Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Río de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at 1,280 miles from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a 45,000-square-mile drainage basin. Being one of Texas' largest rivers, it is sometimes used to mark the boundary between East Texas and West Texas; the river is associated with Texas history the Austin settlement and Texas Revolution eras. Today major Texas institutions like Texas A&M University and Baylor University are located close to the river, as are parts of metropolitan Houston; the Brazos proper begins at the confluence of the Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork, two tributaries of the Upper Brazos that rise on the high plains of the Llano Estacado, flowing 840 miles southeast through the center of Texas. Another major tributary of the Upper Brazos is the Clear Fork Brazos River, which passes by Abilene and joins the main river near Graham.
Important tributaries of the Lower Brazos include the Paluxy River, the Bosque River, the Little River, Yegua Creek, the Nolan River, the Leon River, the San Gabriel River, the Lampasas River, the Navasota River. Running east towards Dallas-Fort Worth, the Brazos turns south, passing through Waco and the Baylor University campus, further south to near Calvert, Texas past Bryan and College Station through Richmond, Texas in Fort Bend County, empties into the Gulf of Mexico in the marshes just south of Freeport; the main stem of the Brazos is dammed in three places, all north of Waco, forming Possum Kingdom Lake, Lake Granbury, Lake Whitney. Of these three, Granbury was the last to be completed, in 1969; when its construction was proposed in the mid-1950s, John Graves wrote the book Goodbye to a River. The Whitney Dam, located on the upper Brazos, provides hydroelectric power, flood control, irrigation to enable efficient cotton growth in the river valley. A small municipal dam is near the downstream city limit of Waco at the end of the Baylor campus.
This impoundment of the Brazos through Waco is locally called Lake Brazos. A total of nineteen major reservoirs are located along the Brazos. In 1822, the lower river valley of the Brazos River became one of the major Anglo-American settlement sites in Texas; this was one of the first English-speaking colonies along the Brazos and was founded by Stephen F. Austin at San Felipe de Austin. In 1836, Texas declared independence from Mexico at Washington-on-the-Brazos, a settlement in now Washington County, known as "the birthplace of Texas". Brazos River was the scene of a battle between the Texas Navy and Mexican Navy during the Texas Revolution. Texas Navy ship, it is unclear when it was first named by European explorers, since it was confused with the Colorado River not far to the south, but it was seen by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Spanish accounts call it Los Brazos de Dios, for which name there were several different explanations, all involving it being the first water to be found by thirsty parties.
In 1842, Indian commissioner of Texas, Ethan Stroud established a trading post on this river. The river was important for navigation before and after the American Civil War, steam boats sailed as far up the river as Washington-on-the-Brazos. While attempts to improve commercial navigation on the river continued, railroads proved more reliable; the Brazos River flooded seriously, on a regular basis before a piecemeal levee system was replaced, notably in 1913 when a massive flood affected the course of the river. The river is important today as a source of water for power and recreation; the water is administered by the Brazos River Authority. The 2000 book and Sternwheelers: Steam Navigation on the Brazos by Pamela A. Puryear and Nath Winfield, Jr. with introduction by J. Milton Nance, examines the early vessels that attempted to navigate the Brazos. On June 2, 2016, the rising of the river required evacuations for portions of Brazoria County; the Brazos River watershed covers a total area of 119,174 square kilometers.
Within the watershed lie 42 lakes and rivers which have a combined storage capacity of 2.5 million acre-feet. The Brazos watershed has an estimated ground water availability of 119,275 acre-feet per year. 31% of the land use within the watershed is cropland. 61% is grassland shrubland and forest while urban use only makes up 4.6%. The population density within the watershed is 19.5 people per square kilometer. The main water quality issues within the Brazos Watershed are high nutrient loads, high bacterial and salinity levels and low dissolved oxygen; these water quality issues can be attributed to livestock and chemical run off. Sources of run off are croplands and industrial sites among others. Fracking is cause for concern regarding water quality within the Brazos Watershed; the Barnett Shale lies within the watershed, the second largest source of natural gas in the US. Studies have shown that the watershed receiving the most toxic pollution is the lower Brazos river which received 33.4 million pounds of toxic waste in 2012.
