Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine.
Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation.
Crystals of calcite, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
Houston
Houston is the most populous city in the state of Texas and the fourth-most populous city in the United States. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 2.239 million within an area of 667 square miles, it is the largest city in the southern United States and the seat of Harris County. Located in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico, it is the city of Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land. Houston was founded on August 28,1836, near the banks of Buffalo Bayou and incorporated as a city on June 5,1837. The city was named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had commanded, the burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the citys population. Houstons economy has an industrial base in energy, aeronautics. Leading in health care sectors and building equipment, Houston has more Fortune 500 headquarters within its city limits than any city except for New York City. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled, the city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community.
Houston is the most diverse city in Texas and has described as the most diverse in the United States. It is home to cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than 7 million visitors a year to the Museum District. Houston has a visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District. In August 1836, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York, Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen, purchased 6,642 acres of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city. The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the general at the Battle of San Jacinto. The great majority of slaves in Texas came with their owners from the slave states. Sizable numbers, came through the slave trade. New Orleans was the center of trade in the Deep South. Thousands of enslaved African Americans lived near the city before the Civil War, many of them near the city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan jobs. Houston was granted incorporation on June 5,1837, with James S.
Holman becoming its first mayor, in the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County and the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, buildings and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed.
During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, site, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices.
Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small and underfunded. A few years in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S.
National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
Harris County, Texas
Harris County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,092,459, making it the most populous county in Texas and its county seat is Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth-largest city in the United States. The county was founded in 1836 and organized in 1837 and it is named for John Richardson Harris, an early settler of the area. By the July 2016 Census Bureau estimate Harris Countys population had grown to 4,589,928, Harris County is included in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area. John Richardson Harris, early Harris County settler and founder of Harrisburg, on May 7,1813, he married Jane Birdsall. John and Jane Birdsall Harris settled near Waterloo, New York, in 1819 they were living in Ste. Genevieve, where their daughter Mary Jane Harris Briscoe was born, a third son, John Birdsall Harris, was born in 1821. Genevieve Harris met Moses Austin and decided to move to Texas and he came to Texas in his own vessel in 1824 and received title to 4,428 acres of land at the junction of Brays and Buffalo bayous in what is now Harris County.
He boarded with William Scott while he built a house on the peninsula between the bayous and a store and warehouse on Buffalo Bayou, in 1826 he employed Francis W. Johnson to lay out the town of Harrisburg. With his brother David Harris, John Harris established a trading post at Bells Landing on the Brazos River. Their sloops and schooners plied between Texas and New Orleans, One of these vessels, the Rights of Man, carried eighty-four bales of cotton to New Orleans in 1828. Harris was building a steam sawmill-gristmill at Harrisburg in 1829, when he went to New Orleans to buy equipment, after his death on August 21,1829, his sawmill and shipping enterprise were operated by his brothers David and William Plunkett Harris. His widow and son DeWitt moved to Texas in 1833, the children came later. Litigation over Harriss estate prevented Harrisburg from becoming the seat of the new Texas government in 1836, when Houston was named instead. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,777 square miles.
Both its total area and land area are larger than the state of Rhode Island. 6% of Harris Countys population, black Americans made up 18. 9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0. 7% of Harris Countys population, Asian Americans made up 6. 2% of the population. Pacific Islander Americans made up just 0. 1% of the population, individuals from other races made up 14. 3% of the population, people from two or more races made up 3. 2% of the countys population
Contributing property
Government agencies, at the state and local level in the United States, have differing definitions of what constitutes a contributing property but there are common characteristics. Local laws often regulate the changes that can be made to contributing structures within designated historic districts, the first local ordinances dealing with the alteration of buildings within historic districts was in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931. Properties within a district fall into one of two types of property and non-contributing. A contributing property, such as a 19th Century mansion, helps make a historic district historic, while a non-contributing property, such as a medical clinic. The contributing properties are key to a districts historic associations, historic architectural qualities. A property can change from contributing to non-contributing and vice versa if significant alterations take place, the ordinance declared that buildings in the district could not have changes made to their architectural features visible from the street.
