CB Luce Presents

The Lone Star State celebrates independence

Kim Everett | March 2, 2012

As you celebrate Texas Independence Day Friday, March 2, enjoy the following quotes, trivia, history timeline, and history maker bios.

Quotes about Texas

”Texas is a state of mind.  Texas is an obsession.  Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word.”  John Steinbeck, Author

"You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas."  Davy Crockett, Texas History Hero

"If you've ever driven across Texas, you know how different one area of the state can be from another.  Take El Paso.  It looks as much like Dallas as I look like Jack Nicklaus."  Lee Trevino, Pro Golfer 

"Texas is neither southern nor western.  Texas is Texas."  William Blakley, Senator

"I like the story, doubtless antique, that I heard near San Antonio.  A child asks a stranger where he comes from, whereupon his father rebukes him gently, 'Never do that son.  If a man's from Texas, he'll tell you.  If he's not, why embarrass him by asking?'"  John Gunther, Author (Inside USA)

"My favorite Aggie joke?  I'm sorry, I don't understand the question."  Lyle Lovett, Singer/Songwriter and Texas Aggie

"The Clinton administration launched an attack on people in Texas because those people were religious nuts with guns.  Hell, this country was founded by religious nuts with guns.  Who does Bill Clinton think stepped ashore on Plymouth Rock?"  P. J. O'Rourke, Political Satirist

Texas facts

Nickname - The Lone Star State
Capital - Austin
Largest Cities - Houston, Dallas, San Antonio
Entered Union - December 29, 1845 - 28th state
State Flower - Bluebonnet
State Bird - Mockingbird
State Tree - Pecan
State Song - "Texas Our Texas"
Highest Point - Guadalupe Peak in far West Texas - 8749 ft.
Record High Temperature - 120 degrees
Record Low Temperature – minus 23 degrees
Total Area - 268,601 square miles - 2nd largest state

Origin of Name - Texas - Tejas - Spanish pronunciation of a Caddo Indian word meaning "friends" or "allies"

Texas Pledge - "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas one and indivisible."

Six flags have flown over Texas:
Spanish - 1519-1685
French - 1685-1690
Spanish - 1690-1821
Mexican - 1821-1836
Republic of Texas - 1836-1845
U.S. - 1845-1861
Confederate States - 1861-1865
U.S. - 1865-Present

Texas history timeline

A few Texas heroes

Samuel "Sam" Houston - Born in Rockbridge County, Virginia on March 2, 1793.  He was a soldier, politician, and statesman who served as President of the Republic of Texas, Texas Senator, and Texas Governor.  He also served as Governor of Tennessee.  He was wounded while fighting the War of 1812, and after his recovery became an Indian agent to the Cherokees.  He was married to Eliza Allen for a short time, and when that marriage ended, he spent time with the Cherokee Indians, and married Tiana Rogers.  In 1832, Houston left his wife to go to Texas.  On April 21, 1836, Houston caught Santa Ana's troops by surprise and easily defeated them during the Battle of San Jacinto.  Santa Ana was forced to sign a treaty giving Texas its independence.  Houston later remarried and fathered eight children.

Stephen F. Austin - Born November 3, 1793 in Virginia.  Educated in Connecticut at Bacon Academy and in Kentucky at Transylvania University.  His early jobs included working in his father's store, managing his father's lead manufacturing business, bank director, newspaper editor, and Arkansas circuit judge Arkansas.  Austin came to Texas in 1821and is often referred to as the Father of Texas.  In 1835, he made a bid for the presidency of Texas, but lost in a landslide to Sam Houston.  In October 1836, Houston confirmed Austin as Secretary of State.  Two months later, Austin died of pneumonia.  When Houston learned of his death, he issued a statement saying, "The Father of Texas is no more; the first pioneer of the wilderness has departed."
 

David "Davy" Crockett - Born August 17, 1786 in Greene County, Tennessee (there is some dispute concerning his birth place).  An American folk hero, he is often referred to as "King of the Wild Frontier."  He was a pioneer, explorer, soldier, and politician.  He learned his frontiersman skills as a result of leaving home early to escape an abusive father.  In 1826 and 1828, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served an additional term beginning in 1833.  He left Tennessee and headed for Texas in October 1835 after losing two more elections.  After his defeat, the story goes that he announced, "I told the people of my district that I would serve them as faithfully as I had done; but if not...you may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas."  He arrived in Texas in January 1836, and within a couple of weeks signed up to fight for Texas' freedom.  He, along with 65 other volunteers, was promised 4,600 acres as payment, but he died at the Alamo on March 6, 1836.
 

William Barrett Travis - Born in South Carolina in 1809 and moved to Alabama when he was nine years old.  He was educated in Alabama, became an assistant teacher and later became a lawyer and newspaper publisher.  He married and had a son, but for reasons unknown left his wife, son, and unborn daughter in Alabama and fled to Texas.  His son was later placed with a friend of Travis so that he could be closer to his father.  Travis started a law practice upon arriving in Texas and bought land from Stephen F. Austin.  He was the recruiting officer for the Texan army but had a difficult time finding volunteers.  In January, 1836, he was ordered to the Alamo and arrived there on February 3 with eighteen men.  When the commander, Colonel James C. Neill, had to leave to tend to family business, Travis became the official commander of the Alamo where he was killed on March 6, 1836 after the thirteen-day siege.
 

James "Jim" Bowie - Born in Kentucky on April 10, 1796 and raised in Louisiana.  He became famous for his prowess with a large knife, which later became known as the "Bowie Knife."  In 1827, he got involved when a duel between two men became a free-for-all, and after being shot and stabbed, he killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish, Louisiana with his knife.  He moved to Texas in 1830 and became a Mexican citizen.  His fame grew when a group that he was a part successfully fought off an Indian raiding party.  When the Texas Revolution began, he joined the Texas militia where he fought at the Battle of Concepcion, the Grass Fight, and finally, the Alamo.  He commanded the volunteer forces at the Alamo until he became too ill to continue.  He was bedridden during the battle but still managed to kill several Mexican soldiers.