The Handbook of Texas is a digital state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) that is freely accessible for students, teachers, scholars, and the general public. The Handbook consists of overview, general, and biographical entries focused on the entire history of Texas from the indigenous Native Americans and the Prehistoric Era to the state's diverse population and the Modern Age. These entries emphasize the role Texans played in state, national, and world history.
Today's Popular Entries
On June 19 ("Juneteenth"), 1865, Union general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order Number 3, which read, "The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freed are advised to remain at their present homes, and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts; and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere." The tidings of freedom reached the approximately 250,000 slaves in Texas gradually as individual plantation owners informed their slaves over the months following the end of the war. The news elicited an array of personal celebrations, some of which have been described in The Slave Narratives of Texas (1974). The first broader celebrations of Juneteenth were used as political rallies and to teach freed African Americans about their voting rights. Within a short time, however, Juneteenth was marked by festivities throughout the state, some of which were organized by official Juneteenth committees.
As part of the Union blockade of the Texas coast, Commander William B. Renshaw led his squadron of eight ships into Galveston harbor to demand surrender of the most important Texas port on October 4, 1862. Brig. Gen. Paul O. Hébert, commanding the Confederate District of Texas, had removed most of the heavy artillery from Galveston Island, which he believed to be indefensible. The Fort Point garrison fired on the federal ships, which responded by dismounting the Confederate cannon with return shots. Col. Joseph J. Cook, in command on the island, arranged a four-day truce while he evacuated his men to the mainland. The Union ships held the harbor, but 264 men of the Forty-second Massachusetts Infantry, led by Col. I. S. Burrell, did not arrive until December 25 to occupy Kuhn's Wharf and patrol the town.
Jean Laffite (Lafitte), pirate, was born in Bayonne, France, probably in 1780 or 1781, the son of a French father and a Spanish mother. He was four years younger than his more capable brother, Pierre. The family migrated to the island of Hispaniola, then fled during the turmoil of rebellion, and the brothers may have reached New Orleans by 1804. By 1808 they were involved in smuggling from Barataria to New Orleans. The brothers held shares in many privateers that sailed the Gulf and the Caribbean and brought their prizes to Barataria. While defying Governor William C. C. Claiborne's weak efforts to dislodge them, the Laffites became involved in a far-flung plot to attack Texas and Tampico; but the approach of a British fleet to attack New Orleans finally enabled Claiborne to break up Barataria in September 1814, and the plot against Mexico and Texas was suspended for a while. During the War of 1812, in September 1814, the British, attempting to gain a foothold in the lower Mississippi valley by seizing New Orleans, asked Laffite for help. Laffite, however, hoping to gain a pardon for his illegal activities and the restoration of his confiscated goods, opted instead to fight on the side of the United States. He supplied men, weapons, and his knowledge of the region, and during the battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, his followers helped the forces led by Andrew Jackson to secure an overwhelming victory. After the battle, Laffite and his brother attempted to regain the property they had lost at Barataria. Jean Laffite went to Washington and Philadelphia in the winter of 1815–16 to lay their case before President James Madison, but in March 1816 he returned to New Orleans without success. His brother in the meantime had pledged their services to the Spanish government. Jean Laffite's first assignment was to accompany Arsène Lacarrière Latour on a mapping expedition west of Arkansas Post. He returned from this trip in November 1816. During his absence the New Orleans plotters had broadened their plan to open a port on the Texas coast that would serve as a haven for privateers and as a base for an attack against Texas.
