For almost 300 years, the acequia that serves Mission Espada in San Antonio has continued working as designed. It is truly a marvel of human engineering. The word acequia is derived from the ancient Arabic term al-sāqiyah, which means water conduit. The acequias were gravity flow ditches used by the ancient Moors of North Africa to irrigate fields and bring water to settlements. In the early17th Century, the Spanish padres brought this technology into the New World and guide

When William Meier died in 1911, he had lived a full life. Born in Germany (Prussia) in 1840, he arrived at a time when his family was facing economic hardship amid a developing revolution against the dominant wealthy nobility. In 1854, his parents made the difficult decision to immigrate to America, settling in Illinois. William helped with the farming duties and excelled in education. Sensing a call into ministry, he enrolled in a seminary founded by the German Evangelical

Texas History is rife with legends that capture the imagination. The adventures of Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Mirabeau B. Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, and so many other Texan luminaries have filled volumes with tales of titillating romance, courageous warfare, and political intrigue. But there were recondite heroes who integrated their love for God with ingenuity to make Texas a better place to live. One of those lesser lights was James H. French. Born in Virginia in 1835 to

What did Rudolph Kleberg, William Henry Crain, and George W. Saunders have in common? These three notable Texans made a positive impact on the growth and future of the Lone Star State. What they shared in youth guided them for the rest of their lives. Born in a log cabin in 1847, Rudolph Kleberg was a popular attorney, newspaperman, and politician who was selected to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas. Later he was elected to serve in the US Congres

If you lived in Galveston in 1839, there is a high probability that you saw a noted city alderman riding his pet bull downtown. Gail Borden, Jr. was known as an eccentric inventor and inspiring lover of Texas. Born in 1801 in New York, Borden eventually made it to Galveston after starting a newspaper in San Felipe, and helping to lay out the building sites of Houston along the banks of Buffalo Bayou. In 1857, Borden founded a corporation that eventually became the world’s l

When the pioneers came to Texas in the early 1800s, they found some well-worn trails to follow. Often called traces, these pathways were possibly established by migrating Native Americans or wild animals in search of food and water. The most famous trail was the King’s Highway, also known as the Old San Antonio Road or El Camino Real. It was a diversified trail with several intersecting roads stretching from Maverick County at the Rio Grande, through Bexar and Bastrop County

Texas history is often told from the viewpoint of men. But there were some marvelous women writers like Teresa Griffin Vielé, Jane Cazneau (Cora Montgomery), Mary Austin Holley, and Sallie Reynolds Matthews. They saw aspects of frontier Texas from a completely different perspective. In her book Interwoven, Sallie Reynolds Matthews' narratives capture the events, romances, struggles, and celebrations of the Matthews and Reynolds families from the viewpoint of a young girl thr

"Listen everybody, from near and far, if you wanta know who we are. We're the Light Crust Doughboys from Burrus Mill." Then the announcer on radio station KFJZ-AM, and later WBAP, would say, "The Light Crust Doughboys are on the air!" Daily at noon, such familiar names as Bob Wills, Milton Brown, and “Pappy” O’Daniel from Saginaw, Texas, would sing and entertain a large audience of faithful listeners. W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel started the Doughboys in 1931, as part of his radi

When you think of the Tyler rose, do you think of world-class rose bushes or NFL Hall of Famer Earl Christian Campbell? Both were born in the vicinity of Tyler, Smith County, Texas, and both are acclaimed as élite in their field. Formed in 1846, Smith County is about 100 miles east of Dallas and is named for Texas revolutionary veteran General James Smith. The county seat of Tyler is recognized as the Rose Capital of America and the annual Texas Rose Festival. The fertile s

High profile rivalries are nothing new in Texas. Since 1894, when the University of Texas plays against Texas A&M, there will definitely be some bodacious trash talking. When supermarkets compete, nothing matches the battle between HEB and Kroger. And then there is the longstanding rivalry between technology titans Dell Technologies of Round Rock and Hewlett-Packard of Houston. But some of the greatest rivalries in Texas occur between neighboring towns. The rivalry between