Canoeing is a popular recreational activity on the Brazos River with many locations favorable for launching and recovery. The best paddling can be found below Possum Kingdom Lake and Lake Granbury. Sandbar Camping is permitted since the entire streambed of t
Texas
Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Geographically located in the South Central region of the country, Texas shares borders with the U. S. states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas to the southwest, while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast. Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth largest in the U. S. while San Antonio is the second-most populous in the state and seventh largest in the U. S. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, respectively. Other major cities include Austin, the second-most populous state capital in the U. S. and El Paso. Texas is nicknamed "The Lone Star State" to signify its former status as an independent republic, as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico; the "Lone Star" can be found on the Texan state seal.
The origin of Texas's name is from the word taysha. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes common to both the U. S. Southern and Southwestern regions. Although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10% of Texas's land area is desert. Most of the population centers are in areas of former prairies, grasslands and the coastline. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the desert and mountains of the Big Bend; the term "six flags over Texas" refers to several nations. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short-lived colony. Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the union as the 28th state; the state's annexation set off a chain of events that led to the Mexican–American War in 1846.
A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, joined the Confederate States of America on March 2nd of the same year. After the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. Four major industries shaped the Texas economy prior to World War II: cattle and bison, cotton and oil. Before and after the U. S. Civil War the cattle industry, which Texas came to dominate, was a major economic driver for the state, thus creating the traditional image of the Texas cowboy. In the 19th century cotton and lumber grew to be major industries as the cattle industry became less lucrative, it was though, the discovery of major petroleum deposits that initiated an economic boom which became the driving force behind the economy for much of the 20th century. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry in the mid-20th century.
As of 2015, it is second on the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with 54. With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including agriculture, energy and electronics, biomedical sciences. Texas has led the U. S. in state export revenue since 2002, has the second-highest gross state product. If Texas were a sovereign state, it would be the 10th largest economy in the world; the name Texas, based on the Caddo word táyshaʼ "friend", was applied, in the spelling Tejas or Texas, by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves the Hasinai Confederacy, the final -s representing the Spanish plural. The Mission San Francisco de los Tejas was completed near the Hasinai village of Nabedaches in May 1690, in what is now Houston County, East Texas. During Spanish colonial rule, in the 18th century, the area was known as Nuevo Reino de Filipinas "New Kingdom of the Philippines", or as provincia de los Tejas "province of the Tejas" also provincia de Texas, "province of Texas", it was incorporated as provincia de Texas into the Mexican Empire in 1821, declared a republic in 1836.
The Royal Spanish Academy recognizes both spellings and Texas, as Spanish-language forms of the name of the U. S. State of Texas; the English pronunciation with /ks/ is unetymological, based in the value of the letter x in historical Spanish orthography. Alternative etymologies of the name advanced in the late 19th century connected the Spanish teja "rooftile", the plural tejas being used to designate indigenous Pueblo settlements. A 1760s map by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin shows a village named Teijas on Trinity River, close to the site of modern Crockett. Texas is the second-largest U. S. state, with an area of 268,820 square miles. Though 10% larger than France and twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Zambia. Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers; the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas to the south.
The Red River forms a natural border with Arkansas to the north. The Sabine River forms a natural border with Louisiana to the east; the Texas Panhandle has an eastern border with Oklahoma at 100° W, a northern border with Oklahoma at 36°30' N and a western
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members; as of the 2010 Census, each member represents about 167,637 people. There are no term limits, with the most senior member, Tom Craddick, having been elected in 1968; the House meets at the State Capitol in Austin. The Speaker of the House is highest-ranking member of the House; the Speaker's duties include maintaining order within the House, recognizing members during debate, ruling on procedural matters, appointing members to the various committees and sending bills for committee review. The Speaker pro tempore is a ceremonial position, but does, by long-standing tradition, preside over the House during its consideration of local and consent bills. Unlike other state legislatures, the House rules do not formally recognize majority or minority leaders; the unofficial leaders are the Republican Caucus Chairman and the Democratic House Leader, both of whom are elected by their respective caucuses.
