Austin’s First Federal Buildings
In the spring of 1839, lumber for the first permanent Capitol of Texas had been cut and hauled from Bastrop to the building site at West...
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David A. Bowles
Aimee Ravichandran
- Apr 14
- 1 min
Elnora’s Birthday
On April 14, 1841, Elnora Van Cleve was born in a cabin near Sixth and Congress in Austin, Texas. She would be recorded as the first...
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David A Bowles
- Feb 21
- 1 min
Joseph Lee – 1810-1891
Attorney Joseph Lee arrived in 1840 to Austin as the three centers of government, city, county and Republic of Texas, were being...
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David A Bowles
- Feb 19
- 1 min
28th State is Born
One hundred seventy-seven years ago, the City of Austin stopped at Noon on February 19, 1846. The town of several hundred residents and...
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David A Bowles
- Feb 17
- 1 min
Last Vice President of the Republic of Texas Dies
Kenneth Lewis Anderson of San Augustine County was elected to The Texas House of Representatives in 1841. A protégé of President Sam...
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David A Bowles
- Dec 30, 2022
- 2 min
How Names Change
I mentioned in my last post that Van Cleave Drive in South Dallas was named for my great great Grandfather Lorenzo Van Cleve. He received...
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David A Bowles
- Dec 28, 2022
- 2 min
Van Cleve or Van Cleave
I wrote about my great great Grandfather Lorenzo Van Cleve in my last post. I have been asked many times about the different spellings of...
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David A Bowles
- Dec 16, 2022
- 2 min
Lorenzo Van Cleve
Lorenzo Van Cleve arrived in the spring of 1839, months before the town of Austin was founded. Newly elected President Mirabeau Lamar had...
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David A Bowles
- Nov 23, 2022
- 1 min
An Empire Is Born
On a cold November day in 1838, Mirabeau Lamar discovered the location he desired to establish his empire.
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David A Bowles
- Nov 11, 2022
- 1 min
Good Samaritans Save Fayette Smith
Taos merchant, John A. Rowland, paid $60 in silver to Mexican Comancheros, to barter with Comanche Indians for the return of...
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David A Bowles
- Nov 3, 2022
- 1 min
Architect Extraordinaire
Edwin Waller was to Austin as Pierre L’Enfant was to Washington D.C.; except Waller was not an architect of urban planning. Both designed...
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David A Bowles
- Nov 1, 2022
- 1 min
Texas Down Under
There is a town named Texas in the Goondiwindi Region of Queensland, Australia. The town of Texas in Australia was founded in 1840,...
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