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The Texas Portal

Texas (/ˈtɛksəs/ TEK-səss, locally also /ˈtɛksɪz/ TEK-siz; Spanish: Texas or Tejas, pronounced [ˈtexas]) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest. Texas has a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Covering 268,596 square miles (695,660 km²), and with over 30 million residents as of 2023, it is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population.

Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State for its former status as an independent republic. The Lone Star can be found on the Texas state flag and the Texas state seal. Spain was the first European country to claim and control the area of Texas. Following a short-lived colony controlled by France, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming the Republic of Texas. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state. The state's annexation set off a chain of events that led to the Mexican–American War in 1846. Following victory by the United States, Texas remained a slave state until the American Civil War, when it declared its secession from the Union in early 1861 before officially joining the Confederate States of America on March 2. After the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation.

Historically, five major industries shaped the Texas economy prior to World War II: cattle, bison, cotton, timber, and oil. Before and after the Civil War, the cattle industry—which Texas came to dominate—was a major economic driver and created the traditional image of the Texas cowboy. In the later 19th century, cotton and lumber grew to be major industries as the cattle industry became less lucrative. Ultimately, the discovery of major petroleum deposits (Spindletop in particular) initiated an economic boom that became the driving force behind the economy for much of the 20th century. Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry during the mid-20th century. , it has the most Fortune 500 company headquarters (53) in the United States. With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including tourism, agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace, and biomedical sciences. Texas has led the U.S. in state export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. (Full article...)

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The Texas Longhorn is an American breed of beef cattle, characterized by its long horns, which can span more than 8 ft (2.4 m) from tip to tip. It derives from cattle brought from the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas by Spanish conquistadores from the time of the Second Voyage of Christopher Columbus until about 1512. For hundreds of years the cattle lived a semi-feral existence on the rangelands; they have a higher tolerance of heat and drought than most European breeds. It can be of any color or mix of colors. In some 40% of the cattle it is some shade of red, often a light red; the only shade of red not seen is the deep color typical of the Hereford.

In the 21st century it is considered part of the cultural heritage of Texas. (Full article...)

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Portrait of Nimitz, c.1945–47

Chester William Nimitz (/ˈnɪmɪts/; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II.

Nimitz was the leading US Navy authority on submarines. Qualified in submarines during his early years, he later oversaw the conversion of these vessels' propulsion from gasoline to diesel, and then later was key in acquiring approval to build the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, whose propulsion system later completely superseded diesel-powered submarines in the US. He also, beginning in 1917, was the Navy's leading developer of underway replenishment techniques, the tool which during the Pacific war would allow the US fleet to operate away from port almost indefinitely. The chief of the Navy's Bureau of Navigation in 1939, Nimitz served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1945 until 1947. He was the United States' last surviving officer who served in the rank of fleet admiral. The USS Nimitz supercarrier, the lead ship of her class, is named after him. (Full article...)

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State symbols

Flower	Bluebonnet
Motto	Friendship
Nickname	The Lone Star State
Tree	Pecan
Dog	Blue Lacy
Bird	Mockingbird
Fish	Guadalupe bass
Flying Mammal	Mexican free-tailed bat
Reptile	Texas Horned Lizard

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Credit: User:Rei
The Comal River, at Schlitterbahn, New Braunfels, Texas.

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Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the most populous in Northeast Texas) and 289th in the United States. It is the principal city of the Tyler metropolitan statistical area, which is the 198th most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and 16th in Texas after Waco and the College Station–Bryan areas, with a population of 233,479 in 2020. The city is named for John Tyler, the tenth President of the United States.

In 1985, the international Adopt-a-Highway movement began in Tyler. After appeals from local Texas Department of Transportation officials, the local Civitan International chapter adopted a two-mile (three kilometer) stretch of U.S. Route 69 to maintain. Drivers and other motorists traveling on this segment of U.S. 69 (between Tyler and nearby Lindale) will see brown road signs that read "First Adopt-A-Highway in the World". (Full article...)

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Houston Dallas Marshall, Texas Austin, Texas San Antonio Amarillo, Texas Arlington, Texas Beaumont, Texas Corpus Christi, Texas El Paso, Texas Fort Worth, Texas Midland, Texas Waco, Texas Lubbock, Texas Irving, Texas Sugar Land, Texas San Angelo, Texas Brownsville, Texas Grand Prairie, Texas Abilene, Texas Wichita Falls, Texas Richardson, Texas McAllen, Texas Denton, Texas

General images

The following are images from various Texas-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1First Day of Passenger Service, Dallas & Sherman Interurban Railroad 1908 (from History of Texas)
Image 2Company D, Texas Rangers, at Realitos in 1887 (from History of Texas)
Image 3Spanish Texas in 1794 (from History of Texas)
Image 4President John F. Kennedy in the presidential limousine, minutes before his assassination (from History of Texas)
Image 5The Republic of Texas. The present-day outlines of the U.S. states (white lines) are superimposed on the boundaries of 1836–1845. (from History of Texas)
Image 6The Praetorian Building in Dallas, completed 1909, was the first skyscraper west of the Mississippi and the tallest in Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 7The French flag of the Bourbons (from History of Texas)
Image 8The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad --the "Katy"--was the first railroad to enter Texas from the north (from History of Texas)
Image 9Spanish missions within the boundaries of what is now the state of Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 10A factory worker in Fort Worth, Texas, 1942 (from History of Texas)
Image 11René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle founded the French colony in Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 12Mission Concepcion is one of the San Antonio missions which is part of a National Historic Landmark. (from History of Texas)
Image 13French Texas in 1685 consisted of Fort St. Louis on Matagorda Bay. (from History of Texas)
Image 14The Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1819 (from History of Texas)
Image 15McAllen (from List of Texas metropolitan areas)
Image 16Mexican Texas in 1833 (from History of Texas)
Image 17Texas in 1718, Guillaume de L'Isle map, approximate state area highlighted, northern boundary was indefinite. (from History of Texas)
Image 18Territories of some Native American tribes in Texas ~1500CE (from History of Texas)
Image 19Comancheria before 1850. (from History of Texas)
Image 20Austin (from List of Texas metropolitan areas)
Image 211913 cotton harvest in East Texas (from History of Texas)
Image 22Stephen F. Austin, known as the "Father of Texas." (from History of Texas)
Image 23Captain Charles A. May's squadron of the 2d Dragoons slashes through the Mexican Army lines. Resaca de la Palma, Texas, May 1846 (from History of Texas)
Image 24The U.S. and Texas flags at the Texas State Capitol. (from History of Texas)
Image 25Big Tex, the mascot of the State Fair of Texas since 1952 (from Culture of Texas)
Image 26Boom periods of the four major industries that built the early Texas economy. (from History of Texas)
Image 27The "Lone Star" Belle, postcard, around 1908. (from Culture of Texas)
Image 28The Spanish flag of Burgundy. (from History of Texas)
Image 29Sam Houston served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and seventh governor of Texas. (from History of Texas)