†Representative was first elected in a special election. Eligio De La Garza, II, first Mexican-American to represent his region in the US House and the second Mexican-American from Texas to be elected to Congress. Ray Barnhart, Federal Highway Administrator Anita Lee Blair, first blind woman elected to a state legislature Jack Brooks, U. S. House of Representatives Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas Frank Kell Cahoon, Midland County oilman and representative from 1965 to 1969. S. Representative Tom DeLay, U. S. Representative and House Majority Leader John Nance Garner, U. S. Representative, Speaker of the House, Vice President of the United States O. H. "Ike" Harris, Dallas County representative from 1963–1965. Kay Bailey Hutchison, U. S. Senator Ray Hutchison, husband of Kay Bailey Hutchison Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr. father of President Lyndon B. Johnson Dan Kubiak, representative from Rockdale known for his support of public education Mickey Leland, U. S. House of Representatives, died in a plane crash.
Charles Henry Nimitz Born in Bremen. In 1852, built the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, which now houses the National Museum of the Pacific War. Grandfather of United States Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Elected to the Texas Legislature 1890. Rick Perry, longest serving Governor of Texas, current U. S. Secretary of Energy. Colonel Alfred P. C. Petsch Lawyer, civic leader, philanthropist. Veteran of both World War I and World War II. Sam Rayburn, U. S. Representative and longest served Speaker of the House Coke R. Stevenson, Governor of Texas Sarah Weddington, attorney for "Jane Roe" for the 1973 Roe v. Wade case in the U. S. Supreme Court Ferdinand C. Weinert, coauthored bill to establish the Pasteur Institute of Texas, authored resolution for humane treatment of state convicts, coauthored the indeterminate sentence and parole law. Served as Texas Secretary of State Charles Wilson, U. S. House of Representatives, subject of the book and film Charlie Wilson's War The Speaker of the House of Representatives has duties as a presiding officer as well as administrative duties.
As a presiding officer, the Speaker must enforce and interpret the rules of the House, call House members to order, lay business in order before the House and receive propositions made by members, refer proposed legislation to a committee, preserve order and decorum, recognize people in the gallery and hold votes on questions, vote as a member of the House, decide on all questions to order, appoint the Speaker Pro Tempore and Temporary Chair, adjourn the House in the event of an emergency, postpone reconvening in the event of an emergency, sign all bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions. The administrative duties of the Speaker include having control over the Hall of the House, appointing chair, vice-chair, members to each standing committee, appointing all conference committees, directing committees to make interim studies; the Chief Clerk is the head of the Chief Clerk's Office which maintains a record of all authors who sign legislation and distributes membership information to current house members, forwards copies of legislation to house committee chairs.
The Chief Clerk is the primary custodian of all legal documents within House. Additional duties include keeping a record of all progress on a document, attesting all warrants and subpoenas, receiving and filing all documents received by the house, maintaining the electronic information and calendar for documents; when there is a considerable update of the electronic source website, the Chief Clerk is responsible for noticing House members via email. Agriculture and Livestock AppropriationsSubcommittee on Articles I, IV & V Subcommittee on Article II Subcommittee on Article III Subcommittee on Articles VI, VII & VIII Subcommittee on Budget Transparency & Reform Business & Industry Calendars Corrections County Affairs Criminal Jurisprudenc
2010 United States Census
The 2010 United States Census is the twenty-third and most recent United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010; the census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving to spot-check randomly selected neighborhoods and communities. As part of a drive to increase the count's accuracy, 635,000 temporary enumerators were hired; the population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, a 9.7% increase from the 2000 Census. This was the first census in which all states recorded a population of over half a million, as well as the first in which all 100 largest cities recorded populations of over 200,000; as required by the United States Constitution, the U. S. census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The 2000 U. S. Census was the previous census completed. Participation in the U. S. Census is required by law in Title 13 of the United States Code. On January 25, 2010, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves inaugurated the 2010 Census enumeration by counting World War II veteran Clifton Jackson, a resident of Noorvik, Alaska.
More than 120 million census forms were delivered by the U. S. Post Office beginning March 15, 2010; the number of forms mailed out or hand-delivered by the Census Bureau was 134 million on April 1, 2010. Although the questionnaire used April 1, 2010 as the reference date as to where a person was living, an insert dated March 15, 2010 included the following printed in bold type: "Please complete and mail back the enclosed census form today." The 2010 Census national mail participation rate was 74%. From April through July 2010, census takers visited households that did not return a form, an operation called "non-response follow-up". In December 2010, the U. S. Census Bureau delivered population information to the U. S. President for apportionment, in March 2011, complete redistricting data was delivered to states. Identifiable information will be available in 2082; the Census Bureau did not use a long form for the 2010 Census. In several previous censuses, one in six households received this long form, which asked for detailed social and economic information.
