Historical Roots

Days of Heaven

Time stands still for the little chapel on the hill. Photographer Laurence Parent captures some historical gems in hidden spaces.

Early Texas Schools

From the crumbling adobe schoolhouse in Terlingua to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s childhood school on the Pedernales River, these age-old structures give a voice to many lost communities. The book, Early Texas Schools: A Photographic History, tells the stories of Texas schools built between the 1850s and 1930s when the quest to offer education sprung from a passion for a better life in tough, often unforgiving, country.

Restoration of a Dallas Landmark: Old Red

Old Red not only houses history, it is history. After a 90-year absence and a $40 million renovation, the landmark tower is back and is now home to the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture.

 

Landmarks of the Steamboat Age

The smoke-spewing stacks are long gone, and the jubilant bells are silent, but today, travelers can retrace the voyages of the multidecked steamers from the mouth of the Rio Grande to Roma. 

 

Elisabet Ney: Sculpting a Texas Legacy

As a girl growing up in the 1830s, Elisabet Ney dreamed of becoming a great sculptor. Her parents told her that women were not allowed to take sculpting classes, but Elisabet was strong-willed and would not give up.

 

Maverick Mystery Tour

There’s a little bit of maverick in every Texan. The application of the word "maverick" may have expanded beyond its original Old West context, but it’s still the best definition I’ve seen of the Texas character, both historical and contemporary.

Wish You Were Here!

Dedicated deltiologists — postcard collectors, that is — join the merely curious in Austin at the Capital of Texas Postcard Club’s annual show to search, find, dicker, and plunk down a few dollars for a colorful 3-by-5-inch piece of history—a vintage postcard.