Texas Trivia & Tidbits - Page 23

Looking for Texas trivia? Try our list Texas little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Texas began producing oil in the 1890s, but it was the spectacular gusher on Spindletop Hill near Beaumont in January 1901 that launched the boom that made the industry a leading segment of the state’s economy. The gusher sent oil 100 feet into the air for nine days.

first appeared: 4/22/2001

The epic movie Giant, starring James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson, was filmed in Marfa (pop. 2,424) in 1955.

first appeared: 4/22/2001

The world’s largest fire hydrant, 24 feet tall and weighing 4,500 pounds, is at the State Fire Museum of Texas in Beaumont. The Dalmatian-spotted hydrant was a gift from the Walt Disney Home Video division, built and installed in 1999 to promote the re-release of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.

first appeared: 4/15/2001

The King Ranch, covering 825,000 acres or 1,300 square miles of land, is larger than the state of Rhode Island.

first appeared: 4/15/2001

Although the Civil War ended in April 1865, news didn’t immediately reach south Texas, where the Battle of Palmito Ranch was fought May 13, 1865—more than a month after the Confederacy’s surrender.

first appeared: 4/8/2001

In the first eight months of 2000, Texas produced 337.2 million barrels of oil—more than 60 gallons of oil for every man, woman, and child in the United States.

first appeared: 4/8/2001

The plastic grass known as “AstroTurf” was invented for Houston’s Astrodome. Completed in 1965, the Astrodome boasted real grass. But when its semi-transparent roof tiles were painted over (to make it easier to see fly balls), the grass died, requiring a synthetic replacement.

first appeared: 4/1/2001

Austin was the site of an unusual fight over government records when it was the capital of the fledgling Republic of Texas. After Mexican troops invaded San Antonio in 1842, Texas President Sam Houston feared Austin would be next and moved the seat of government to Houston. Austin residents worried the move might be permanent and vowed to keep Austin the capital by preventing government documents from being removed. The resulting bloodless clash between residents and soldiers sent to retrieve the records became known as “The Archive War.” The residents won, and Austin became the capital again in 1844.

first appeared: 4/1/2001

The largest urban bat colony of North America is found in Austin, just a mile from the state capitol. The population of Mexican free-tailed bats found beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge has been estimated at 1.5 million.

first appeared: 3/25/2001

More than 5 million cattle traveled the Chisholm Trail from Texas through Oklahoma and into Kansas during its 20 years of use immediately following the Civil War.

first appeared: 3/18/2001

J.F. Cantrell established the first self-service laundry in 1934 in Fort Worth for those who couldn’t afford a washing machine or to have their clothes cleaned at a laundry. He bought four electric washing machines and went into business with what he called a washateria. After the idea caught on, the service became known as a laundromat.

first appeared: 3/11/2001

Archer City (pop. 1,741) is the hometown of author Larry McMurtry and the basis for the town of Thalia, the fictional setting for his novels The Last Picture Show, Texasville, and Duane’s Depressed. When the movie based on Texasville was filmed in Archer, more than 7,000 extras were used for the crowd scenes, so just about everyone in town was in the movie.

first appeared: 3/11/2001

Texas claims to have the nation’s largest state capitol building. The 1888 structure in Austin measures approximately 360,000 square feet.

first appeared: 3/4/2001

In 1823, Stephen F. Austin pulled together a group of men to protect his fledgling colony. The men were organized as the Texas Rangers in 1835 and paid $1.25 a day to protect the frontier. Today, more than 100 Texas Rangers still investigate crimes in the state.

first appeared: 2/25/2001

The first word spoken from the moon was Houston. The full quote from astronaut Neil Armstrong was, “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.’’

first appeared: 2/25/2001

A coastal live oak believed to be the oldest tree in Texas grows in Goose Island State Park near Fulton (pop. 946). The park lists “Big Tree” as more than 1,000 years old, although other estimates put the tree at 1,500 to 2,000 years old.

first appeared: 2/18/2001

Texas was an independent nation from 1836 until Texas ratified its constitution and became the 28th state Dec. 29, 1845.

first appeared: 2/18/2001

When the Waco Suspension Bridge was completed in 1870, it was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world. The bridge is 475 feet long and provided cattle and cowboys following the Chisholm Trail the only span across the Brazos River.

first appeared: 2/11/2001

The largest county in Texas is Brewster (pop. 8,893) with 6,208 square miles.

first appeared: 2/11/2001

Cross Plains (pop. 1,128) is home to a museum honoring Robert E. Howard, a noted author of fantasy and adventure stories who created Conan the Barbarian. Howard created most of his works in the home (now restored and placed on National Register of Historic Places) where he lived from 1919 until his death in 1936.

first appeared: 2/4/2001

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