The 2010 Census used only a short form asking ten basic questions: How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2010? Were there any additional people staying here on April 1, 2010 that you did not include in Question 1? Mark all that apply: Is this house, apartment, or mobile home – What is your telephone number? What is Person 1's name? What is Person 1's sex? What is Person 1's age and Person 1's date of birth? Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin? What is Person 1's race? Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else? The form included space to repeat all of these questions for up to twelve residents total. In contrast to the 2000 census, an Internet response option was not offered, nor was the form available for download. Detailed socioeconomic information collected during past censuses will continue to be collected through the American Community Survey; the survey provides data about communities in the United States on a 1-year or 3-year cycle, depending on the size of the community, rather than once every 10 years.
A small percentage of the population on a rotating basis will receive the survey each year, no household will receive it more than once every five years. In June 2009, the U. S. Census Bureau announced. However, the final form did not contain a separate "same-sex married couple" option; when noting the relationship between household members, same-sex couples who are married could mark their spouses as being "Husband or wife", the same response given by opposite-sex married couples. An "unmarried partner" option was available for couples; the 2010 census cost $13 billion $42 per capita. Operational costs were $5.4 billion under the $7 billion budget. In December 2010 the Government Accountability Office noted that the cost of conducting the census has doubled each decade since 1970. In a detailed 2004 report to Congress, the GAO called on the Census Bureau to address cost and design issues, at that time, had estimated the 2010 Census cost to be $11 billion. In August 2010, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced that the census operational costs came in under budget.
Locke credited the management practices of Census Bureau director Robert Groves, citing in particular the decision to buy additional advertising in locations where responses lagged, which improved the overall response rate. The agency has begun to rely more on questioning neighbors or other reliable third parties when a person could not be reached at home, which reduced the cost of follow-up visits. Census data for about 22% of U. S. househol
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U. S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy; the Census Bureau is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States; the Census Bureau's primary mission is conducting the U. S. Census every ten years, which allocates the seats of the U. S. House of Representatives to the states based on their population; the Bureau's various censuses and surveys help allocate over $400 billion in federal funds every year and it helps states, local communities, businesses make informed decisions. The information provided by the census informs decisions on where to build and maintain schools, transportation infrastructure, police and fire departments. In addition to the decennial census, the Census Bureau continually conducts dozens of other censuses and surveys, including the American Community Survey, the U. S. Economic Census, the Current Population Survey.
Furthermore and foreign trade indicators released by the federal government contain data produced by the Census Bureau. Article One of the United States Constitution directs the population be enumerated at least once every ten years and the resulting counts used to set the number of members from each state in the House of Representatives and, by extension, in the Electoral College; the Census Bureau now conducts a full population count every 10 years in years ending with a zero and uses the term "decennial" to describe the operation. Between censuses, the Census Bureau makes population projections. In addition, Census data directly affects how more than $400 billion per year in federal and state funding is allocated to communities for neighborhood improvements, public health, education and more; the Census Bureau is mandated with fulfilling these obligations: the collecting of statistics about the nation, its people, economy. The Census Bureau's legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the United States Code.
The Census Bureau conducts surveys on behalf of various federal government and local government agencies on topics such as employment, health, consumer expenditures, housing. Within the bureau, these are known as "demographic surveys" and are conducted perpetually between and during decennial population counts; the Census Bureau conducts economic surveys of manufacturing, retail and other establishments and of domestic governments. Between 1790 and 1840, the census was taken by marshals of the judicial districts; the Census Act of 1840 established a central office. Several acts followed that revised and authorized new censuses at the 10-year intervals. In 1902, the temporary Census Office was moved under the Department of Interior, in 1903 it was renamed the Census Bureau under the new Department of Commerce and Labor; the department was intended to consolidate overlapping statistical agencies, but Census Bureau officials were hindered by their subordinate role in the department. An act in 1920 changed the date and authorized manufacturing censuses every two years and agriculture censuses every 10 years.
