Texas, one of the southern and southwestern United States, is bounded on the north by Oklahoma; on the northeast by Arkansas; on the east by Louisiana; on the southeast by the Gulf of Mexico; on the southwest by Mexico; and on the west by New Mexico. It lies between 25º 50′ and 36º 30′ north latitude, and between 93º 30′ and 106º 40′ west longitude. The state extends about 801 miles from north to south and about 773 miles from east to west. It contains approximately 268,596 square miles, or 171,901,440 acres, making it the largest state in the Union after Alaska.
Texas entered the Union on December 29, 1845, as the 28th State. Two 20th Century U. S. Presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson were born in Texas. In the 19th Century the Texas economy was based on cattle breeding, cotton growing, and other agricultural activities. After 1900 petroleum and natural gas production became very important and the state also developed a diversified manufacturing sector. In the early 1980’s Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio were the state’s largest cities and among its important industrial centers. The state’s name is derived from tejas, the mid 16th Century rendering of a Caddo Indian term meaning, “friends.” It was adopted and spelled as Texas in 1836, the year it became independent of Mexico. Texas is known as the Lone Star State for the single star on its flag.
This state project is part of the much larger American History & Genealogy Project or better known by the abbreviation of AHGP. It has been in existence online since 2000 and over the years has been spread out across the web. These pages are an attempt to consolidate it under one website of the larger project.
Texas History
Texas Counties
The vast majority of these counties are linked to through the Internet Archive version of their older website. We will gradually place the information they held back under this website so that all links are active and work again.
- Andrews
- Archer
- Bexar
- Callahan
- Coke
- Coleman
- Concho
- Crockett
- Crosby
- Eastland
- Old Eastland
- El Paso
- Fannin
- Fisher
- Fort Bend
- Galveston
- Hidalgo
- Hopkins
- Jones
- Kinney
- Maverick
- McLennan
- Nolan
- Panola
- Runnels
- Rusk
- Sterling
- Taylor
- Tom Green
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