Category Archives: Texas

Two Centuries of Roads

Posted on April 3, 2019 by admin

Over the years I have written about old roads in Texas and neighboring states. Without a doubt the oldest road to cross the Lone Star State is El Camino Real or as Anglos say, Old San Antonio Road (OSR). Spanish … Continue reading →

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Texas Cattle

Posted on March 31, 2019 by admin

I am having an absolute Writer’s Block right this minute. The deadline is only hours away. I feel like those Parisians just before the guillotine dropped. My mind keeps going to a presentation I will make next Thursday in Lafayette, … Continue reading →

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Was Aunt Lizzie Just a Little Confused?

Posted on February 10, 2019 by admin

During a July 1952 session of the Panola County Commissioners Court, Tatum mayor Lizzie Holtzclaw requested a new state highway built along the old Trammell’s Trace. Many in the court room were unfamiliar with the Trammell’s Trace the 82-year-old mayor … Continue reading →

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Too Foggy for Groundhogs

Posted on February 6, 2019 by admin

Fog covered this part of Northeast Texas on Groundhog Day last week. That means that if we had groundhogs, which we don’t, they wouldn’t have seen their shadows. They would have poked their noses out, turned around and headed back … Continue reading →

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Native Americans and Settlers in Wise County

Posted on January 30, 2019 by admin

One time I bought a fairly large collection of “Frontier Times” published by J. Marvin Hunter (1880-1957). They were printed on cheap paper, have few illustrations or advertisements. Mostly, they contained stories old-timers remembered experiencing or remembered hearing. Like all … Continue reading →

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How Texas Got Durham Stock

Posted on January 16, 2019 by admin

Several years ago, I purchased a small collection of Frontier Times, a monthly magazine of “Frontier History, Border Tragedy, Pioneer Achievement”. J. Marvin Hunter published the issues from his office in Bandera, Texas. While some of the tales are just … Continue reading →

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Gunpowder Justice

Posted on January 9, 2019 by admin

Former Regents Professor of History at my alma mater Midwestern State University collected some cool tales for an anthology he published in 2005. Tales of Texoma: Episodes in the History of the Red River Border is full of great stories … Continue reading →

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Walking Turkeys to Market

Posted on November 21, 2018 by admin

Cowboys walked cattle to markets for ages, but did you know that farmers walked turkeys to markets also? In November 1918, farmer W. E. Riddle of the village of Bryson drove 178 turkeys to the Jack County seat in Jacksboro. … Continue reading →

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East Texas Historical Association

Posted on October 10, 2018 by admin

As you read this article, I will be driving down US Highway 69 from my home in Greenville, Texas, to Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas. I’m heading to the Fall Conference of the East Texas Historical Association. There … Continue reading →

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Revisiting Cherry Hill

Posted on October 3, 2018 by admin

Two years ago, I wrote about Hunt County’s only Confederate Brigadier General who arrived here when he was ninety years old. Since that time, I have acquired more information about General Waul and his Cherry Hill farm. Waul was born … Continue reading →

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