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History & Culture

Local Notes

History & Culture notes

791 notes

Reagan County · County History

How Reagan County got its name and its county seat

Reagan County was carved from Tom Green County in 1903 and named for a Texas senator who also served as the first head of the Railroad Commission.

Reagan County · History

The oil well that changed Texas — and funded UT

The Santa Rita No. 1 well blew in near Big Lake in 1923, opening the Permian Basin to oil production and pouring money into the University of Texas.

Real County · County History

How Real County Came to Be — and Why Goats Were Central

Real County was carved out of three counties in 1913, largely because residents were too isolated from the nearest courthouses, and its early economy ran on angora goats.

Real County · Park History

The CCC Built Garner State Park in the 1930s

Depression-era workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps built most of what you see at Garner State Park between 1935 and 1941.

Red River County · Local History

Clarksville Was One of the Earliest Towns in the Republic of Texas

Red River County was established in 1837 and Clarksville served as the main trading hub for northwest Texas for decades before railroads shifted commerce elsewhere.

Reeves County · County History

Reeves County grew from ranching, then oil, in a dry West Texas landscape

Reeves County was carved out of Pecos County in 1883 and built its economy on cattle ranching, the railroad, and eventually oil and gas.

Refugio County · History & Identity

Refugio County takes its name from a Spanish mission founded in 1793

The county seat of Refugio and the county itself are both named after the Nuestra Senora del Refugio Mission, one of the last Spanish missions established in Texas.

Roberts County · Local History

Roberts County grew out of open-range cattle ranching in the 1870s and 1880s

Roberts County was carved from large ranching operations after the Army pushed out Comanche and Kiowa bands in 1874-75. Its county seat Miami still hosts a National Cow Calling Contest that has run every year since 1949.

Robertson County · County History

Robertson County Has Had Five Different County Seats

Robertson County was founded in 1837 and moved its county seat five times before settling in Franklin, a history tied to early Texas settlement and Reconstruction.

Rockwall County · Indigenous History

Caddo people lived in the Rockwall County area before Anglo settlement

The area that is now Rockwall County was home to Caddo and Creek peoples in the early 1800s. Anglo-American settlers arrived in the 1840s.

Rockwall County · Agricultural History

Railroads transformed Rockwall County from a cattle county to a cotton county

Before the railroads came in the 1870s and 1880s, Rockwall County's economy was built on cattle — the railroads shifted it toward cotton, which peaked in 1930.

Rockwall County · Growth & Development

Rockwall County grew from 7,000 people in 1970 to over 100,000 by 2019

Once a quiet agricultural county, Rockwall has become one of the fastest-growing parts of the DFW metro since Lake Ray Hubbard opened in 1969.

Rockwall County · County History

Rockwall County Split From Kaufman County in 1873

Rockwall County began as the northern part of Kaufman County, then became its own county in 1873 after residents found the Kaufman county seat too far away.

Rockwall County · Early Settlement

Rockwall County's first Anglo-American settler arrived in 1846

John O. Heath was the first Anglo-American settler in the area, arriving in 1846 when the land was still part of Kaufman County.

Rockwall County · County Identity

Rockwall is the smallest county in Texas by land area

At only 147 square miles, Rockwall is the smallest county in Texas, a fact that shapes everything from its rapid growth to the tight-knit feel of its communities.

Rockwall County · Place Name Origin

The county gets its name from a strange underground rock formation

In 1851, farmers digging a well found a strange rock wall running underground. That formation gave the county and its county seat their names.

Runnels County · County History

How Ballinger Became the County Seat

Runnels County was created in 1858 and named for a Mississippi governor, but Ballinger only became the county seat in 1888 when the railroad arrived and beat out the earlier county seat of Runnels City.

Rusk County · Railroad History

A Sixteen-Mile Railroad Kept Henderson on the Map

Henderson missed the main railroad, so a short local line reached east to Overton and gave the town its own connection in 1877.

Rusk County · Historic Downtown

Downtown Henderson Is More Than a Courthouse Square

Henderson's old commercial blocks form a National Register district wrapped around the courthouse streets.

Rusk County · County Seat

Henderson Is the County Seat and Central Hub for Services

Henderson has been Rusk County's seat of government since the county was organized in 1843 and is where you go for most county services.

Rusk County · Piney Woods Identity

Mount Enterprise Grew From Iron, Pine, and a Small Hill

Mount Enterprise's name and early work grew from a small rise, Vinson family manufacturing, iron ore, and Piney Woods lumber.

