Save Texas History

06/01/2026

GLO draftsman Charles W. Pressler created the map below to provide important cartographic information for new arrivals to Texas during the Reconstruction era.

His 1867 "Traveller’s Map of the State of Texas" is the most accurate map of the state at the time, helping future immigrants understand the vast layout of their new home.

Learn more:
https://medium.com/save-texas-history/travellers-sic-map-of-the-state-of-texas-a5cb001126dd

05/29/2026

The GLO's limited edition "I Saved Texas History" t-shirts are available now!

Anyone who donates $30 or more to our Save Texas History Program will receive this year's exclusive t-shirt celebrating Texas’s rich heritage.

Commissioner Buckingham is encouraging all Texans and history enthusiasts to help support the GLO's ongoing efforts to preserve our precious documents and maps and keep Texas history alive for future generations.

Click below to learn more and donate today!
https://www.glo.texas.gov/about-glo/press-releases/land-commissioner-buckingham-announces-limited-edition-i-saved-texas

05/29/2026

On May 30, 1898, Theodore Roosevelt’s First United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, infamously known as the “Rough Riders,” was ordered to take part in the Spanish-American War.

Led by Roosevelt and commanded by Col. Leonard Wood, the regiment prepared to travel from San Antonio to Tampa, Florida, to join U.S. troops in an invasion of Cuba.

Read more:
https://www.tshaonline.org/texas-day-by-day/entry/339

05/28/2026

The GLO Archives recently unveiled a new exhibit that features antique surveying instruments used by surveyors from 1850 to the early 1940s.

The Don King Family Surveying Collection consists of a unique assortment of precisely crafted tools that played a major role in our state’s cartographic history, helping to establish Texas’ land system.

Learn more:
https://medium.com/save-texas-history/texas-general-land-office-unveils-new-antique-surveying-instruments-exhibit-48d0e4296940

05/27/2026

In 1889, the massive Texas Spring Palace in Fort Worth was meant to rival the new State Fair in Dallas—until it went up in flames.

The palace hosted a dance with thousands in attendance just one year after construction, which ended tragically after a lit cigarette ignited a fire that burned down the entire building.

Watch the full video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq4FLsmc4l0

05/27/2026

The "Official Map of the Highway System in Texas" was issued in 1936 and represents the incredible growth of public road construction in the early 1900s.

Created by the Texas Highway Department, this tourist map features all the U.S. and state highways in Texas (at that time), major population centers, and several state landmarks.

Learn more:
https://medium.com/save-texas-history/official-map-of-the-highway-system-of-texas-4293ee71bd95

05/22/2026

On May 22, 1971, the historic Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, our nation’s fifth presidential library, was dedicated on the University of Texas at Austin’s campus.

The LBJ Library currently houses a massive collection of over 45 million documents, as well as thousands of hours of recorded audio and videotapes that spans Johnson’s life and career.

Read more:

Discover the significance of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, dedicated in 1971, as a vital resource for scholarly research and historical preservation.

05/21/2026

Following the Battle of San Jacinto, Major Isaac Watts Burton led a small group of cavalrymen in successfully capturing three Mexican Navy ships on the Texas coast.

Burton’s unusual tactics earned his group the nickname “Horse Marines,” and the GLO Archives holds records of their military service.

Learn more:
https://medium.com/save-texas-history/isaac-watts-burton-and-the-texas-horse-marines-8e40ecc203c9 #.9wo4qclbe

05/20/2026

Sgt. Emanuel Stance became the first Buffalo Soldier to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor after heroically leading a rescue mission near Fort McKavett.

Stance and his men fought against a band of Apaches and saved a kidnapped farmboy without losing a single soldier, this week in Texas history.

Watch the full video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwnKFQogz3s

05/19/2026

Did you know that a 500-pound meteorite once fell to earth in northeast Texas?

On May 19, 1910, Halley’s Comet dropped the meteorite outside of the Texas community of Charleston in Delta County during its historic passage.

Read more:
https://www.tshaonline.org/texas-day-by-day/entry/895