By the mid-1930s, other U. S. cities followed Charlestons lead, an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution led to the 1937 creation of the Vieux Carre Commission, which was charged with protecting and preserving the French Quarter in the city of New Orleans. The city passed an ordinance that set standards regulating changes within the quarter. Other sources, such as the Columbia Law Review in 1963, the Columbia Law Review gave dates of 1925 for the New Orleans laws and 1924 for Charleston. The same publication claimed that two cities were the only cities with historic district zoning until Alexandria, Virginia adopted an ordinance in 1946. The National Park Service appears to refute this, in 1939, the city of San Antonio, enacted an ordinance that protected the area of La Villita, which was the citys original Mexican village marketplace. In 1941 the authority of local controls on buildings within historic districts was being challenged in court. In City of New Orleans vs Pergament Louisiana state appellate courts ruled that the design, beginning in the mid-1950s, controls that once applied to only historic districts were extended to individual landmark structures.
The United States Congress adopted legislation that declared the Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, by 1965,51 American communities had adopted preservation ordinances. By 1998, more than 2,300 U. S. towns, contributing properties are defined through historic district or historic preservation zoning laws, usually at the local level. Zoning ordinances pertaining to historic districts are designed to maintain a historic character by controlling demolition and alteration to existing properties. It can be any property, structure or object that adds to the integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, either local or federal. Definitions vary but, in general, they maintain the same characteristics, another key aspect of a contributing property is historic integrity
Unincorporated area
Occasionally, municipalities dissolve or disincorporate, which may happen if they become fiscally insolvent, and services become the responsibility of a higher administration. In some countries, such as in Brazil, France or the United Kingdom, unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. A local government area often contains several towns and even entire cities, aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia is part of an LGA. Unincorporated areas are often in locations, cover vast areas or have very small populations. Postal addresses in unincorporated areas, as in parts of Australia. Thus, there is any ambiguity regarding addresses in unincorporated areas. The Australian Capital Territory has no municipalities and is in some sense an unincorporated area, the territorial government is directly responsible for matters normally carried out by local government.
The far west and north of New South Wales constitutes the Unincorporated Far West Region, a civil servant in the state capital manages such matters as are necessary. The second unincorporated area of state is Lord Howe Island. In the Northern Territory,1. 45% of the area and 4. In South Australia, 60% of the area is unincorporated and communities located within can receive services provided by a state agency. Firstly, the remote area that is unincorporated is the Abrolhos Islands. Secondly, the unincorporated areas are A-class reserves either in, or close to. In Canada, depending on the province, a settlement is one that does not have a municipal council that governs solely over the settlement. It is usually, but not always, part of a municipal government. This can range from hamlets to large urbanized areas that are similar in size to towns. In British Columbia, unincorporated settlements lie outside municipal boundaries entirely, Unincorporated settlements with a population of between 100 and 1,000 residents may have the status of designated place in Canadian census data.
In some provinces, large tracts of undeveloped wilderness or rural country are unorganized areas that fall directly under the provincial jurisdiction
History of Texas
The recorded History of Texas begins with the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors in the region now known as Texas in 1519, who found the region populated by numerous Native American tribes. Native Americans ancestors had been there for more than 10,000 years as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of Leanderthal Lady, in 1682, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established a French colony, Fort Saint Louis, near Matagorda Bay. The colony was killed off by Native Americans after three years, but Spanish authorities felt pressed to establish settlements to keep their claim to the land, several missions were established in East Texas, they were abandoned in 1691. Twenty years later, concerned with the French presence in neighboring Louisiana, over the next 110 years, Spain established numerous villages and missions in the province. A small number of Spanish settlers arrived, in addition to missionaries, Spain signed agreements with colonizers from the United States. When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, Mexican Texas was part of the new nation.
