There was nothing Lady Bird Johnson loved better than wildflowers, so it was fitting that the National Wildflower Research Center in Austin opened to the public in 1982 on her 70th birthday. Lady Bird, herself, conceived the idea of a national center for the study of wildflowers and native plants and the preservation of the ecology.

If you’re in the Austin area, the national Wildflower Research Center is well worth a visit!

Lady Bird’s Garden is a post from: News Around Texas

Cynthia Ann was only nine years old when Comanche warriors killed her pioneer family and took her captive in 1836. She endured harsh treatment, but was eventually adopted into the tribe. Over the years she learned the Comanche language and culture, and when she was grown Chief Peta Nocona chose her as his wife. Together they had two sons, Quanah and Pecos, and a little daughter, Topsannah.

On December 18, 1860, while the men were away hunting, Cynthia Ann and Topsannah were “rescued” when soldiers and rangers raided their squaw camp on the Pease River. She was now 34 years old. The soldiers barely recognized her as a white woman—only her blue eyes gave her away.

Ranger Captain Lawrence Sullivan Ross brought them back to Ft. Cooper and contacted her uncle.  Isaac Parker was overjoyed to see his niece, but Cynthia Ann did not want to live again in the white man’s world. She missed her husband and sons and worried that they might have been killed in the battle at Pease River. She longed to return to “her people,” but her uncle locked her into her room to keep her from running away to rejoin her Native American family.

Three years later, Topsannah fell ill with a fever and died. Cynthia Ann was distraught. She began to waste away and finally died of influenza in 1870.

Cynthia Ann Parker is a post from: News Around Texas

Texas was an independent nation from March 2, 1836 until December 29, 1845 when President James Polk signed the annexation acts that allowed Texas to become the 28th state in the Union.

Only one other state has also been a sovereign nation. Do you know which one it is?

Texas Becomes the 28th State in the Union is a post from: News Around Texas

Stephen F. Austin, Father of Texas, Dies is a post from: News Around Texas

Moving to Texas was the dream of his father, Moses. The elder Austin had secured permission to establish a colony but died before he could complete the task. To honor his father’s dying request, Stephen continued the work.

Though he was only 29, he proved to be an able recruiter and an excellent leader. By December 1821 the first Anglo families began arriving at Austin’s colony.

Austin’s Colonists Arrive in Texas is a post from: News Around Texas

Some believe that Whitney hoped his invention would make slavery obsolete since now a machine could do the work. Instead, the cotton gin streamlined production, increasing the market for inexpensive cloth. Cotton became a major economic crop throughout the South, requiring more slaves to keep up with demand. Unscrupulous men copied Whitney’s machine. Unable to defend his patent until 1807, he nearly declared bankruptcy, but the cotton gin made Whitney’s name famous.

In 1798, Whitney obtained a contract to supply the United States military with 10,000 muskets and invented a way to manufacture the guns with interchangeable parts. It was this invention that made Whitney wealthy.

Eli Whitney’s nephews, Eli and Philos Blake, inherited their uncle’s armory. The younger Blake, under contract to Samuel Colt, manufactured Whitneyville Walker Colt revolvers for the Texas Rangers.

Eli Whitney’s Birthday is a post from: News Around Texas

Texas Martyr is a post from: News Around Texas

When Don Juan de Onate crossed the Rio Grande near San Elizario, Texas with 500 settlers on April 30,1598 he paused with his caravan to thank God for their safe travels thus far and ask His blessing on the remainder of their journey toward modern-day Santa Fe, New Mexico. This event, the first formal thanksgiving, took place 22 years before the Pilgrims’ celebration in 1620. The caravan would need God’s blessings. Their trek was known as La Jornada del Muerte–the journey of death.

Don Juan de Onate established the western branch of El Camino Real (the royal road), which provided an essential supply and communications link between Mexico City and Santa Fe. His was the first Spanish settlement. He is also credited with naming El Paso and introducing the horse, the Catholic religion, European plants and livestock to the New World. Unfortunately, his legacy also includes extreme cruelty to the Indians he encountered. Demanding that they supply his settlement with food they could not spare, he attacked and enslaved them when they could not meet his demands.

I don’t know about you, but that gives me much to ponder. Please comment. What do you observe through this historical out-take?

Don Juan de Onate Day? is a post from: News Around Texas

Texas had a Navy?! is a post from: News Around Texas

The Baptism of Sam Houston is a post from: News Around Texas