Mountain Trail Region
Gage Hotel
The town of Marathon came into being with the coming of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad in 1882 and…
Real Places Telling Real Stories
Spotlights on upcoming events, quirky trip themes, fascinating histories, and behind-the-scenes explorations of the history, heritage, and culture of Texas. Read about it and then get out there and experience it for yourself!
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Mountain Trail Region
Hotel Paisano
The striking Hotel Paisano, historically known as El Paisano Hotel, got off to a rocky start as construction workers broke…
Mountain Trail Region
Hotel El Capitan
Hotel El Capitan was built in 1930 by the Gateway Hotel Chain, led by Charles Bassett, at the crossroads of…
Lakes Trail Region
Discover These 8 African American History Sites in Dallas
As one of the last states to inform enslaved people of their freedom, Texas shares an interesting relation with its…
Hill Country Trail Region
7 Hispanic Heritage Sites in San Antonio
Formerly part of Mexico and Spain, Texas has deep Hispanic roots. Much of the food, entertainment, and celebrations Texans enjoy…
Hill Country Trail Region
German Historical Sites in the Hill Country Region
German immigrants initially sought sanctuary in Texas from political and religious persecution. Many settled in the Hill Country, where the…
Brazos Trail Region
Top Picnic Spots with Texas History
As Texans continue to seek creative ways to explore our state safely, the Texas Historical Commission is offering ideas for…
Brazos Trail Region
Healthy Activities and Texas History at Our State Historic Sites
2021 presented new opportunities to explore activities and travel throughout the Lone Star State. Many of our state historic sites…
Plains Trail Region
Exploring the Quanah Parker Trail
Dozens of arrows, 22 feet tall, pierce the landscape of the Panhandle Plains. They commemorate Quanah Parker, last chief of…
Hill Country Trail Region
Historic Road Trip: Fredericksburg to Johnson City
The Hill Country is the birthplace of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson and the home of descendants of thousands of…
Forest Trail Region
Historic Road Trip: Nacogdoches and San Augustine
East Texas is a special place. From the tall pines, to the historic downtowns, and the unique lodging and dining…
Plains Trail Region
Historic Road Trip: Amarillo and Canyon
Clear skies, wide open spaces, and spectacular scenic vistas immediately jump to mind when you think of the Texas Panhandle…
Lakes Trail Region
Historic Road Trip: Denison to Clarksville
Settled by Native Americans, conquered by Spaniards, then included as part of Mexico, this region is rich with history and…
Hill Country Trail Region
Historic Road Trip: San Antonio
When San Antonio visitors venture beyond the River Walk area, they find a remarkable range of heritage tourism sites in…
Tropical Trail Region
Historic Road Trip: South Texas Coastal Bend
The Texas coast stretches 350 miles from South Padre Island to the Louisiana border, extending through a wide variety of…
Brazos Trail Region
Historic General Stores in Texas
There are few things that feel more authentically Texas than stopping at a little general store and picking up some…
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!
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…
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…
Historic Texas Jails: “I Swear, Sheriff! The Horse Is Mine!”
The state's first penitentiary was completed in Huntsville in the mid-1800s, and its first prisoner was a horse thief from…
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…
Part 6: Texas Heritage Trails at 50: New Directions
On several occasions private sponsors helped make the Trails materials available. At the outset, in 1968 and 1969, Pearl Brewing…
Part 5: Texas Heritage Trails at 50: Travelers Take to the Trails
Communities blessed by being included wrote to thank the governor, but there were also predictable and numerous and complaints regarding…
Part 4: Texas Heritage at 50: Launching the Trails
The team came to see the roadway as a designated system of existing highways complemented by new construction, where recreational…
Part 3: Texas Heritage Trails at 50: Planning the Trails
It was the carefully organized papers of Professor Urbanovsky that the university archivist recalled, that cracked open the door and…
Brazos Trail Region
Part 2: Texas Heritage Trails at 50: Texas Takes Action
Although tourism had emerged in the 1950s as the state’s fifth largest industry, Texas could not by law use tax…
Part 1: Texas Heritage Trails at 50: Beginnings
To those who care about preservation, travel, and local history, this phenomenal transformation has an interesting history of its own…
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.
Great Western Trail: 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…