To encourage settlement, Mexican authorities allowed organized immigration from the United States, Santa Annas invasion of the territory after putting down the rebellion in Zacatecas provoked the conflict of 1836. The Texian forces fought and won the Texas Revolution in 1835–36, although not recognized as such by Mexico, Texas declared itself an independent nation, the Republic of Texas. Attracted by the lands for cotton plantations and ranching, tens of thousands of immigrants arrived from the U. S. In 1845, Texas joined the United States, becoming the 28th state, only after the conclusion of the Mexican-American War, with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, did Mexico recognize Texan independence. Texas declared its secession from the United States in 1861 to join the Confederate States of America, only a few battles of the American Civil War were fought in Texas, most Texas regiments served in the east. When the war ended, the enslaved African Americans were freed, Texas was subject to Reconstruction, a process that left a residue of bitterness among whites.
Blacks were excluded from the political system until after passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Cotton and farming dominated the economy, with construction after 1870 a major factor in the development of new cities away from rivers. Toward the end of the 19th century, timber became an important industry in Texas as well, in 1901 a petroleum discovery at Spindletop Hill, near Beaumont, was developed as the most productive oil well the world had ever seen. The wave of oil speculation and discovery that followed came to be known as the Oil Boom and ranching gave way to a service-oriented society after the boom years of World War II. Segregation ended in the 1960s due to federal legislation, Texas changed from the virtually one-party Democratic state achieved following disenfranchisement, to a highly contested political scene, until 2000 when it was solidly Republican. The economy of Texas has continued to rapidly, becoming the second-largest state in population in 1994
San Jacinto Day
San Jacinto Day is the celebration of the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21,1836. It was the battle of the Texas Revolution where Texas won its independence from Mexico. It is an official partial staffing holiday in the State of Texas, an annual festival, which includes a reenactment, is held on the site of the battle. The Sabine Volunteers, a reenactment group from East Texas, participate in the San Jacinto Reenactment annually and this group is named for an actual militia group during the Texas Revolution. The reenactment group consists of four members and has appeared on the History Channel, a documentary entitled The Re-Enactors of San Jacinto, directed by Emmy-winner Allen Morris, was released in 2010 and shown on HoustonPBS. The documentary details the annual San Jacinto Day celebration and shows the reenactment of the 18 minute battle, San Jacinto Monument Battle of San Jacinto Texas Independence Day Timeline of the Texas Revolution Official Texas State Holidays San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Re-enactment Web site
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Of over 85,000 places listed on the countrys National Register of Historic Places, a National Historic Landmark District may include contributing properties that are buildings, sites or objects, and it may include non-contributing properties. Contributing properties may or may not be separately listed, prior to 1935, efforts to preserve cultural heritage of national importance were made by piecemeal efforts of the United States Congress. The first National Historic Site designation was made for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on March 17,1938. In 1960, the National Park Service took on the administration of the data gathered under this legislation. Because listings often triggered local preservation laws, legislation in 1980 amended the procedures to require owner agreement to the designations. On October 9,1960,92 properties were announced as designated NHLs by Secretary of the Interior Fred A.
Seaton, more than 2,500 NHLs have been designated. Most, but not all, are in the United States, there are NHLs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Three states account for nearly 25 percent of the nations NHLs, three cities within these states all separately have more NHLs than 40 of the 50 states. In fact, New York City alone has more NHLs than all but five states, California, Massachusetts, there are 74 NHLs in the District of Columbia. Some NHLs are in U. S. commonwealths and territories, associated states, and foreign states. There are 15 in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other U. S. commonwealths and territories,5 in U. S. -associated states such as Micronesia, over 100 ships or shipwrecks have been designated as NHLs. About half of the National Historic Landmarks are privately owned, the National Historic Landmarks Program relies on suggestions for new designations from the National Park Service, which assists in maintaining the landmarks. A friends group of owners and managers, the National Historic Landmark Stewards Association, works to preserve, protect, if not already listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an NHL is automatically added to the Register upon designation.
