The Alamo:
The Alamo (the Spanish word for "cottonwood") is located in San Antonio. It is where 200 Texas defenders fell to the Mexican Army on March 6, 1836 after a 13 day siege. Among the Alamo's garrison were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and David Crockett, famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee. The Alamo is considered the cradle of Texas liberty and the state's most popular historic site. |
Multi-National Texan History :
Texas is the only state to have the flags of 6 different nations fly over it. They are: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States. |
Texas State Flower:
The Texas State Flower is the Bluebonnet. Named for its color and the resemblance of its petal to a woman's sunbonnet, the bluebonnet. It blooms in the early spring and can be readily found in fields and along the roadsides throughout central and south Texas. Scientifically named Lupinus texensis, the bluebonnet is also called buffalo clover, wolf flower, and (by the Mexicans) el conejo. It was adopted as the official state flower by the Texas Legislature in 1901. |
Wool, Deer and Steer:
More wool comes from the state of Texas than any other state in the United States. Texas also boasts the nation's largest herd of whitetail deer. Texas also has cattle population is estimated to be near 16 million. |
Tyler Municipal Rose Garden:
The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the world's largest rose garden. It contains 38,000 rose bushes representing 500 varieties of roses set in a 22-acre garden. |
Galveston, Texas:
The worst natural disaster in United States history was caused by a hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. Over 8000 deaths were recorded. |
Texas Stadium:
Texas has the first domed stadium in the country. The structure was built in Houston and opened in April 1965 |
Apollo 13:
The first word spoken from the moon on July 20, 1969 was Houston, Texas. |
Largest Fishing Pier:
Port Lavaca has the world's longest fishing pier. Originally part of the causeway connecting the two sides of Lavaca Bay, the center span of was destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961. |
Hotel Over Water:
The Flagship Hotel on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, Texas is the only hotel in North America built entirely over the water. |