In 1929, a bill was passed mandating the House of Representatives be reapportioned based on the results of the 1930 Census. In 1954, various acts were codified into Title 13 of the US Code. By law, the Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U. S. President by December 31 of any year ending in a zero. States within the Union receive the results in the spring of the following year; the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. The Census Bureau regions are "widely used...for data collection and analysis". The Census Bureau definition is pervasive. Regional divisions used by the United States Census Bureau: Region 1: Northeast Division 1: New England Division 2: Mid-Atlantic Region 2: Midwest Division 3: East North Central Division 4: West North Central Region 3: South Division 5: South Atlantic Division 6: East South Central Division 7: West South Central Region 4: West Division 8: Mountain Division 9: Pacific Many federal, state and tribal governments use census data to: Decide the location of new housing and public facilities, Examine the demographic characteristics of communities and the US, Plan transportation systems and roadways, Determine quotas and creation of police and fire precincts, Create localized areas for elections, utilities, etc.
Gathers population information every 10 years The United States Census Bureau is committed to confidentiality, guarantees non-disclosure of any addresses or personal information related to individuals or establishments. Title 13 of the U. S. Code establishes penalties for the disclosure of this information. All Census employees must sign an affidavit of non-disclosure prior to employment; the Bureau cannot share responses, addresses or personal information with anyone including United States or foreign government
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in Canada, Romania and the United States. County towns have a similar function in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, in Jamaica. In most of the United States, counties are the political subdivisions of a state; the city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county. The county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records and correctional facility are located in the county seat though some functions may be located or conducted in other parts of the county if it is geographically large. A county seat is but not always, an incorporated municipality; the exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia. Ellicott City, the county seat of Howard County, is the largest unincorporated county seat in the United States, followed by Towson, the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland.
Some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township, an incorporated municipality. In some of the colonial states, county seats include or included "Court House" as part of their name. In the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in Taiwan are the administrative centers of the counties. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which are in the forms of county-administered city, urban township or rural township. Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont have two or more county seats located on opposite sides of the county. An example is Harrison County, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats; the practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days.
There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of pride for the towns involved. There are 36 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Coffee County, Alabama St. Clair County, Alabama Arkansas County, Arkansas Carroll County, Arkansas Clay County, Arkansas Craighead County, Arkansas Franklin County, Arkansas Logan County, Arkansas Mississippi County, Arkansas Prairie County, Arkansas Sebastian County, Arkansas Yell County, Arkansas Columbia County, Georgia Lee County, Iowa Campbell County, Kentucky Kenton County, Kentucky Essex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County, Massachusetts Plymouth County, Massachusetts Bolivar County, Mississippi Carroll County, Mississippi Chickasaw County, Mississippi Harrison County, Mississippi Hinds County, Mississippi Jasper County, Mississippi Jones County, Mississippi Panola County, Mississippi Tallahatchie County, Mississippi Yalobusha County, Mississippi Jackson County, Missouri Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Seneca County, New York Bennington County, Vermont In New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government.
Counties in this region have served as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of thus no county seats. In Vermont and Maine the county seats are designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the respective shire town. Bennington County has two shire towns. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town or city governments; as such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, the state government now operates the registries of deeds and sheriff's offices in those counties. In Virginia, a county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center. Two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county, their county-level services are provided by Fall River Tripp County, respectively.
In Louisiana, divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as parish seats. Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the Unorganized Borough, which covers 49 % of Alaska's area, has equivalent. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. County seat war Administrative center County town, administrative centres in Ireland and the UK Chef-lieu, administrative centres in Algeria, Luxembourg, France and Tunisia Municipality, equivalent to county in many c
Temple Houston (TV series)
Temple Houston is a 1963–1964 NBC television series considered "the first attempt... to produce an hour-long western series with the main character being an attorney in the formal sense." Temple Houston was the only program which Jack Webb sold to a network during his ten months as the head of production at Warner Bros. Television, it was the lone series in which actor Jeffrey Hunter played a regular part. The series' supporting cast features Chubby Johnson. Temple Houston is based loosely on the career of the real-life circuit-riding lawyer Temple Lea Houston, son of the more famous Sam Houston. Little, binds all the episodes together under a common framework; the series variously cast the characters and situations in both an overtly humorous and a deadly serious light. Writer Francis M. Nevin asserts of the first episode entitled "The Twisted Rope", "Clearly, the concept here is Perry Mason out West", going so far as to note that Temple Houston's court opponent "apes Hamilton Burger by accusing Houston of'prolonging this trial with a lot of dramatic nonsense'".
