Wayne Wheelwright - 50 Quick Facts about Texas

Title Page

50 QUICK FACTS ABOUT TEXAS

By

Wayne Wheelwright

Publisher Information

50 Quick Facts about Texas

Published in 2013 by Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Copyright 2013 Wayne Wheelwright

The right of Wayne Wheelwright to be identified as author of this book has been asserted in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyrights Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Facts

1. Texas is the second largest state in the United States. With a total area of 268,581 square miles it is second in size to only Alaska. The state is in the South Central part of the country and shares an international border with Mexico. The U.S. states that share a border with Texas are New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the north-east and Louisiana to the east.
2. Texas is the second most populous state in the country behind California. Texas has a population of just over 26 million people. This gives the state a population density of 98.1/sq mile which is 26 th in the United States. Texas is home to some of the largest cities in the country including Houston and San Antonio.
3. The name Texas comes from the Caddo language which has only around 25 people alive that still speak it. The Caddo word tejas which translates to friends or allies is where the name Texas originates. During the time when the area was under Spanish colonial rule the area was known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas: La Provincia de Texas.
4. The state of Texas covers around 7% of the total water and land area of the United States. Texas is the southernmost area of the Great Plains and is considered to be part of the U.S. South and part of the U.S. Southwest. The Texas Almanac says that the state has four major regions. The Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains and Basin and Range Province.
5. The history of Texas goes back to 1519 when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the region where it was already inhabited by various tribes of Native Americans. From 1519 to 1848 parts of Texas or the state itself have been claimed by France, Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, The Confederate States of America and the United States of America.
6. The first European base was established when Ren-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle set up a French colony called Fort Saint Louis in 1682. The colony lasted three years before being killed off. Mission were set up in East Texas but were abandoned. In 1711 Spanish authorities again attempted to colonise the region, driven by concerns over the growing French presence in neighbouring Louisiana.
7. Mexico became independent from Spain in 1812 and set up Mexican texas as a new nation. To help encourage people to relocate there the Mexican authorities allowed immigration from the United States and by 1834 the Anglos living in Texas outnumbered Mexicans by over 4 to 1.
8. Texian forces fought and won the Texas Revolution in 1835-1836 which led to Texas becoming an independent nation in its own right, The Republic of Texas. In 1845 Texas joined the United States becoming the 28 th state in the Union. In 1861 Texas seceded from the Union to join the Confederate States of America. Few battles of the American Civil War were fought in the state and when the war ended the slaves were freed and Texas became subject to Reconstruction.
9. In 1901 a major petroleum discovery was made at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont. This discovery led to the creation of the most productive oil well in the history of the planet. This wave of oil speculation and discovery led to the Oil Boom, sometimes known as the Gusher Age, which changed the economy of Texas forever.
10. Texas has one of largest and most rapidly expanding economies in all of the United States. 51 of the companies on the Fortune 500 call Texas home. Texas is the largest exporter of goods in the country and if Texas were a sovereign state it would be the 14 th largest economy in the world. Texas has a gross state product of over $1.3 trillion which is the second highest in the United States.
11. Houston is the 4 th largest city in the United States and the largest city in the state of Texas. The city has a population of over 2.1 million people and is the seat of Harris County. The city of Houston was original founded in 1836 near the banks of the Buffalo Bayou and was incorporated as a city in 1837. Houston is named for former president of the Republic of Texas, General Sam Houston. Houstons nickname is Space City as it is home to NASAs Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, home to Mission Control and Houston was the first word spoken on the moon.
12. San Antonio is the city with the 7 th largest population in the United States and the 2 nd most populous city in the state of Texas. San Antonio has a population of just over 1.3 million people and is the seat of Bexar County. The city was named for Saint Anthony of Padua and is famous for Spanish missions, the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, the Alamo Bowl and and Marriage Island. San Antonio is also home to two of Texas most popular tourist attractions, SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks.
13. Dallas is the 9 th largest city in the United States and the 3 rd largest city in Texas. The majority of the city is within Dallas County for which Dallas is the county seat. Dallas has a population of around 1.2 million people and was founded in 1841 before being formally incorporated as a city in 1856. Dallas is home to the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States. Dallas is home to many popular tourist attractions including The Nasher Sculpture Center, Fair park, Reunion Tower and Southfork Ranch as seen on the TV series Dallas.
14. Austin is the 11 th largest city in the United States and the fourth largest city in Texas. Austin is also the second largest state capital in the country with a population of around 850,000 people. Pioneers began to settle in the area that would become Austin in the 1830s. The site was chosen to replace Houston as the state capital in 1839. The city was originally incorporated under the name Waterloo but was changed shortly after in honor of the republics first secretary of state Stephen F. Austin.
15. Fort Worth is the 16 th largest city in the United States and the 5 th largest city in Texas. Covering an area of almost 350 square miles the city is home to just under 750,000 people. Originally founded as an Army outpost in 1849, Fort Worth grew when it became a stop along the Chisholm Trail making it the center of cattle drives and the ranching industry earning it the nickname Cowtown. From 2000 to 2006 Fort Worth was the fastest growing major city in the United States.
16. El Paso is the city with the 19 th largest population in the United States and the 6 th largest population in Texas with a population of around 675,000 people. El Paso is the county seat for El Paso County and stands on the Rio Grande across the border from Mexico. El Paso is home to many major institutions including the University of Texas at El Paso, Texas Tech university Health Sciences Center at El Paso and the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. The city was founded in 1680 and incorporated as a city in 1873 and has the nickname El Chuco.
17. Arlington is the city with the 50 th largest population in the United States and the 7 th largest population in Texas. Around 375,000 call Arlington home and is the largest city in the sate that does not serve as a county seat, which in this case is in Tarrant County. Arlington is home to the University of Texas at Arlington, the Texas Rangers Ballpark and the theme park Six Flags Over Texas which is the original Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. Arlington also has the peculiar honor of being the largest city in the country without a public transit system.