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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 Battle of San Patricio was fought on February 27, 1836, between Texian rebels and the Mexican army, during the Texas Revolution. The battle occurred as a result of the outgrowth of the Texian Matamoros Expedition. The battle marked the start of the Goliad Campaign, the Mexican offensive to retake the Texas Gulf Coast. It took place in and around San Patricio.

By the end of 1835, all Mexican troops had been driven from Texas. Frank W. Johnson, the commander of the volunteer army in Texas, and James Grant gathered volunteers for a planned invasion of the Mexican port town of Matamoros. In February 1836, Johnson and about 40 men led a herd of horses to San Patricio in preparation for the expedition. Johnson assigned some of his troops to a ranch 4 miles (6.4 km) outside town to guard the horses, while the rest of his men garrisoned in three different locations in town. (Full article...)

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Bowie c. 1831–1834

James Bowie (/ˈbuːi/ BOO-ee) (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him as a fighter and frontiersman, both real and fictitious, have made him a legendary figure in Texas history and a folk hero of American culture.

Bowie was born on April 10, 1796, in Logan County, Kentucky. He spent most of his life in Louisiana, where he was raised and where he later worked as a land speculator. His rise to fame began in 1827 on reports of the Sandbar Fight near present-day Vidalia, Louisiana. What began as a duel between two other men deteriorated into a mêlée in which Bowie, having been shot and stabbed, killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish with a large knife. This, and other stories of Bowie's prowess with a knife, led to the widespread popularity of the Bowie knife. (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:H2O
Shaded Relief Map of the Llano Estacado.

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Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square

Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 20th-most populous city in Texas, the 177th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

A Texas land grant led to the formation of Denton County in 1846, and the city was incorporated in 1866. Both were named after pioneer and Texas militia captain John B. Denton. The arrival of a railroad line in the city in 1881 spurred population, and the establishment of the University of North Texas in 1890 and Texas Woman's University in 1901 distinguished the city from neighboring regions. After the construction of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport finished in 1974, the city had more rapid growth; as of 2011, Denton was the seventh-fastest growing city with a population of over 100,000 in the country. (Full article...)

List of cities
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 Tyler, 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

General images

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

Image 1The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad --the "Katy"--was the first railroad to enter Texas from the north (from History of Texas)
Image 2The French flag of the Bourbons (from History of Texas)
Image 3Stephen F. Austin, known as the "Father of Texas." (from History of Texas)
Image 4Austin (from List of Texas metropolitan areas)
Image 5René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle founded the French colony in Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 6Spanish missions within the boundaries of what is now the state of Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 7The Spanish flag of Burgundy. (from History of Texas)
Image 8The Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1819 (from History of Texas)
Image 9The 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 10Mexican Texas in 1833 (from History of Texas)
Image 11The U.S. and Texas flags at the Texas State Capitol. (from History of Texas)
Image 12Territories of some Native American tribes in Texas ~1500CE (from History of Texas)
Image 13The "Lone Star" Belle, postcard, around 1908. (from Culture of Texas)
Image 14The Praetorian Building in Dallas, completed 1909, was the first skyscraper west of the Mississippi and the tallest in Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 15Mission Concepcion is one of the San Antonio missions which is part of a National Historic Landmark. (from History of Texas)
Image 16Big Tex, the mascot of the State Fair of Texas since 1952 (from Culture of Texas)
Image 17Boom periods of the four major industries that built the early Texas economy. (from History of Texas)
Image 18McAllen (from List of Texas metropolitan areas)
Image 19A factory worker in Fort Worth, Texas, 1942 (from History of Texas)
Image 20Company D, Texas Rangers, at Realitos in 1887 (from History of Texas)
Image 21First Day of Passenger Service, Dallas & Sherman Interurban Railroad 1908 (from History of Texas)
Image 221913 cotton harvest in East Texas (from History of Texas)
Image 23Spanish Texas in 1794 (from History of Texas)
Image 24Texas in 1718, Guillaume de L'Isle map, approximate state area highlighted, northern boundary was indefinite. (from History of Texas)
Image 25Captain 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 26Comancheria before 1850. (from History of Texas)
Image 27French Texas in 1685 consisted of Fort St. Louis on Matagorda Bay. (from History of Texas)
Image 28President John F. Kennedy in the presidential limousine, minutes before his assassination (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)