Episodes turned Houston into more of a detective than a lawyer. Over the course of the series, the bulk of the narrative sees Houston gathering evidence, rather than trying cases. In the end, the series eschewed criminal law in favor of overtly humorous plots, such as in the episode "The Law and Big Annie", in which Houston uses his legal expertise to help a friend decide what to do after he inherits an elephant; the producers tried to avoid any storylines that would embarrass the two surviving children of Temple Houston who were still living when the series aired. Temple Houston was rushed onto the 1963 schedule in only four weeks after a planned drama, The Robert Taylor Show, based on case files of the former United States Department of Health and Welfare, was abandoned with four unaired episodes. In addition, the Temple Houston pilot episode was unusable for the introduction to the new series because James Coburn, who played the secondary character, a gunslinger turned U. S. marshal, would not accept a role in a series.
Coburn's character was hence assumed by Jack Elam as George Taggart. A leading character actor in film and television, Elam had just left the short-lived ABC/Warner Bros. western, The Dakotas, which had replaced Clint Walker's long-running Cheyenne series early in 1963. On orders from Jack Webb, episodes were put together in two or three days each, something thought impossible in television production. Work began on August 7, 1963, with the initial airing set for September 19. Jimmy Lydon, a former child actor, adult actor, producer, at the time with WB, recalled that Webb told the staff: "Fellas, I just sold Temple Houston. We gotta be on the air in four weeks, we can't use the pilot, we have no scripts, no nothing - do it!" Lydon recalled the team having worked around the clock to get Temple Houston on the air. Co-producer William Conrad directed six episodes, two scripts on two different soundstages at WB. "We bicycled Jeff and Elam between the two companies, Bill shot'em both in four-and-a-half days.
Two complete one-hour shows!" said Lydon. In a 1965 interview, Hunter described the situation:In the first place, we had no time to prepare for it. I was notified on July 17 to be ready to start August 7 for an October air date; when we reached the screen we did not have a single segment ready. It was done so fast. We all wanted to follow the line indicated by the pilot film, which we thought would make a charming series. NBC, favored making it serious. Two Temple Houston directors, Robert Totten and Irving J. Moore, worked on Gunsmoke as well. Character actress Mary Wickes was cast in several episodes as Ida Goff, Frank Ferguson Gus the ranch hand on My Friend Flicka, played Judge Gurney; the unused pilot with Hunter cast as lawyer Timothy Higgins, was released in theaters in December 1963 as The Man from Galveston. Hopeful of success in the series and being paid $5,000 per episode, Jeffrey Hunter, a native of New Orleans, described the historic figure that he played as "one of the finest lawyers in the last part of the 19th century."
Indeed, Temple Houston at the age of 20 was the youngest practicing lawyer in Texas. He was the county attorney in Brazoria County south of Houston, until he accepted appointment as the district attorney of the 35th Judicial District, which encompassed 26 counties in the Texas Panhandle, based in the frontier community of Mobeetie in Wheeler County; as a member of the Texas State Senate from 1885 to 1889, Temple Houston became involved with a dispute with the legendary cattleman and rancher Charles Goodnight, sometimes called "the father of the Texas Panhandle". At issue was fencing of grasslands to accommodate large ranchers. Houston sided unsuccessfully with the smaller ranchers. One historian described the real Temple Houston as "a flamboyant figure in his black frock coat and shoulder-length auburn hair topped off with a white Stetson, he liked to lace his arguments with literary allusions and could enthrall a courtroom or legislative chamber." Houston gave the dedication in 1888 for the new state capitol building in Texas.
He subsequently worked for Oklahoma statehood. Houston lost territorial governor of Oklahoma. In the series, Houston located his clients by traveling with the circuit court and being available as needed. Jeffrey Hunter described the Temple Houston that he sought to emulate as having "many sides to his character, he was a flamboyant orator.
TX 288 (Brazoria County Expressway) is scheduled to begin construction in June 2017.[31]
Brazoria County, Texas
