This Day in Texas History
February
February 1, 1882 -- The groundbreaking ceremony was held for the present Texas Capitol in Austin. Construction was completed six years later in 1888.
February 2, 1848 -- The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican War, was signed. The Rio Grande was established as the boundary between Texas and Mexico.
February 3, 1959 -- Native Texan musicians Buddy Holly and J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper), were killed along with Richie Valens in a plane crash in Iowa after a concert.
February 4, 1812 -- Nicholas Zink was born in Bavaria. In 1844, he led German immigrants to Texas, where he founded the townsite for New Braunfels, originally called Zinkenburg.
February 5, 1848 -- The notorious “Bandit Queen” Belle Starr was born in Missouri. By 1864, her family moved near Dallas, where she became involved with Jesse James and other outlaws.
February 6, 1671 -- Birthday of French Canadian explorer Francois Derbanne, who trekked across Texas in 1717 and spent two months among the Hasinai (Caddo) Indians.
February 7, 1883 -- Birthday of Jessie Marion Koogler McNay, whose willed her estate and Spanish colonial mansion to found the first modern art museum in San Antonio.
February 8, 1836 -- Davy Crockett and the Tennessee volunteers arrived at the Alamo. Crockett cheered the Alamo defenders with his lively fiddle playing before the historic battle.
February 9, 1939 -- Native Texan and renowned black musician Herschel Evans passed away. He played tenor sax in Count Basie’s big band and composed the hit, “Texas Shuffle.”
February 10, 1884 -- Hugo Franz, founder of the school of architecture at the University of Texas, was born in Austin. He designed the building now known as the Austin History Center.
February 11, 1854 -- The Texas Legislature appropriated $17,500 for the construction of the Governor’s Mansion in Austin. Gov. Elisha M. Pease was the first to occupy the residence.
February 12, 1836 -- The Red Rovers, a volunteer military company from Alabama known for their uniform of red pants, arrived in Goliad to fight in the Texas Revolution.
February 13, 1913 -- Ignacio Lozano founded the Spanish-language newspaper, La Prensa. He was a member of El México de Afuera, a group of Mexican political exiles living in Texas.
February 14, 1719 -- A Spanish report proposed that families from the Canary Islands be sent to colonize the province of Texas, which led to the settlement of 15 families in San Antonio.
February 15, 1877 -- About 40 cattlemen met under a great oak at Graham, Texas, to organize the Northwest Texas Cattle Raisers’ Association in order to stop cattle rustling.
February 16, 1846 -- The First Legislature of the state of Texas convened with 20 senators and 66 representatives.
February 17, 1756 -- Lt. Gov. Bernardo de Miranda y Flores of Spanish Texas set out from San Antonio to search for mineral deposits and discovered the Los Almagres silver mine in Llano.
February 18, 1665 -- Explorer Robert Cavalier Sieur de la Salle established a French colony in Texas at Fort St. Louis near Matagorda Bay.
February 19, 1846 -- The flag of the Republic was lowered at the State Capitol. James Pinckney Henderson took office as governor and the Republic of Texas ceased to exist.
February 20, 1943 -- The Women Airforce Pilots flight school opened at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, during World War II.
February 21, 1914 -- Actor Zachary Scott was born in Austin, Texas. He went on to become a star of stage and screen, receiving an Academy Award nomination in the film The Southerner.
February 22, 1819 -- The Adams-Onís Treaty was signed. The treaty renounced the U.S. claim to Texas and defined the boundary between the United States and Mexico.
February 23, 1836 -- Sam Houston signed a treaty granting the Cherokee land between the Angelina & Sabine Rivers. The Texas Senate later voided the treaty against Houston’s wishes.
February 24, 1836 -- Colonel William Barrett Travis wrote his famous letter from the Alamo: “I shall never surrender or retreat.”
February 25, 1836 -- The Colt Revolver was patented. Texas later ordered 180 of the revolvers to arm the Texas Navy, and Colt Revolvers were also issued to Texas Rangers.
February 26, 1888 -- The original Goddess of Liberty was placed atop the dome of the Capitol in Austin. The statue now resides at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.
February 27, 1795 -- José Antonio Navarro was born in San Antonio de Béxar. He later became one of three Tejanos to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence.
February 28, 1918 -- The Texas Legislature adopted national prohibition, banning the production and consumption of alcohol in the state of Texas.
For more information about Texas history, explore the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas Online
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