When the Rains Came
As a young boy, during the drought of the 50’s, I remember walking across the dry Pedernales Riverbed from the Bowles Ranch to the Turner...
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David A. Bowles
David A Bowles
- May 3
- 1 min
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
- Apr 21
- 1 min
Open House at the Capitol
On April 21, 1888, the Capitol of Texas was opened to the public before it was finished. It was appropriate to have the open house on San...
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David A Bowles
- Apr 18
- 1 min
Juan Seguin Forced to Resign as San Antonio Mayor
On April 18, 1842, San Antonio Mayor Juan Seguin was forced to resign as Mayor. The Tejano hero of the Texas Revolution was accused of...
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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
- Mar 3
- 1 min
Line in the Sand
March 3, 1836, inside the walls of the Alamo, Lt. Col. William B. Travis sat at a small wooden desk and contemplated his predicament...
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David A Bowles
- Feb 23
- 1 min
San Antonio Mayor - Francois Guilbeau
Francois Guilbeau, Jr. (1813-1879) moved to San Antonio in 1839 during the early years of the Republic of Texas. The French-born...
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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
- Feb 1
- 1 min
Texas Armadillo Day
Texans don’t think a Pennsylvania groundhog ought to predict our weather. Fourteen years ago, Terry Boothe called T by friends and...
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Aimee Ravichandran
- Jan 31
- 1 min
The Menger Hotel
On January 31, 1859, The Menger Hotel opened across the street from the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. O. Henry aka William Sydney Porter,...
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Aimee Ravichandran
- Jan 27
- 1 min
Judge James W. Smith
Searching for my earliest Austin family roots, I discovered this Austin Gazette article dated Jan 27, 1841. The old news story from...
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David A Bowles
- Jan 22
- 2 min
Sam Houston’s Letter
This is a letter that Sam Houston wrote to his wife, Margaret the day after Fayette Smith was captured by Comanche Indians. Sam Houston...
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David A Bowles
- Jan 18
- 2 min
Spring House
The first book in the Westward Sagas was named Spring House because most of the important scenes in the story took place in a spring...
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David A Bowles
- Jan 15
- 2 min
Mudd, Texas
Yes, there was once a Mudd, Texas in N.W. Travis County. It had a post office and a one room school called Mudd School where my father,...
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David A Bowles
- Jan 12
- 1 min
Dr. Joseph William Robertson
Dr. Robertson, a First Footer of the new town of Austin, arrived in the fall of 1839. He represented Bastrop County in the fourth session...
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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 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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