The Galveston wharves were founded on February 4, 1854, as the Galveston Wharf and Cotton Compress Company. The name was shortened to the Galveston Wharf Company on February 11, 1860. After the wharves became a city utility in 1940, they were governed by the Board of Trustees of the Galveston Wharves. The island and harbor that came to be named Galveston had long been recognized for its potential as a natural port. Used by pirate Jean Laffite from 1818 to 1821, it was soon thereafter used as a common port, principally for the growing Austin colony. In a petitioning letter to the Mexican Congress, Stephen F. Austin called Galveston the "best natural harbor the colony of Texas has to offer." As part of his father's colonization efforts, Stephen F. Austin promoted Galveston's port potential and succeeded in gaining official designation as a port of entry from the Mexican government in 1825. A customhouse was later built, and a small group of soldiers were garrisoned there to collect customs duties by 1830. After the Texas Revolution (1836), Anglo-American settlers poured into the new republic. They came by land through East Texas, and by sea through various ports, some of which had been established long before Galveston as supply points for the Spanish missions of early Texas. Matagorda, Velasco, Aransas, Corpus Christi, and Indianola all competed fiercely with Galveston in the race to become the "Gateway port to the west." Of these settlements, Indianola remained the main contender through the 1850s as the United States Army port depot and as the Texas headquarters for the dominant Morgan Lines. But the Indianola wharves were destroyed by two major storms and not rebuilt, since the Morgan Lines moved its central operations nearer to Houston by 1886.
The Sportatorium, famed wrestling venue and home to Big D Jamboree, was located at 1000 S. Industrial Boulevard in Dallas, Texas. Originally constructed by Bill Cox of the Cox Fence Company, the large octagonal steel building with a flat roof opened on December 9, 1935, with a professional wrestling event promoted by Burt Willoughby. The venue quickly gained popularity for its wrestling and boxing matches, and Willoughby hired Ed McLemore to operate the concessions. The enterprising McLemore eventually purchased Willoughby’s entire promotion business in 1940 and publicized wrestling matches under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).
Bonnie Parker, outlaw partner of Clyde Barrow, was born at Rowena, Texas, on October 1, 1910, to Henry and Emma Parker. She had an older brother, Hubert (Buster), and a younger sister, Billie. Her father, a bricklayer, died in 1914, and Emma Parker moved the family to "Cement City" in West Dallas to live closer to relatives. In the public schools Bonnie was an honor student. She enjoyed writing poetry and reading romance novels. At four-feet-ten and eighty-five pounds, she hardly looked like a future legendary criminal. In 1926 she married her longtime sweetheart, Roy Thornton. For the next several years, they suffered a tumultuous marriage; however, she refused to divorce him. Bonnie worked at Marco's Cafe in Dallas until the cafe closed in November 1929. About this time Thornton was sent to prison for a five-year sentence. Bonnie had "Roy and Bonnie" tattooed above her right knee to commemorate her marriage to Thornton.
The strong Texas interest in flags is shown in public and private displays of the "Six Flags Over Texas," i.e., the flags of the six countries that have ruled over Texas: the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of Spain, the Mexican Federal Republic, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. Spain has had four significant flags during its occupation of the New World. The royal banner of Castile and León, bearing two lions and two castles, was used as a state flag and ensign from around 1230 to around 1516. From 1516 to May 28, 1785, Spain used a state flag and ensign consisting of a modified red saltire on white to signify the house of Burgundy. A variant of the state flag and ensign 1580 to 1640 depicted the complete Spanish coat of arms on a white field. King Charles III established the familiar Spanish flag, with horizontal stripes of red-gold-red and the simple arms of Castile and León as the Spanish ensign, effective on May 28, 1785, and as the Spanish state flag on land, effective March 8, 1793. These flags were used until April 27, 1931.
David G. Burnet, speculator, lawyer, and politician, was born on April 14, 1788, in Newark, New Jersey, the fourteenth child of Dr. William Burnet, and the third of his second wife, widow Gertrude Gouverneur Rutgers. David was orphaned at an early age and raised by his older half-brothers. All of his life he strove to achieve the prominence of his father and brothers: Dr. Burnet served in the Continental Congress and as surgeon general. Jacob Burnet (1770–1853), lawyer, ardent federalist, and later a Whig who nominated his friend, William Henry Harrison, for president, served as a member of the territorial council of Ohio, state legislator, Supreme Court judge, and United States senator, and was honored for intellectual achievements including a history of the territory of Ohio. Another brother, Isaac, was mayor of Cincinnati during the 1820s.
