From the Annals of the Vanishing Daily Paper –  In 1881, the first issue of the San Antonio Light was published. The Light was a daily except on Sundays.  The paper was originally described as the only Republican daily in Texas.  After the Light was purchased by Harrison L. Beach and Charles S. Diehl in 1911, the Light became liberal-Democratic in its political views. William Randolph Hearst bought the Light  in 1924.  By 1972 the Light, with a daily circulation of 122,292 and a Sunday circulation of 160,905, had the one of the largest readerships of any of the Hearst properties.  By 1987, however, it was operating on a deficit, and in October 1992 the Hearst corporation, after purchasing the rival San Antonio Express-News, closed the Light.

From the annals of the Empressarios  – In 1821 Spain granted Moses Austin of  Missouri a permit to settle 300 Anglo-American families in the state of Texas and Coahuila.  This was the beginning of the process that led to American colonization in Texas that l d to independence and annexation by the United States. The elder Austin (who was also the founder of the American lead industry) died before actual settlement could begin. His dying wish was for his son Stephen F. Austin to carry out the ambitious scheme. Stephen took the reins eventually becoming known as the “Father of Texas.” Austin’s plan was in doubt after the Mexican war for independence began, but Stephen F. Austin preservered and the plan to settle Austin’s Colony was approved in 1823.  The original settlers became known as the “Old 300”.

From the Annals of the Civil War –  In 1861, the U.S. Senate rejected the Crittenden Compromise leading the country closer to Civil War and secession by more states including Texas.  Senator John J. Crittenden (D. Kentucky) proposed a series of constitutional amendments aimed at protecting slavery in the South. The basic plan was to resurrect the old Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had divided the West along the latitude of 36 30′ into slave and free zones.  In contrast, the Compromise of 1850 allowed a vote by territorial residents to decide the issue of slavery. Crittenden’s plan also would have protected slavery in the District of Columbia, allowed continuation of the interstate slave trade, and provided compensation to slave owners whose slaves escaped to the free states.

By the time Crittenden put forth his amendments, four states had already seceded and the prospect of more states leaving the Union loomed large.  The Compromise was overly weighted to addressing concerns of the slave-holding states and Crittenden believed that passage of his plan might convince them to rejoin the Union and avoid war.  But his plan would have been a major set back for the Republicans. The plan essentially consisted of a complete surrender by the Republicans on the issue of slavery with almost no compromise from the slave-holding states.  The Republican Party had been founded six years earlier for the express purpose of opposing the western expansion of slavery. Their remarkable success in electing Abraham Lincoln as President within six years of the party’s creation would have been eviscerated by the Crittenden Compromise.  Ultimately the plan failed with all 25 Republican senators voting against Crittenden’s plan.

From the Annals of Museumology  –  In1939, the Texas Memorial Museum opened on the UT -Austin campus. The Texas Centennial Celebration Bill of 1935 had allocated funds for the “gathering and preparing materials for exhibits of natural and civic history … and for furnishing and equipping the Texas Memorial Museum.” The museum was owned by the State until 1959 at which time ownership was transferred to the University. The museum, which was extensively renovated in 2003, still attracts about 65,000 visitors a year even though it has been somewhat upstaged by the larger and flashier Bullock State History Museum.  The “exhibits are based on the 5.7 million collected specimens from research conducted at the Texas Memorial Museum. Exhibits focus on prehistoric life, evolution, rocks and minerals, and Texas wildlife.” One of the highlights is the fossilized Quetzalcoatalus northropi, the Texas Pterosaur, a flying reptile unearthed in West Texas by UT-Austin scientists. With a wingspan of 40 feet, Quetzalcoatalus northropi is the largest flying creature ever found.  As a young boy, I was particularly fascinated by the pterosaur exhibit, the Olmec head and the dinosaur footprints.

From the Annals of the Great War –  In 1942, Camp Hood was activated as a temporary camp for training soldiers after America’s entry into World War II.  The camp was named for Confederate general John Bell Hood.  Called Fort Hood after being made a permanent base in 1950, the fort is reputed to be one of the largest military bases in the world.   The Fort is a primary base for the Army’s armored training.  Units from Hood have fought in all of the major U.S. military actions since 1942.  Fort Hood is the federal government’s second largest land-holding in Texas, trailing only Big Bend National Park.

From the Annals of LBJ –  In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Robert C. Weaver as  head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Weaver became the first African- American cabinet member in U.S. history.  Johnson’s move was an attempt to improve troubled race relations and eliminate urban blight.  At the time many major inner-city urban areas were blighted and populated largely by African Americans.

