Monday, October 26 - Friday, October 30, 2009

October Rules Fest 2009
Other Information

Transportation•Restaurants •History & Attractions•Little Known Facts•Map

Texas was first accounted for on a map in 1519, founded as a Republic in 1839, and joined the Union in 1845. It is the only state to enter the US by TREATY, instead of by annexation. (This allows the Texas flag to fly at the same height as the US Flag.) Texans are so ornery that they never did submit to the "reconstruction agreement" following the War Between the States but were allowed to rejoin anyway in 1870.

Texas retained the right to divide into five independent states and to secede from the Union at any time. In a sense, Texas is almost like Bavaria in Germany - and far more independent.

Not that Texas is large, it encompasses 696 200 square-Km, BUT, Texas is almost 10% larger than France ( 547 030 square-Km and 65 million people) and twice as large as Germany (357 021 sq-Km and 82 million persons) but only has 25 million residents. Lots and lots of land with a really low population density.
Beaumont (far Southern Texas) to El Paso (far Western Texas): 742 miles
Beaumont (far Southern Texas) to Chicago (midwest USA): 770 miles
El Paso (far Western Texas) is closer to California (far Western USA) than to Dallas (Central-North-Eastern Texas).

Bonnie (Parker) and Clyde (Barrow) - the Texas version of Robin Hood and Maid Marian of England - were both from just outside Dallas and both are now buried in Dallas.

Dallas (14), San Antonio (5) and Houston (27) have more Fortune 500 home offices (46) than any other area. New York houses 43.

Texas gave away land (or, ceded the land) that became 1/2 of New Mexico, 1/3 of Colorado and portions of Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming to the Federal Government in The Compromise of 1850 for only US $10 Million.

World's first rodeo was in Pecos... July 4, 1883.

The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built over water.

The Heisman Trophy was named after John William Heisman who was the first full time coach for Rice University, Houston.

Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other area in North America.

Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America's only remaining flock of whooping cranes.

Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978.

The worst natural disaster in US history was in 1900 caused by a hurricane in which over 8000 lives were lost on Galveston Island.

The first word spoken from the moon, July 20, 1969, was "Houston."

The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the world's largest rose garden with over 38,000 bushes with 500 varieties on 22 acres.

The King Ranch (between Corpus Christi and Brownsville and covers 1 289 sq-miles) is larger than the state of Rhode Island.

Tropical Storm Claudette brought a US. rainfall record of 43" in 24 hours in and around Alvin in July 1979.

A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated to be 1500 years old.

Caddo Lake (North-Eastern Texas) is the only natural lake in the state.

Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. (There is no period after Dr in Dr Pepper)

Texas has had six capital cities.
1. Washington-on-the-Brazos
2. Harrisburg
3. Galveston
4. Weslaco
5. West Columbia
6. Austin

The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome in the US which is taller than the Capitol Building in Washington DC. by 7 feet.

The name Texas comes from the Hasini Indian word "tejas" meaning friends. Tejas is not Spanish/Mexican for Texas.

The first domed stadium in the U. S was the Astrodome in Houston.

The State animal is the Armadillo. *
*An interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo is they always have four babies! They have one egg which splits into four and they either have four males or four females.

Laredo is the world's largest inland port.