At the onset of the Civil War, it was the policy of the newly-created Confederate States of America to withhold cotton from European markets in the hopes of inducing either foreign intervention or, at the very least, encouraging recognition of the fledgling Confederacy. It was believed that cotton was “king” and that foreign markets required the South’s most valuable staple crop in order to support European economies. As a result, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet adopted a policy that came to be known as King Cotton Diplomacy. This policy hinged on the farce that early in the war the Union blockade denied Confederate shipment of cotton to Europe and aimed at provoking European (most notably the British) intervention.
This entry is currently being revised and the new version will be available soon!
The Karankawa Indians are an American Indian cultural group whose traditional homelands are located along Texas’s Gulf Coast from Galveston Bay southwestwardly to Corpus Christi Bay. The name Karankawa became the accepted designation for several groups of coastal people who shared a common language and culture. Those groups, identified in early historic times, included the Carancahuas, Coapites, Cocos, Cujanes, and Copanes. All of these Indians spoke a language called Karankawan, of which around 500 words are preserved. The significance of the name Karankawa has not been definitely established, although it is generally believed to mean "dog-lovers" or "dog-raisers." That translation seems plausible, since the Karankawas reportedly kept dogs that were described as a fox-like or coyote-like breed. The Karankawas were a nomadic people who migrated seasonally between the barrier islands and the mainland. Their movements were dictated primarily by the availability of food. They obtained this food by a combination of hunting, fishing, and gathering. Bison, deer, and fish, were staples of the Karankawa diet, but a wide variety of animals and plants contributed to their sustenance.
The Ursuline Academy at Galveston was established in February 1847 by Ursuline Sisters from New Orleans, who had arrived on January 16. The school, Galveston's first parochial school, was on a ten-acre campus. Attended by girls of all faiths, the academy opened in 1854, closed for a time in 1857 during a yellow fever epidemic, and was used as a hospital by both sides during the Civil War. The main Victorian Gothic building, constructed by Nicholas J. Clayton along with the convent in the mid-1890s, sheltered more than 1,000 refugees during the Galveston hurricane of 1900. A total of 306 students enrolled in 1930, and the girls' high school, elementary school, and kindergarten had an enrollment of 225 in 1940. In January 1947 the school celebrated its centennial, and by 1949 the campus comprised seven or eight acres with the academy building, a brick chapel, and monastery. Hurricane Carla damaged both the academy and convent in 1961, and the buildings were subsequently demolished. The campus chapel, redesigned by Clayton, stood from 1871 to 1961, while the convent remained from 1854 to 1973. In 1968 the Ursuline girls' school consolidated with Kirwin Catholic High School and the Dominican girls' school; it was renamed O'Connell High School for Msgr. Dan O'Connell.
Special Projects
Handbook of Dallas-Fort Worth
The tremendous growth of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex from the 19th through 21st centuries far outpaced the recorded history of this economically vital area. Texas is often associated with its rural ranching history, yet as the decades passed, the cultural and economic identities of Lone Star State evolved to reflect the increasing importance and influence of the urban areas. No area in Texas illustrates this transformation better than DFW—a well-traveled location during the cattle trailing and early railroad eras that blossomed into a modern financial and cultural hotspot in the present day. We need a more complete documentation of the DFW metroplex, and the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) seeks to correct this imbalance in the historical record.
Handbook of Texas Medicine
Texans lay claim to a dynamic medical history. The state has borne witness to deadly disease outbreaks, the establishment of world-renowned medical institutions, and the discovery of new therapeutics and cures. From the first documented surgery on Texas soil by Cabeza de Vaca in the sixteenth century to the innovative research spearheaded by university laboratories to develop vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19, the medical story of Texas is reflective of the many ways Texans have engaged to protect and promote their health and well-being. Today, the healthcare industry represents a significant share of the Texas economy, contributing more than $108 billion to the state’s GDP, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Yet, despite the fundamental role medicine has played in shaping the growth and development of the state, a comprehensive and authoritative medical history of Texas remains unfulfilled. With the development of the Handbook of Texas Medicine, TSHA proudly presents a unique opportunity to address this disparity.
