Historic Hotels And Lodging: Sam Houston May Not Have Slept Here
Nothing beats a good night's sleep followed by a full day's worth of adventure. It's why we travel.
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Brazos Trail Region
Visit Eight State Historic Sites to Experience the Republic of Texas Era
Step back in time and experience the period of the Texas Republic in person or virtually at one of these…
Hill Country Trail Region
Kerrville, Main Street City, Celebrates Its Musical Heritage
This spring, come to Kerrville for the music, stay for the history!
Lakes Trail Region
Horse Country
Attempting to define “horse country” in Texas is a tricky business.
Hill Country Trail Region
Barbecue And Brew
My husband Josh and I have never been the type to frequent chain restaurants or order the same take-out week…
Historic Hotels And Lodging: Sam Houston May Not Have Slept Here
Nothing beats a good night's sleep followed by a full day's worth of adventure. It's why we travel.
Hill Country Trail Region
All Aboard: A Trip on the Hill Country Flyer
My wife and I are always looking for fun family activities to do with our seven-year-old son, Parker, especially anything…
Forest Trail Region
Missions
When you think of missions in Texas you might imagine benevolent brothers in brown robes ringing bells, or spending hours…
Tropical Trail Region
Refugio to Zapata: Texans at War
War has always played a major role in shaping the state’s history.
Wildlife Refuges
The state’s wildlife refuges are some of the first places in our history set aside for the protection of wildlife…
Tropical Trail Region
Republic of the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande Valley, home to balmy weather, subtropical species, and lots of wintering Texans, spent a brief period of…
Forest Trail Region
Outlaws and Legends of the Big Thicket
The natural characteristics of the historic Big Thicket in east Texas made it an ideal setting for ghost stories and…
Plains Trail Region
Old Tascosa and a Shirttail to Hang On To
Once known as “Cowboy Capital of the Plains,” the community of Old Tascosa provided an easy crossing along the Canadian…
Brazos Trail Region
Zoos and Aquariums
As we’ve gained a greater understanding of the natural environment around us, we’ve begun to reevaluate our system for the…
Lakes Trail Region
North Central Texas During the Civil War
During the 1850’s, many North Texans were subsistence farmers from the Upper South and Midwest; areas with little or no…
Brazos Trail Region
Rosenwald Schools
In 1917, the Rosenwald Fund, established by Sears, Roebuck and Company CEO Julius Rosenwald, provided matching finances to communities who…
Tropical Trail Region
South Padre Island to Laredo: Steamboats and Borderland Culture
Imagine a balmy stretch of the Rio Grande River flowing calmly in a 19th century morning light. Drifting fog lifts…
“I Swear, Sheriff! The Horse Is Mine!”: Historic Texas Jails
The state's first penitentiary was completed in Huntsville in the mid-1800s, and its first prisoner was a horse thief from…
Forts Trail Region
La Salle Odyssey — 17th Century Thriller
Early exploration across pre-statehood Texas unravels over the course of several centuries, providing history enthusiasts with real life adventure stories…
Forest Trail Region
Modern Architecture
What exactly is “mid-century modern?” Wire furniture, egg lamps and the Jetsons? The designation refers to a particular style that…
Historic Churches: No Confession Required
Veteran heritage travelers know a little secret they like to pass on to folks who share their love of exploring…
Plains Trail Region
Quanah Parker Trail: Follow the Arrows into History
The Comanche Indians once dominated vast areas of North America—and yet, forced onto reservations, they left little record of their…
Schools and Universities
Funding for a Texas university system began as early as 1839 when the Congress of the Republic of Texas dedicated…
History “Buon Fresco”: Historic Murals in Texas
The tradition of mural painting in Texas, much of it accomplished during the early part of the 20th century, derived…
The Public Green
Establishing city and county parks for public use has a long tradition in America, one that was perhaps a reaction…
Historic Houses: To The Manor Born
When is a house not a home? When it's a museum.
The End Of An Era
The Great Western Trail stretched from South Texas to Nebraska, becoming the primary cattle driving route for Texas by 1879…
Forts Trail Region
Nature in the Forts Trail Region
The Forts Trail Region offers plenty of opportunities for exploring nature alongside history. The Trail, after all, was once considered…
Carnegie Libraries: Builder of Literacy
Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and one of the country’s most important philanthropists of the 19th century, believed public libraries provided…
Hill Country Trail Region
Going With The Flow
Brazos Trail Region
Water Recreation
Texas may have a reputation as dry, dusty cowboy country but that’s only because Hollywood westerns don’t usually feature waterskiing…
Brazos Trail Region
See You At The Fair
Community fairs have a long history in early agrarian Texas, providing venues for citizens across the state to come together…
Bankhead Highway
The birth of auto trails meant the birth of the road trip.
The Search Is On
In the past, learning about your unique heritage meant asking your family members lots of questions.
Plains Trail Region
Route 66
Although much of the original route has been physically displaced, the spirit of Route 66 stills survives along the original…
What Lies Below
Longhorn Cavern, nine miles south of Burnet, has perhaps the most well-documented history out of all the caves in the…
To The Ramparts!: Historic Forts And Presidios
The defense of a territory as big as Texas required investing big resources into the effort-materials and man power, especially-a…
Mountain Trail Region
Birding and Wildlife Watching
Our Texas Mountain Trail non-profit organization partnered with Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Pecos Trail to develop a…
Tropical Trail Region
Kingsville To Raymondville: A Wild Horse Desert Turned Ranching Empire
Cattle still reign supreme in Texas, thanks in part to Captain Richard King and his partner Mifflin Kenedy, two of…
Hill Country Trail Region
Something Old, Something New: Adult Getaway in the Texas Hill Country
“I think it’s crooked,” I said to my husband, Sean, as I examined the painting I had hung a few…
Historic Depots: Whistle Stop Tour Or Just The Ticket
From Brownsville and Burton up to Mount Vernon and across to Sierra Blanca, train depots in Texas serve as museums…
Road Trip To Retro!
Antique horse trails aren't the only discovery options for historic routes in Texas.
State Parks and Natural Areas
When most folks think of state parks and natural areas in Texas, things like wildlife and hiking trails come to…
Living History at a Site Near You
How often have you thought about traveling back in time? Impossible? Not quite.
New Deal Projects
The stock market crash in 1929 sent the U.S. economy plummeting along with it. By 1932, U.S. domestic industrial output…
Historic Bridges: Span Across Time
Texas bridges span rivers, creeks, and floodplains across the state. But they also represent history. Bridges reflect what materials were…
Historic Restaurants: Where The History Is Old And The Food Is Fresh
Texans have a pretty big menu to choose from when it comes to eating out. But what about heritage travelers…
On The Wing
The 1960s stereotype of the “bird watcher” – knobby-kneed Jane Hathaway of the Beverly Hillbillies sitcom, in her floppy hat…
Hill Country Trail Region
Two-steppin’ in the Cowboy Capital of the World
The man I’m dating wears starched pink Ralph Lauren shirts, pressed khakis and brown loafers—every day. I have 12 pairs…