Weaver had broad experience in social and economic issues concerning urban African Americans.  He had previously served in FDR’s administration as an advisor to the Secretary of the Interior and a special assistant with the Housing Authority.  Later as a member of the National Defense Advisory Commission he worked to mobilize black workers to support the war effort.  He was also a  rent commissioner for the New York and head of the Housing and Home Finance Agency under JFK.  At HUD, Weaver expanded affordable housing programs and worked to pass the Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, family status or national origin in the sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of housing services or facilities.

From the Annals of Francophobia –  In 1841, The Texas House passed the Franco-Texian bill which authorized the formation of a French-based immigration company. The bill was proposed by Jean Pierre Hippolyte Basterrèche and Pierre François de Lassaulx, two Frenchmen who sought a massive immigration of French citizens to Texas.  The bill called for the introduction of 8,000 immigrant families to occupy three million acres of the Republic of Texas. In addition, the managing company was to establish twenty forts in twenty years and develop mines in its territory. The bill was never presented to the Senate because of a threatened veto by acting president David G. Burnet.

Photo of the French Legation in Austin from http://www.frenchlegationmuseum.org

From the Annals of It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time – In 1836, David Crockett wrote his last surviving letter.  Despite his nationwide fame, he had lost his bid for a fourth term as a Tennessee representative to the U. S. Congress and determined to make a new start in Texas. In the letter, called Texas “the garden spot of the world,” with the “best land and the best prospects for health I ever saw.”  Crockett had come to Texas to revive his political career and noted that he fully expected to take part in writing a constitution for Texas. “I am in hopes of making a fortune yet for my self and my family, bad as my prospect has been.” All indications are that Crockett, who probably was among the most famous Americans of his day, was surprised to be trapped in the Alamo facing almost certain death.  There has been tremendous controversy over whether Crockett died during the battle or surrendered with a handful of others only to be executed by order of Santa Anna.  It is clear that Santa Anna knew that Crockett was in the Alamo and was pleased at the prospect of capturing such a famous person.

From the Annals of the Confederacy – Late in the Civil War in 1865, the Kickapoo Tribe defeated a force of about 160 Confederates and 325 state militiamen at the Battle of Dove Creek.  The site of the skirmish is about twenty miles southwest of present San Angelo.   Leading up to the battle, a reconnaissance party located an abandoned Indian campsite and decided to pursue the band. The pursuit was comprised of a militia force under Captain S. S. Totten and a separate Confederate regular army contingent led by Captain Henry Fossett.  Despite clear indications that they were pursuing a main band of the Kickapoos and not a warring party, the  pursuit continued in difficult winter conditions.  The troops even killed a Kickapoo man and woman that approached them waving a white flag after the soldiers and militiamen had rendezvoused near the Kickapoo camp on Dove Creek.  The combined forces, however, lacked a unified command and much in the way of tactical planning.  The quickly formed plan had the militia wading Dove Creek to  launch a direct attack from the north, while the Confederates would attempt to capture the Kickapoo horses to prevent a retreat.   The well-armed Kickapoos had a superior heavily-wooded position and easily dealt with the militiamen as they entered the dense thicket where the Indians were camped. The Confederate movement to seize the horses met with initial success but then fell apart during a counterattack, was splintered into three groups, and caught in a heavy crossfire. The defeated Texans lost as many as 50 men including many during a brutal retreat in a winter blizzard that finished off most of the wounded.  The Kickapoos who had been aligned with the Confederacy but were moving to Mexico as the war wound down were outraged over the attack and probably lost about 15 men.  They continued to move on to the Mexican border for refuge.

From the Annals of Engineering Feats –  In 1870, the Waco Suspension Bridge was first opened to traffic.  The bridge crosses the Brazos River in downtown Waco.  At 475 feet, it was one of the longest suspension bridges in the world when it opened. Before 1869, crossing the Brazos River was a difficult and frequently dangerous proposition.   The only river crossing was by ferry.  Due its location on the Chisholm Trail, Waco businessmen determined that a bridge was needed to secure the City’s continued prosperity.

Col. John T. Flint, an Austin lawyer and banker, who had moved to Waco after the war and established the firm of Flint & Chamberlain,  travelled to New York to handle the contract for building the bridge. Flint engaged Thomas Griffin who teamed with John A. Roebling and Son of New York (famed for building the Brooklyn Bridge) to construct the impressive bridge at a cost of approximately $140,000. The twin double-towers anchoring the span were considered to be an engineering marvel.  They contain nearly 3 million bricks, which were produced locally.  The bridge was initially operated as a toll bridge, but McClennan County purchased it in 1889 and sold it to Waco for $1. The bridge was closed to vehicle traffic in 1971, but remains a centerpiece of downtown Waco today.

Image from http://www.texansunited.com