Handbook of Texas Women
The Handbook of Texas Women project strives to expand on the Handbook of Texas by promoting a more inclusive and comprehensive history of Texas. Texas women make Texas history, and TSHA wants to significantly recognize the various ways women have shaped the state’s history at home, across the state, nationally, and abroad. The impacts of women on Texas history are often overlooked, and as more and more people are accessing information using smartphones, tablets, and other mobile technologies, this project will seize upon the unprecedented opportunities of the digital age in order to reshape how Texas women’s history will be understood, preserved, and disseminated in the twenty-first century.
Handbook of Texas Music
What is it about Texas music? Trying to define it is like reviewing a dictionary. There is way too much detail to try to pin it down. However, this much is clear: Texans have given American music its distinctive voice, and that's no brag, just fact.
Handbook of Tejano History
The TSHA is proud to announce the launch of the Handbook of Tejano History, which contains more than 1,200 entries, including 300 new entries, detailing the critical influence of Tejanos on the Lone Star State. Released on March 29, 2016, to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Tejano Monument unveiling on the Capitol grounds in Austin, the Handbook of Tejano History is the culmination of a two-year effort involving dozens of researchers, educators, students, and Texas history enthusiasts committed to capturing and sharing Tejano contributions to Texas life and culture. Originally conceived in partnership with the board of directors of the Tejano Monument, Inc., the Association’s Handbook of Tejano History joins a number of other important initiatives born out of the legacy of the Tejano Monument, including the Tejano History Curriculum Project and Austin Independent School District’s Cuauhtli Academy/Academia Cuauhtli.
Handbook of African American Texas
African Americans have been part of the landscape of Texas for as long as Europeans and their descendants. Spanning a period of more than five centuries, African American presence began in 1528 with the arrival of Estevanico, an African slave who accompanied the first Spanish exploration of the land in the southwestern part of the United States that eventually became Texas. While African Americans have been subjected to slavery, segregation, and discrimination during this long history, they have made significant contributions to the growth and development of Texas. They have influenced Texas policies and social standards. Living and working with other ethnic groups, they have helped create a unique Texas culture. Historians have not always acknowledged the role that African Americans have played in the Lone Star State. Although numerous studies of Texas’s past appeared in the twentieth century, until 1970 there remained too many empty pages in the history of the state concerning the black population. This situation has changed since the 1970s, but the need to capture more of the African American experience still exists. For this reason, we are happy to launch the Handbook of African American Texas.
Handbook of Civil War Texas
At 4:30 on the morning of April 12, 1861—one hundred and fifty years ago this spring (2011)—Confederate States of America artillery opened fire on United States troops in Fort Sumter, South Carolina, beginning the American Civil War. Texans, who had voted overwhelmingly in February 1861 to secede from the Union and then watched their state join the Confederacy in March, thus became involved in a four-year conflict that would take the lives of many and leave none untouched. Texas escaped much of the terrible destruction of the war for a simple reason—United States troops never managed to invade and occupy the state’s interior. In sum, the Civil War exacted a huge price, primarily in terms of lives lost and ruined in the Confederate Army and in the privations of those left at home. However, the conflict had two vitally positive results for Texas: It freed the state’s more than 200,000 enslaved people, and it destroyed the curse of the ‘Peculiar Institution’ for the entire society of the Lone Star State.
Handbook of Houston
The Texas State Historical Association and the Houston History Alliance (HHA) are proud to announce the launch of the Handbook of Houston, which contains more than 1,250 new and existing entries highlighting the significant impact Houston has had on the state, the nation, and the world. Launched on March 2, 2017, the Handbook of Houston is the culmination of many years of historical research.
Gusher sparks South Texas town
88 years ago today
48 years ago today
After Southern surrender, Confederates score a last victory in Texas
158 years ago today
Get the FREE! Texas Day by Day delivered straight to your inbox:
This Week's Popular Entries
Our entries are accessed thousands of times per day from all over the globe. But we need your continued support. Please consider purchasing a recurring membership or making a donation.
