The Limestone County Historical Commission website indicates that the Springfield Cemetery, located within the boundaries of Fort Parker State Park, is the only visible reminder of the town of Springfield, the first county seat of Limestone County. The cemetery would be “in the middle of nowhere” today, were it not for its proximity to the park. Near Fort Parker is the 1830s cabin of one Mordecai Yell. A plaque on the cabin shows the house was originally located “near this site,” and it is probably the only remaining structure that may have been in the city of Springfield. A photograph of ano ..read more

Less than an hour’s drive north of Amarillo is the first of only two national monuments located in Texas. The Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is well off the beaten path. Driving the well-maintained, two-lane road off Texas Highway 136 from Amarillo gives the feeling of being in the middle of a western movie. As you remember those “thrilling days of yesteryear,” you half expect to see Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates appear driving a herd of cattle over the rocky terrain, or the Lone Ranger and Tonto ride by. The hills and mountains are knobby, stony outcroppings. The valleys and canyo ..read more

Following Amelia Earhart’s famous transatlantic flight in 1932, American women grew interested in aviation. In 1929, Ninety-Nines, a group open to all female pilots, formed. From 117 invitations, 99 ladies became charter members. With rumblings of WWII, these women wondered how to help. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, drove deep desires of flying against the enemy. Unfortunately, at the time, the U.S. military didn’t accept women pilots. One Ninety-Nines member, Nancy Love, earned her pilot’s license at 16. Earning a degree from Vassar College, she worked as a pilot for a comp ..read more

The day was February 2, 1959. Buddy Holly was 22 years old, had 25 hit records already to his credit, was the lead singer of The Crickets and had assembled a group of musicians for the Winter Dance Party Tour across America’s Midwest. By then, The Crickets included Waylon Jennings, Tommy Allsup and Carl Bunch. Other performers, Ritchie Valens, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Dion and the Belmonts, were on the tour, too. It was a cold, miserable day in Clear Lake, Iowa, as Buddy chartered a small, private plane for himself, Waylon and Tommy. Waylon gave his seat to J.P., who was sick with ..read more

The well-known Ellis County Courthouse, while unique in many respects, also has similarities with other Texas courthouses. Several Texas county seats can boast of their offices being housed in buildings designed by the nationally recognized architect, James Riely Gordon. Gordon designed as many as 18 Texas courthouses — 12 of them are still standing — plus a number of other government and commercial buildings and private residences throughout the state. However, when researching information on him, the first picture that appears in most articles is of the Ellis County Courthouse, often said t ..read more

While every corner of the world may claim its own dialect, Texas goes big toward its own communication style. People from other parts of the country have probably heard many typical Texan phrases, while some slang is purely local. Here’s a beginner’s guide for any recent transplants trying to acclimate to the language of the Lone Star State. Howdy — A less fancy way of saying, “How do you do?” the greeting, Howdy! is even the official greeting of Texas A&M University, the state’s largest university with about 70,000 students. Howdy is often followed by the word, y’all, which leads us to ..read more

Elvis was here. And so was Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. Jim Reeves slept here. These legendary performers and others from the days of the Louisiana Hayride and “rockabilly” music all spent some time either recording, being interviewed or even taking a nap on the couch in the lobby of the iconic KSIJ radio station in Gladewater, Texas. The radio station and recording studio occupied the top floor of the T.W. Lee Building in Gladewater. T.W. was the owner of the Gladewater Mirror newspaper, and the building, constructed in about 1950, also included offices and apartments. The Texa ..read more

While Texans adore Friday night lights and other sports across the state, there is nothing quite like a rodeo. In the smallest counties across Texas, communities gather for both annual and regular events. That shouldn’t surprise us, considering the Lone Star State took a leadership role at the beginning of this beloved sport. Rodeos grew from the cattle industry, though no one knows for certain where or when the new sport began. Several towns inundated with cows claim the first rodeo. Santa Fe, New Mexico, claims they held the first one in 1847. Deer Trail, Colorado, boasts an event in 1869 ..read more

Did you know the State Fair of Texas didn’t originate in Dallas? Actually, it started in Corpus Christi in 1852 as the Lone Star Fair. At that time, there were a few small businesses and roughly 700 people living  in this town. The Lone Star Fair event is thought to have primarily occurred on Corpus Christi’s beach. Although it is difficult to fathom, this is how and where the tradition began. One of Corpus Christi’s founders, Colonel Henry L. Kinney, desired to share this beautiful area because he thought not many Texans knew about this location. He believed a state fair held by the tow ..read more

Every year since 2005 the State Fair of Texas has had a contest known as the Big Tex Choice Awards. The concessionaires try new recipes to win the contest, and some of the recent entries have included fried beer, fried peaches and cream, deep fried seafood gumbo balls and lucky duck dumplin’. However, there are some great creations that are available in Texas that have been around for years. Who doesn’t enjoy a bowl of chili on a cold day in Texas? Chili con carne is the official dish of the state of Texas. Chili stands started showing up in San Antonio during the 1880s, and there are chili c ..read more