-
Jan 1, 1541
Coronado leads expedition into Texas
Explorers all reached the Mississippi River after exploring parts of present-day Georgia -
Period: Jan 1, 1541 to
Texas
-
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is held near present-day El Paso by Juan de Oñate, the members of his expedition and natives of the region. -
Spanish Missionaries
Jumano Indians requested Spanish missionaries from New Mexico to travel to the vicinity of present-day San Angelo and instruct the Jumanos about Christianity. -
The First Spanish Mission
First Spanish mission, Corpus Christi de la Isleta, is established a few miles from present-day El Paso. -
La Salle establishes Fort St. Luis
La Salle reached Galvaston Bay and sent the colonists ashore while loosing valuable supplies. -
Rene-Roberts establishes colony
French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, looking for the mouth of the Mississippi River, lands in Texas by mistake. He establishes a colony, Fort St. Louis, on Garcitas Creek in present-day Victoria County -
La Salle Killed
La Salle is killed by several of his own men at an unknown East Texas location -
Spanish Territory
Spanish Gen. Alonso de León's expedition finds the remains of Fort St. Louis. Fearing French intentions to lay claim to Spanish territory, the Spanish begin establishing missions and settlements in East Texas. -
Eats Texas' Mission
First East Texas mission under construction, San Francisco de los Tejas, near present-day Weches, Houston Co. The mission is closed in 1693. -
San Jose found
San José y San Miguel de Aguayo mission founded near San Antonio de Valero. -
Texas' Economic Troubles
• 3 East Texas missions moved to San Antonio because of economic troubles, and named Nuestra Señora de la Purisima Concepción de Acuna, San Francisco de la Espada and San Juan Capistrano.
• March 7 - 55e Canary Islanders arrive in San Antonio to establish a civilian settlement, San Fernando de Béxar.
• Aug. 1 - First election held in Texas, voters choose officials of the municipal government of San Fernando. -
Indian Residents
Spanish troops on a retaliatory raid are defeated by Indian residents of a large encampment at Spanish Fort in present-day Montague County. -
Nacogdoches is founded
A group of settlers led by Antonio Gil Ybaro. He establishes a community near an abandoned mission site. -
Mission San Jose is completed
In a small town, San Jose is completed by him and his troops -
Moses Austin and the Spanish Government
• Texas' first newspaper, Gaceta de Texas, founded by José Alvarez de Toledo in Nacogdoches.
• Dec. 26 - Spanish government grants Moses Austin permission to establish a colony of Anglo-Americans in the Texas area. When he dies the following June, his son, Stephen F. Austin, receives authority to continue the colonizing effort. -
Mexico's Independence for Spain
• Aug. 24 - Mexico gains independence from Spain.
• October 13 Jane Long gives birth to the first Anglo child born in Texas, a girl named Mary James. -
Austin's plan for the colonies
Stephen F. Austin recieved a grant from the mexican government and began colonization -
Gonzales and his mexican troop
• Oct. 2 - Mexican troops attempt to retrieve a cannon that had been given to Gonzales colonists for protection from Indian attack. The skirmish that ensues as Gonzales residents dare the Mexicans to "come and take it" is considered the opening battle of the Texas Revolution.
• Oct. 10 - Gail Borden begins publishing the newspaper "Telegraph and Texas Register" at San Felipe de Austin.
• Nov. 1 - A "consultation" convenes at San Felipe; on Nov. 7 the delegates agree to establish a provisional -
Mier expedition takes place
The first seeds of large-scale German immigration of Texas are shown when a German society, the Adelsverein purchases land for settlements in Central Texas -
Land claimed to Spanish Territory
Spanish Gen. Alonso de León's expedition finds the remains of Fort St. Louis. Fearing French intentions to lay claim to Spanish territory, the Spanish begin establishing missions and settlements in East Texas -
President Grant's Congressional Representation
- President Grant signs the act readmitting Texas to Congressional representation. • Edmund J. Davis becomes the first Republican governor of Texas.
-
The Kiowas and Comanches
Seven men in a wagon train are massacred at Salt Creek, about 20 miles west of Jacksboro, by Kiowas and Comanches led by chiefs Satanta, Big Tree, Satank and Eagle Heart. -
Buffalo Soldiers
• Black "Buffalo Soldiers" are first posted to Texas, eventually serving at virtually every frontier fort in West Texas from the Rio Grande to the Panhandle, as well as in other states.
• Houston and Texas Central Railway reaches the Red River, connecting there with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad and creating the first all-rail route from Texas to St. Louis and the East. -
Richard Coke's Reconstruction
- Inauguration of Democrat Richard Coke as governor marks the end of Reconstruction in Texas. • Sept. 28 - Col. Ranald Mackenzie leads the 4th US Cavalry in the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon, south of present-day Amarillo, an encounter that ends with the confinement of southern Plains Indians in reservations in Indian Territory. This makes possible the wholesale settlement of the western part of the state.
-
Present state constitution is adopted
Present state constitution is adopted.
• Oct. 4 - The Agricultural and Mechanical College, later Texas A&M University, opens at College Station, becoming the first public institution of higher learning in the state.
• Charles Goodnight establishes the JA Ranch in Palo Duro Canyon, the first cattle ranch located in the Panhandle. -
Pancho Villa and his followers
Mexican civil war spills across the border, as refugees seek safety, combatants seek each other, and Texas settlements are raided for supplies by all sides in the fighting. Pancho Villa and his followers are active along the border during some of this time