Juneteenth read 46,698 times in the past week
Texas Revolution read 1,859 times in the past week
Quintanilla Perez, Selena [Selena] read 1,678 times in the past week
Republic of Texas read 1,472 times in the past week
Comanche Indians read 1,440 times in the past week
Flags of Texas read 1,413 times in the past week
Travis, William Barret read 1,156 times in the past week
Galveston, Battle Of read 1,091 times in the past week
Houston, Sam read 1,085 times in the past week
Bowie, James read 1,065 times in the past week
Austin, Stephen Fuller read 931 times in the past week
Karankawa Indians read 930 times in the past week
Recent Additions
Every one of our entries is written, fact-checked, and reviewed by our team of professional and academic historians. It is the time, dedication, and support from both our staff and people like you—through your recurring memberships and donations—that makes it possible for us to continue producing quality work that you can trust.
Great Western Trail 5 days ago
Allen, Amelia Ann Tapscott 1 week ago
Ridgely, John 1 week ago
Holliday, Carranza Adair 1 week ago
Healthcare for the Homeless–Houston 1 week ago
Richards, Paul Rapier 2 weeks ago
Stratton, Monty Franklin Pierce 2 weeks ago
Koehler Park 2 weeks ago
Halaby, Najeeb Elias, Jr. [Jeeb] 2 weeks ago
Cash, Norman Dalton 2 weeks ago
Runnels, James Edward [Pete] 2 weeks ago
Montgomery, Ellie Alma Walls Mims 2 weeks ago
San Antonio Water Works Company 3 weeks ago
Arizmendi Mejía, Elena Irene 3 weeks ago
Fisher, Vernon Lane 3 weeks ago
Camfield, William Joseph [Icky Twerp] 3 weeks ago
Read, Julian Otis 3 weeks ago
Capps, Sarah Angel Brooke [Sallie] 1 month ago
Search the Handbook
This Week's Popular Entries
Our entries are accessed thousands of times per day from all over the globe, and we are here because of you. Please consider a recurring membership or a gift.
Juneteenth read 46,698 times in the past week
Texas Revolution read 1,859 times in the past week
Quintanilla Perez, Selena [Selena] read 1,678 times in the past week
Republic of Texas read 1,472 times in the past week
Comanche Indians read 1,440 times in the past week
Flags of Texas read 1,413 times in the past week
Travis, William Barret read 1,156 times in the past week
Galveston, Battle Of read 1,091 times in the past week
Houston, Sam read 1,085 times in the past week
Bowie, James read 1,065 times in the past week
Austin, Stephen Fuller read 931 times in the past week
Karankawa Indians read 930 times in the past week
Gusher sparks South Texas town
88 years ago today
48 years ago today
After Southern surrender, Confederates score a last victory in Texas
158 years ago today
Get the FREE! Texas Day by Day delivered straight to your inbox:
Recent Additions
Every one of our entries is written, fact-checked, and reviewed by our team of professional and academic historians. It is the time, dedication, and support from both our staff & people like you—through your recurring memberships & generous donations—that makes it possible for us to produce quality work that you can trust.
Great Western Trail 5 days ago
Allen, Amelia Ann Tapscott 1 week ago
Ridgely, John 1 week ago
Holliday, Carranza Adair 1 week ago
Healthcare for the Homeless–Houston 1 week ago
Richards, Paul Rapier 2 weeks ago
Stratton, Monty Franklin Pierce 2 weeks ago
Koehler Park 2 weeks ago
Halaby, Najeeb Elias, Jr. [Jeeb] 2 weeks ago
Cash, Norman Dalton 2 weeks ago
Runnels, James Edward [Pete] 2 weeks ago
Montgomery, Ellie Alma Walls Mims 2 weeks ago
San Antonio Water Works Company 3 weeks ago
Arizmendi Mejía, Elena Irene 3 weeks ago
Fisher, Vernon Lane 3 weeks ago
Camfield, William Joseph [Icky Twerp] 3 weeks ago
Read, Julian Otis 3 weeks ago
Capps, Sarah Angel Brooke [Sallie] 1 month ago