Fast Facts and Trivia
- Texas is popularly known as The Lone Star State.
- The Alamo is located in San Antonio. It is where Texas defenders fell to
Mexican General Santa Anna and the phrase Remember the Alamo originated. The
Alamo is considered the cradle of Texas liberty and the state's most popular
historic site.
- The lightning whelk is the official state shell.
- 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.
- Although six flags have flown over Texas, there have been eight changes of
government: Spanish 1519-1685, French 1685-1690, Spanish 1690-1821, Mexican
1821-1836, Republic of Texas 1836-1845, United States 1845-1861, Confederate
States 1861-1865, United States 1865-present
- The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
- During the period of July 24-26, 1979, the Tropical Storm Claudette
brought 45 inches of rain to an area near Alvin, Texas, contributing to more
than $600 million in damages. Claudette produced the United States 24 hour
rainfall record of 43 inches.
- More wool comes from the state of Texas than any other state in the United
States.
- Edwards Plateau in west central Texas is the top sheep growing area in the
country.
- Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of
territorial annexation.
- The state was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.
- Texas boasts the nation's largest herd of whitetail deer.
- A coastal live oak located near Fulton is the oldest tree in the state.
The tree has an estimated age of more than 1,500 years.
- Sam Houston, arguably the most famous Texan, was actually born in
Virginia. Houston served as governor of Tennessee before coming to Texas.
- Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state.
- When Texas was annexed in 1845 it retained the right to fly its flag at
the same height as the national flag.
- The first offensive action of the Texas Revolution occurred in Goliad on
October 9, 1835 when local colonists captured the fort and town.
- On December 20, 1835 the first Declaration of Texas Independence was
signed in Goliad and the first flag of Texas Independence was hoisted.
- The Hertzberg Circus Museum in San Antonio contains one of the largest
assortments of circusana in the world.
- The capital city of Austin is located on the Colorado River in
south-central Texas. The capitol building is made from Texas pink granite.
It served as the capital of the Republic of Texas in 1840-1842.
- Austin is considered the live music capital of the world.
- Texas is home to Dell and Compaq computers and central Texas is often
referred to as the Silicon Valley of the south.
- Professional sports teams include the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks,
Dallas Stars, Houston Astros, Houston Comets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio
Spurs, and Texas Rangers.
- Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. The Dublin Dr Pepper, 85 miles
west of Waco, still uses pure imperial cane sugar in its product. There is
no period after the Dr in Dr Pepper.
- The first suspension bridge in the United States was the Waco Bridge.
Built in 1870 and still in use today as a pedestrian crossing of the Brazos
River.
- In 1836 five sites served as temporary capitals of Texas:
Washington-on-the-Brazos: Harrisburg: Galveston: Velasco: and Columbia. Sam
Houston moved the capital to Houston in 1837. In 1839 the capital was moved
to the new town of Austin.
- The capitol in Austin opened May 16, 1888. The dome of the building stands
seven feet higher than that of the nation's Capitol in Washington, D.C.
- Texas comes from the Hasinai Indian word tejas meaning friends or allies.
- The armadillo is the official state mammal.
- Texas has the first domed stadium in the country. The structure was built
in Houston and opened in April 1965.
- The Houston Comets are the only team in the country to win four
back-to-back WNBA championships. 1997-2000 Cynthia Cooper remains the only
player to win the WNBA Championship MVP.
- The worst natural disaster in United States history was caused by a
hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. Over 8000 deaths were recorded.
- The first word spoken from the moon on July 20, 1969 was Houston.
- Texas' largest county is Brewster with 6,208 square miles.
- Texas possesses three of the top ten most populous cities in the United
States. These towns are Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.
- El Paso is closer to Needles, California than it is to Dallas.
- Texas includes 267,339 square miles, or 7.4% of the nation's total area.
- The state's cattle population is estimated to be near 16 million.
- More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state.
- More species of bats live in Texas than in any other part of the United
States.
- Laredo is the world's largest inland port.
- 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.
- 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.
- Amarillo has the world's largest helium well.
- The world's first rodeo was held in Pecos on July 4, 1883.
- The Flagship Hotel on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston is the only hotel in
North America built entirely over the water.
- The Heisman trophy is named for John William Heisman the first full-time
coach and athletic director at Rice University in Houston.
- Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other comparable area
in North America.
- The Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America's only
remaining flock of whooping cranes.
- Jalapeno pepper jelly originated in Lake Jackson and was first marketed in 1978.
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