Texas State Historical Association

On this day in 1901, Gregorio Lira Cortez shot and killed Karnes County sheriff W. T. Morris and fled. The apparent misunderstandings that led to the killing, and the extended pursuit, capture, and trials of Cortez made him a folk hero. His exploits are celebrated in many variants of El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez, a popular ballad that has inspired books and at least one movie.

Cortez, a Mexican native, was farming near Kenedy in 1901, when Sheriff Morris and his deputy, Boon Choate, questioned him about a stolen horse. With Choate interpreting, a misunderstanding apparently occurred that caused Morris to shoot and wound Cortez's brother Romaldo, after which Cortez shot and killed Morris. While newspapers followed the subsequent manhunt, Cortez became a hero to many Hispanics and some Anglos. Violent reprisals and a series of trials and appeals followed. During them, Cortez was held in eleven jails in eleven counties, after which he was finally granted a conditional pardon and released in 1913. The corrido lionizing him was sung as early as 1901.

We are so excited for this and to see our Director of Publications and Texas State Historian Dr. Rick McCaslin present!

This one is for our Texas history detectives! On this day in 1865, an estimated fifty desperadoes broke into the state treasury in Austin, one of the boldest crimes in Texas history. The robbery occurred during the chaotic period immediately after the downfall of the Confederacy in the spring of 1865. Gen. Nathan G. Shelley informed George R. Freeman, a Confederate veteran and leader of a small company of volunteer militia, that the robbery was imminent.

By the time Freeman and about twenty of his troops arrived at the treasury, the robbers were in the building. A brief gunfight erupted in which one of the robbers was mortally wounded; all the other robbers fled toward Mount Bonnell, west of Austin, carrying with them about $17,000 in specie, more than half of the gold and silver in the state treasury.

None was ever captured. The loot was never recovered, although some of the money was found strewn between the treasury building and Mount Bonnell. Freeman and his company of volunteers were later recognized by the state for their service in defending the public treasury, but the resolution providing a reward for their services never passed the legislature.

This summer, the Texas State Historical Association is highlighting the educators who bring Texas history to life in classrooms across our state. Join us over the next 10 weeks as we introduce you to teachers that are making an impact on students by utilizing TSHA resources and programs.

Through programs like Texas History Day, Junior Historians of Texas, the Walter Prescott Webb Historical Society, and the Handbook of Texas, TSHA provides educators with resources to help students research, write, and connect with their communities' history.

This week, we are proud to spotlight Jan Martinez, who has guided middle school students through the Texas History Day process for more than 25 years.

When we support educators like Jan, we help preserve Texas history for generations to come. Your support helps TSHA continue providing classroom resources, student opportunities, and teacher training across Texas. Visit the link in the comments to show your support today!

If your dad loves Texas history like we do then these bundles are the perfect gift for Father's Day!

We've got some Texas oil history for you today! On this day in 1894, a water-well contractor accidentally discovered the Corsicana oilfield, the first in Texas to produce oil and gas in significant quantities, while seeking a new water source for the city of Corsicana. Civic leaders of Corsicana needed a dependable water supply to promote commercial development. They contracted with the American Well and Prospecting Company to drill three water wells. The drillers took the first well to a depth of 1,027 feet, where they encountered oil. The first modern refinery in Texas, operated by the J. S. Cullinan Company, opened at the field in 1898. During its first century of operation, the field produced about 44 million barrels of oil; annual production peaked in 1900 at more than 839,000 barrels. The Corsicana field established the potential for commercial oil production in Texas; the industry has had incalculable effects on the state's subsequent development, public revenue, and culture.

On this day in 1944, D-day, James Earl Rudder commanded the Second Ranger Battalion as it achieved one of the great feats of arms of the Normandy invasion. Rudder, a native of Eden, Texas, had served in the army in the 1930s and was recalled to duty during World War II. He became commander and trainer of the elite Second Ranger Battalion in 1943.

On D-day Rudder's Rangers stormed the beach at Pointe du Hoc and, under constant enemy fire, scaled 100-foot cliffs to reach and destroy German gun batteries. The battalion suffered higher than 50 percent casualties, and Rudder himself was wounded twice. In spite of this, he and his men helped establish a beachhead for the Allied forces. In later life Rudder became president of Texas A&M. In 1967 he received the Distinguished Service Medal from President Lyndon Johnson.

Attention lovers of Texas country music! We are excited to announce the release of a brand new TSHA Press book: Texas Songbird: The Life and Songs of Cindy Walker

Meet Cindy Walker. Once celebrated as "the dean of Texas songwriters" and the "greatest living country songwriter of her era," her massive impact on American music has quietly slipped from the public eye. This remarkable book sets out to change that, shining a long-overdue spotlight on the woman from Mexia, Texas, who quietly rewrote music history from her small-town home. With an astonishing catalog of over a thousand songs, more than half of Walker's tracks were recorded by a genre-spanning list of legendary artists, dominating the charts and frequently featuring in iconic movie and TV soundtracks.

From her stacked shelf of prestigious awards to her induction into BMI's elite "Million-Air Club," signifying songs played on the radio over a million times, Cindy Walker's impact on American music is undeniable. Get the book today!

In its edition for this day in 1870, the Kansas Daily Commonwealth made the earliest known printed reference to the Chisholm Trail, the major livestock route out of Texas. Cattle drovers followed the old Shawnee Trail by way of San Antonio, Austin, and Waco, where the trails split. The Chisholm Trail continued on to Fort Worth, then passed east of Decatur to the crossing at Red River Station. It followed the same route as modern U.S. Highway 81 from Fort Worth to Newton, Kansas. Although the Chisholm Trail was used only from 1867 to 1884, the longhorn cattle driven north along it provided a steady source of income that helped the impoverished state recover from the Civil War. Pictured is the Chisolm Trail map as printed, a cowboy on the trail, and Jesse Chisolm.