Category Archives: Today in Texas History

Today in Texas History – November 2

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From the Annals of School Financing –  In 1920, voters ratified the Better Schools Amendment to the Constitution of 1876. The amendment removed limits on school district tax rates and was intended to ease the state’s share of school financing. Supporters of the Amendment also hoped it would increase equality in school conditions by enabling each district to improve its facilities. The impact of the amendment was erratic.  By 1923, there was a 51 percent increase in overall local taxes for school districts support for public schools.  Yet, many school districts refused to increase tax rates and continued to rely on the state as their primary source of financing.  The problems caused by the Amendment persist today as the reliance on local property taxes for the majority of public school financing has created great inequity between rich and poor school districts leading the Legislature to enact the very controversial Robin Hood school financing plan.

Today in Texas History – October 28

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From the Annals of the Buffalo Soldiers –  In 1880, Apache warriors killed seven soldiers from the famous black Tenth United States Cavalry known as the Buffalo Soldiers.  The soldiers had been defending settler’s in Hudspeth County.  The attack was one of the last episodes in what came to be known as Victorio’s War.  Chief Victorio, who was considered one of the fiercest of the Apaches, had led his followers away from the San Carlos Reservation in 1879 to return to Fort Stanton.  From there he led a campaign of terror across New Mexico, Texas and Mexico.  Most of the fighting ended when his camp was overrun in October. Victorio was killed along with many of his warriors and some women and children.

Today in Texas History – October 27

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From the Annals of the Founders –  In 1806, Juan Seguín was born in San Antonio.  Seguin was an early opponent of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and participated in the Battle of Bexar which drove Mexican forces out of San Antonio in 1835.  He was commissioned as a Captain in the regular Texas army and joined William B. Travis at the Alamo.   He escaped death in the final battle only because Travis sent him through the Mexican lines to carry his famous “never surrender or retreat” letter.  JS got the letter through and returned with men to reinforce the crumbling mission only to find that it had already fallen.  He continued to serve and after the revolution became the only Hispanic Texan in the Senate of the Texas Republic and later served as mayor of San Antonio.

Today in Texas History – October 26

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From the Annals of the Great War –   In 1944, Major Horace S. “Stump” Carswell, Jr. was killed in action in China.  Carswell, a native of Fort Worth, had enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps after Germany invaded Poland.  After extensive training, he entered the Pacific Theater of Operations in April 1944, as pilot and operations officer of the 374th Bombardment Squadron of 308th Bombardment Group of the 14th Air Force.

On his last mission, Carswell was flying a B-24 Liberator on a single-aircraft sortie against a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea.  He scored two hits on an oil tanker after making a successful second low-level run over the now-alerted convoy.   His co-pilot was wounded and the B-24 had two engines knocked out, a third damaged, a leaking hydraulic system, and a punctured fuel tank.  Despite the damage, Carswell managed to gain enough altitude to reach land, where he ordered the crew to bail out. Eight did, but the bombardier’s parachute was damaged and he could not jump with the others.  Carswell stayed with the bombardier and the wounded co-pilot, and attempted to land the badly damaged craft but was unsuccessful. The aircraft crashed against a mountain, and all three aboard were killed.

Carswell was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for giving “his life…to save all members of his crew” and for “sacrifice far beyond that required of him.” In 1948,  Fort Worth Army Airfield was renamed Carswell Air Force Base.

Today in Texas History – October 25

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From the Annals of the Fall Classic –  In 2005, the Houston Astros faced the Chicago White Sox  in the first World Series game ever to be held in Texas. The game was also notable for being the longest in World Series history at 5 hours and 41 minutes and actually ended the next day on October 26th.  Many other records were set or tied in this marathon. The teams combined to use 17 pitchers (nine for the White Sox, eight for the Astros), throwing a total of 482 pitches, and walking 21 batters (a dozen by Chicago, nine by Houston); 43 players were used (the White Sox used 22 and the Astros used 21), and 30 men were left on base (15 for each team) – all of which were WS records. One tied record was total double plays, with six (four by the Astros, two by the White Sox).  Scott Podsednik set a new all-time record with eight official at-bats.

The Pale Hose defeated the Astros 7-5 on their way to a series sweep.  All four games were close with two 1-run and two 2-run wins for the Sox.  As it stands, it will be the only World Series to be played between these franchises as the Astros have since moved to the American League.

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In 1541, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado wrote to Charles I, King of Spain, describing for the first time the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains.  The Llano is a high tableland extending across much of the Texas panhandle and eastern  New Mexico.  In Texas its eastern boundary is marked by the impressive Caprock which runs hundreds of miles across west Texas.  Coronado was overwhelmed by the vastness of the Llano Estacado.  As he wrote, “I reached plains so vast that I did not find their limit anywhere I went, although I travelled over them for 300 leagues.”  He further describes them as having “no more land marks than if we had been swallowed up by the sea.  There was not a stone, nor a bit of rising ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by.”  He was also the first to write about the incredible herds of cattle (bison) that he encountered and the first to describe the various plains Indians that he encountered.  Of course, he never found the Cities of Gold that he was looking for.

Today in Texas History – October 19

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From the Annals of the State Fair – In 2012, the iconic Big Tex statue was destroyed by an electrical fire that started in his right boot and worked its way up the structure, first becoming visible from the neck area. After the fire, a new Big Tex was created by SRO Associates and Texas Scenic Co. for the 2013 State Fair.

Photo from NBCDFW.com.

Today in Texas History – October 18

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From the Annals of the Border –  In 1915, Luis De la Rosa caused a train crash at Tandy’s Station near Brownsville.  De la Rosa was a revolutionary and follower of the Mexican anarchist Ricardo Flores Magón.  The crash was one in a series of several raids by members of  the Floresmagonista movement formed by De la Rosa and Aniceto Pizaña. De la Rosa was the driving force behind what was known among Mexicans as the “revolution of Mexicans in Texas.” De la Rosa’s actions were supposedly intended to correct injustices done to Hispanics on both sides of the Rio Grande. He also raised an army of 500 men whose raids and guerrilla fighting on the Mexican border of Texas were connected with the Plan of San Diego, an effort to establish an independent republic in the American Southwest.

Image of Ricardo Flores Magon from The Base.

Today in Texas History – October 17

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From the Annals of Manly Footwear – In 1879, Herman Justin made his first pair of cowboy boots at his shop in Spanish Fort. Justin moved to Gainesville in 1877 and found a job at the Norton Shoe Shop. He worked there for two years learning the craft of shoemaking.  With a $35 loan from the town barber, he opened his own bootshop at Spanish Fort.  At first, Justin produced an average of two pairs of boots a week.  The quality of his boots soon earned him a loyal customer base.   In 1889, he moved the business to Nocona to take advantage of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad.

Today in Texas History – October 14

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From the Annals of Culling the Herd – In 1867, Lt. James Pike of the First United States Cavalry died when he smashed his malfunction rifle against a rock in frustration.  Pike’s last act occurred during an Indian attack.  Pike arrived in Texas in 1859 and joined John Henry Brown’s company of Texas Rangers. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Pike left Texas and went to Ohio, where he passed himself off as the nephew of Albert Pike. He joined the Fourth Ohio Cavalry in 1861 and saw considerable action as a scout, spy, and courier under Gen. William T. Sherman, who praised his “skill, courage and zeal” but warned him to “cool down.”  After the war, he joined the First U.S. Cavalry,  His memoir The Scout and Ranger: Being the Personal Adventures of Corporal Pike, of the Fourth Ohio Cavalry (1865) is a lively account of his career and has been praised by historians even though some of Pike’s claims are demonstrably false.