed and business flowed.
The lobby gleamed, the nickel shone—
Then silence took this travel throne.
But now it hums again with pace—
As trains return and condos grace.

They called it Cowtown, loud and proud,
Where steers and drovers formed a crowd.
From dusty trail to butcher's rail,
This hub of horns would never fail.
Though cows have gone, the boots remain—
With rodeo roots and cowboy vein.

They called it Cowtown, loud and proud,
Where steers and drovers formed a crowd.
From dusty trail to butcher's rail,
This hub of horns would never fail.
Though cows have gone, the boots remain—
With rodeo roots and cowboy vein.

A riverboat man with cattle dreams,
Staked claim where scrub and silence teems.
He bred a herd both bold and new,
Where Brahman, Hereford, Longhorn grew.
The ranch is big—so vast, so wide,
Rhode Island fits with room beside!

A riverboat man with cattle dreams,
Staked claim where scrub and silence teems.
He bred a herd both bold and new,
Where Brahman, Hereford, Longhorn grew.
The ranch is big—so vast, so wide,
Rhode Island fits with room beside!

The roof went up, the sky came down—
No rainouts here in Space Age town.
Astroturf green and climate tamed,
Where Judy sang and Mantle aimed.
It held the world in dome-shaped awe—
Now landmarked by the Texas law.

The roof went up, the sky came down—
No rainouts here in Space Age town.
Astroturf green and climate tamed,
Where Judy sang and Mantle aimed.
It held the world in dome-shaped awe—
Now landmarked by the Texas law.

The roof went up, the sky came down—
No rainouts here in Space Age town.
Astroturf green and climate tamed,
Where Judy sang and Mantle aimed.
It held the world in dome-shaped awe—
Now landmarked by the Texas law.

The roof went up, the sky came down—
No rainouts here in Space Age town.
Astroturf green and climate tamed,
Where Judy sang and Mantle aimed.
It held the world in dome-shaped awe—
Now landmarked by the Texas law.