Rusk County · Historic Tragedy

The 1937 New London School Explosion Shaped Natural Gas Safety Law

On March 18, 1937, a natural gas explosion destroyed a school in New London, killing nearly 300 students and teachers and prompting Texas to require odor added to natural gas.

Rusk County · Oil Boom History

The East Texas Oilfield Changed This County Forever

The discovery of oil in Rusk County in 1930 opened the East Texas Oilfield and transformed the region from a quiet farming area into a boomtown almost overnight.

Sabine County · County History

How Sabine County and Hemphill Got Their Start

Sabine County was established in 1837, and the Ais tribe of the Caddo people lived in the region long before European settlers arrived.

San Augustine County · Local History

San Augustine: One of Texas's Oldest Towns

San Augustine was a key town during the Texas Revolution and one of the first county seats organized under the Republic of Texas in 1837.

San Jacinto County · County History

San Jacinto County Was Built on Timber, Then Found Oil

The county was carved out of four neighboring counties in 1870 and named for the battle that ended the Texas Revolution, with timber driving its early economy before oil arrived in the 20th century.

San Patricio County · Oil and Gas History

Oil and Gas Have Shaped the County Since the 1930s

San Patricio County shifted from cattle and cotton to petroleum after oil was found near Sinton in 1935, and oil and gas are still part of the local economy today.

San Patricio County · County History

San Patricio County Was Founded by an Irish Catholic Colony

The county takes its name from an 1829 Irish Catholic colony called San Patricio de Hibernia, making it one of the few Texas counties with Irish roots.

San Patricio County · County Seat

Sinton Became the County Seat After the Railroad Arrived

Sinton was founded in the 1880s along a new railroad line and became the county seat in 1894, replacing the original settlement of San Patricio.

San Saba County · Local History

San Saba and Its Pecan Industry

San Saba calls itself the Pecan Capital of the World, a claim rooted in the work of a 19th-century settler who improved native pecan trees.

Schleicher County · Local History

Eldorado Grew on Ranching, Wool, and Oil

Schleicher County was built by ranchers, shaped by the wool and mohair trade, and later transformed by oil money that funded local schools for decades.

Scurry County · County History

How Scurry County Got Its Name

Scurry County was carved out in 1876 and named for a Confederate general, and the county seat Snyder grew from a buffalo hunter's trading post.

Scurry County · Education & Community

Western Texas College Serves the Region from Snyder

Western Texas College, based in Snyder, is a two-year community college that is also one of Scurry County's taxing units — meaning its tax rate appears on your property tax bill.

Shackelford County · County History

Albany Has Been Shackelford County's Seat Since 1875

Shackelford County was formed in 1874 and named for a Texas Revolution hero; Albany replaced Fort Griffin as the county seat and has served in that role ever since.

Shackelford County · Historic Site

Fort Griffin Historic Site Sits on a Bluff North of Albany

Fort Griffin was a U.S. Army post established in 1867 that anchored a frontier town and cattle trail crossroads; today the site is managed by the Texas Historical Commission.

Shackelford County · Local Tradition

The Fort Griffin Fandangle Is an Official Texas State Play

Since 1938, Albany has staged an outdoor musical drama about the county's frontier history that the Texas Legislature recognized as one of four official state plays.

Shelby County · County History

How Center became the county seat of Shelby County

Shelby County was formed in 1836 and named for a Revolutionary War hero, and its county seat moved from Shelbyville to Center in 1866.

Sherman County · Local Economy & History

Sherman County's economy: wheat, cattle, and natural gas

Sherman County built its economy on cattle ranching, then wheat farming, then irrigation and feedyards — with natural gas playing a surprising role in local school funding.

Sherman County · Local History

Stratford became the county seat under Texas Ranger guard

Sherman County's government moved from Coldwater to Stratford in 1901 in a contentious midnight transfer — and Texas Rangers had to keep the peace.

Smith County · Civil War History

Camp Ford in Tyler was a major Civil War prisoner of war camp

During the Civil War, Camp Ford in Tyler held as many as 4,725 Union prisoners at its peak, making it the largest Confederate prison camp west of the Mississippi River.

Smith County · House museum

Goodman-LeGrand adds shade, gardens, and house-museum history to Tyler

The Goodman-LeGrand house museum and its gardens, donated to Tyler, fill nearly a city block at 624 N. Broadway with shade trees, azaleas, and roses.

Smith County · Agricultural Heritage

Smith County hired what is considered the first county agricultural agent in the U.S. to supervise a single county, in 1906

In 1906, Smith County brought on what historians have called the first county agricultural agent in the nation to supervise a single county exclusively.

Smith County · County Origins