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Mexico Bans U.S. Imigration
Fearing the possibility of losing control of Texas, Mexico banned further immigration from the United States on April 6, 1830. They encouraged immigration from Mexico and European countries, placed more restrictions on slavery, and increased military presence in the region. This initiative angered Texans, who pushed for statehood and self-rule. -
The Battle of Gonzales
The Texan rebels did not lose anyone, the worst injury being a broken nose suffered when a man fell off a horse. It was a short, insignificant battle, but it soon bloomed into something much more important. The blood spilled that October morning marked a point of no return for the rebellious Texans. -
Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers, loosely organized military force that policed Texas from the time of their initial organization in the 1830s to their merger with the state highway patrol in 1935. The first Texas Rangers were minutemen hired by settlers as protection against Native American attacks. -
Texas Declares Independence
On March 1, 59 delegates held the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. There they drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence and adopted it on March 2. During the Convention, delegates also drafted the Texas Constitution, outlining their plan for the new Republic. This took place only a month after Santa Anna entered Texas with his army of 6,000 men. Mexico’s army vastly outnumbered the Texas rebels. -
Battle of the Alamo
At dawn on March 6, 1836, the 13th day of the siege, the Battle of the Alamo commenced. Fighting lasted roughly 90 minutes, and by daybreak all the Defenders had perished, including a former congressman from Tennessee, David Crockett. The loss of the garrison was felt all over Texas, and even the world. -
The Battle of San Jacinto
5 March 13, 1836 The Battle of San Jacinto During the Texan War for Independence, the Texas militia under Sam Houston launches a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna along the San Jacinto River. The Mexicans were thoroughly defeated, and hundreds were taken prisoner, including General Santa Anna himself. -
Texas adopts Lone Star Flag
Texas adopts Lone Star Flag The flag you know today as the official State flag of Texas was adopted in January of 1839 as the official flag of the Republic of Texas. -
Annexation of Texas
Annexation of Texas Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845 and became the 28th state. Until 1836, Texas had been part of Mexico, but in that year a group of settlers from the United States who lived in Mexican Texas declared independence. -
The signing of Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
This treaty signified the end of the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming -
Compromise of 1850
The bills provided for slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states, prohibited the slave trade in the District of Columbia, settled a Texas boundary dispute, and established a stricter fugitive slave act. -
The First Railroad in Texas is Established
As the United States grew, so did the need for a more reliable transportation system. Travel was difficult in antebellum Texas, worsened by the expansive and unforgiving terrain in the west. Businesses also needed a way to ship their goods through the expanding area. This prompted the construction of the first railroad in Texas, which opened in 1853. Known as the "Harrisburg Railroad," the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway ran about 20 miles from Harrisburg to Stafford's Point. -
First Telegraph Office Opened
First Telegraph Office Opened Modern communication is something we all take for granted, but 19th-century Texans weren't so lucky. In 1854, the Texas and Red River Telegraph Company established service in Marshall, connecting to parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. By 1866, over 1500 miles of wire connected Texas. -
Texas Seceded from the Union
Texas became the seventh state to secede from the Union when a state convention voted 166 to 8 in favor of the measure. The Texans who voted to leave the Union did so over the objections of their governor, Sam Houston -
Juneteenth
2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by the newly freed people in Texas -
First African American in Texas Legislature
After the Civil War, the United States entered the era of Reconstruction, during which former Confederate States had to meet certain conditions for readmission into the Union. This included recognizing the U.S. constitutional amendments that ended slavery and rewriting their state constitutions. Nine African Americans were delegates to the 1868 Constitutional Convention. -
Texas Readmitted to the Union
President Grant signed the act to readmit Texas to Congressional Representation -
Texas Constitution
The state constitution establishes the structure and purpose of the Texas government. The current constitution took effect on February 15, 1876. The state legislature can propose amendments to the constitution. -
The Early Days of Women's Equality
The fight for women's equality began long before they won the right to vote in 1919. In the 1880's, Jenny Bland Beauchamp led the formation of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Although the group's primary focus was battling the ills of alcohol abuse, they pushed the Texas Legislature for many social reforms, including women's suffrage. WCTU members were the foundation of the women's suffrage organizations that began to form in the next decade. -
Railroad Commission is Established
The Railroad Commission of Texas was established in 1891 under a constitutional and legislative mandate to prevent discrimination in railroad charges and establish reasonable tariffs. It is the oldest regulatory agency in the state and one of the oldest of its kind in the nation. -
Texas Equal Rights Association is formed
The Texas Equal Rights Association was the first statewide women's suffrage organization. Organized by Rebecca Henry Hays of Galveston in 1893, the TERA advocated for equal voting and political rights for women, including the right to hold office and serve on juries. -
Oil Discovery
In the summer of 1894, town leaders of Corsicana, Texas, hired a contractor to drill a water well on 12th Street, but the driller found oil instead. The town's oilfield discovery launched the first Texas oil boom seven years before a more famous gusher at Spindletop Hill, 230 miles southeast. -
The Great Galveston Hurricane (1900 Storm)
Although the storm struck Galveston with 120-mph sustained winds, most of the deaths were caused by saltwater drowning, as a 16-foot storm surge washed over the city. This saltwater flood swept through the city, enabling large, destructive waves to pound many buildings and break them into pieces.