About three percent of Register listings are NHLs, american Water Landmark List of U. S
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member, the term column applies especially to a large round support with a capital and a base or pedestal and made of stone, or appearing to be so. A small wooden or metal support is called a post. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces, other compression members are often termed columns because of the similar stress conditions. Columns are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the parts of walls or ceilings rest. In architecture, column refers to such an element that has certain proportional. A column might be an element not needed for structural purposes, many columns are engaged. All significant Iron Age civilizations of the Near East and Mediterranean made some use of columns, egyptian columns are famously present in the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak, where 134 columns are lined up in 16 rows, with some columns reaching heights of 24 metres.
Some of the most elaborate columns in the ancient world were those of the Persians and they included double-bull structures in their capitals. The Hall of Hundred Columns at Persepolis, measuring 70 ×70 metres, was built by the Achaemenid king Darius I, many of the ancient Persian columns are standing, some being more than 30 metres tall. The Minoans used whole tree-trunks, usually turned upside down in order to prevent re-growth, stood on a set in the stylobate. These were painted as in the most famous Minoan palace of Knossos, the Minoans employed columns to create large open-plan spaces, light-wells and as a focal point for religious rituals. These traditions were continued by the Mycenaean civilization, particularly in the megaron or hall at the heart of their palaces. Being made of wood these early columns have not survived, but their bases have and through these we may see their use. The Greeks developed the classical orders of architecture, which are most easily distinguished by the form of the column and their Doric and Corinthian orders were expanded by the Romans to include the Tuscan and Composite orders.
Columns, or at least large structural exterior ones, became less significant in the architecture of the Middle Ages. Early columns were constructed of stone, some out of a piece of stone. Monolithic columns are among the heaviest stones used in architecture, other stone columns are created out of multiple sections of stone, mortared or dry-fit together
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution began when colonists in the Mexican province of Texas rebelled against the increasingly centralized Mexican government. After a decade of political and cultural clashes between the Mexican government and the large population of American settlers in Texas, hostilities erupted in October 1835. Texians disagreed on whether the goal was independence or a return to the Mexican Constitution of 1824. While delegates at the Consultation debated the wars motives, the Consultation declined to declare independence and installed an interim government, whose infighting led to political paralysis and a dearth of effective governance in Texas. An ill-conceived proposal to invade Matamoros siphoned much-needed volunteers and provisions from the fledgling Texas army, in March 1836, a second political convention declared independence and appointed leadership for the new Republic of Texas. Determined to avenge Mexicos honor, President Antonio López de Santa Anna vowed to personally retake Texas and his Army of Operations entered Texas in mid-February 1836 and found the Texians completely unprepared.
Mexican General José de Urrea led a contingent of troops on the Goliad Campaign up the Texas coast, defeating all Texian troops in his path and executing most of those who surrendered. Santa Anna led a force to San Antonio de Béxar. On March 31, Houston paused his men at Groces Landing on the Brazos River, becoming complacent and underestimating the strength of his foes, Santa Anna further subdivided his troops. On April 21, Houstons army staged an assault on Santa Anna. The Mexican troops were routed, and vengeful Texians executed many who tried to surrender. Santa Anna was taken hostage, in exchange for his life, Mexico refused to recognize the Republic of Texas, and intermittent conflicts between the two countries continued into the 1840s. The annexation of Texas as the 28th state of the United States, in 1845, after a failed attempt by France to colonize Texas in the late 17th century, Spain developed a plan to settle the region. On its southern edge, along the Medina and Nueces Rivers, on the east, Texas bordered Louisiana.
Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States claimed the land west of the Sabine River, following the Mexican War of Independence, Texas became part of Mexico. Under the Constitution of 1824, which defined the country as a federal republic, Texas was granted only a single seat in the state legislature, which met in Saltillo, hundreds of miles away. Texas was very sparsely populated, with fewer than 3,500 residents, and only about 200 soldiers, in the hopes that an influx of settlers could control the Indian raids, the bankrupt Mexican government liberalized immigration policies for the region. Finally able to settle legally in Texas, Anglos from the United States soon vastly outnumbered the Tejanos, most of the immigrants came from the southern United States
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