1.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused 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, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost 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 Chile, 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, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
County seat
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A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in the United States, Canada, Romania, China, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, county towns have a similar function. In the United States, counties are the subdivisions of a state. Depending on the state, counties may provide services to the public, impose taxes. Some types of subdivisions, such as townships, may be incorporated or unincorporated. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county, a county seat is usually, 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, likewise, 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, in some of the colonial states, county seats include or formerly included Court House as part of their name. Most counties have only one county seat, an example is Harrison County, Mississippi, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats. The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult, 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, for example, the official county seat is Greensboro, but an additional courthouse has been located in nearby High Point since 1938. For example, Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, in New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government. Historically, counties in this region have served mainly as dividing lines for the judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of government and thus no county seats, in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine the county seats are legally designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the shire town. Bennington County has two towns, but the Sheriff is located in Bennington. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town governments. As such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county
4.
Del Rio, Texas
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Del Rio is a city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas. It is 152 miles west of San Antonio, as of 2015, the city had a population of 40,549. Del Rio is connected with Ciudad Acuña via the Lake Amistad Dam International Crossing, Del Rio is also home to Laughlin Air Force Base, the busiest United States Air Force pilot training complex in the world. U. S. development on the shore of the Rio Grande did not begin until after the American Civil War. The San Felipe Springs, about 8 mi east of the Rio Grande on the U. S. side of the border, the developers sold tracts of land surrounding the canals to recover their investment and show a profit. The initial investors formed the San Felipe Agricultural, Manufacturing, the organization completed construction of a network of irrigation canals in 1871. Residents referred to the developing town as San Felipe Del Rio because local lore said the name came from early Spanish explorers who offered a Mass at the site on St. Philips Day,1635. In 1883, local residents requested a post office be established, the United States Postal Department shortened San Felipe del Rio to Del Rio to avoid confusion with San Felipe de Austin. In 1885, Val Verde County was organized and Del Rio became the county seat, the City of Del Rio was incorporated on November 15,1911. The San Felipe community was started by the Arteaga family, Arteaga Street and Arteaga Park are named after them. Many history items from Del Rio, particularly from the 19th century, are preserved at the Whitehead Memorial Museum downtown, legendary deejay Wolfman Jack operated XERF in the 1960s, using a Del Rio address to sell various products advertised on the station. In 1942, the Army Air Corps opened Laughlin Field 9 mi east of Del Rio as a base for the Martin B-26. As the Cold War pressures built, along with new border control issues, Laughlin Field was rebuilt and it was again used as a home for flight training. SAC soon transitioned to the high-altitude U-2 Dragonlady and based all of them in Laughlin AFB, in 1962, Laughlin-based U-2s took the first photographs of land-based medium-range ballistic missile sites being constructed in Cuba. The presence of these missiles precipitated what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Laughlin AFB currently provides training in the T-1A Jayhawk, the T-6A Texan II, and the T-38 aircraft. Laughlin plays a part in the Del Rio community as the areas largest employer. The Border Patrol is the citys second-largest employer, at one time, Del Rio was in the running to become the home of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center for agents of the U. S. Border Patrol and Federal Air Marshal Service, but lost to the current site in Artesia, the proposed site was located on property belonging to Laughlin AFB
5.
2010 United States Census
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The 2010 United States Census, is the twenty-third and currently most recent United States national census. National Census Day, the day used for the census, was April 1,2010. As part of a drive to increase the accuracy,635,000 temporary enumerators were hired. The population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, 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 personally inaugurated the 2010 Census enumeration by counting World War II veteran Clifton Jackson, 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 approximately 134 million on April 1,2010. 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 Census Bureau delivered population information to the president for apportionment, personally identifiable information will be available in 2082. The Census Bureau did not use a form for the 2010 Census. In several previous censuses, one in six households received this long form, 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 1s age and Person 1s date of birth, is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else, the form included space to repeat some or all of these questions for up to twelve residents total. In contrast to the 2000 census, an Internet response option was not offered, 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 basis will receive the survey each year. In June 2009, the U. S. Census Bureau announced that it would count same-sex married couples, however, the final form did not contain a separate same-sex married couple option
6.
Texas's 23rd congressional district
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Texass 23rd congressional district stretches across the southwestern portion of Texas. It is a prominently Hispanic-majority district and its current Representative is Republican Will Hurd, the district runs along the majority of Texass border with Mexico, just north of the Rio Grande. While it encompasses numerous county seats and a few towns of economic importance. It stretches from western San Antonio to just outside El Paso and its large size is due to its low population density—one of the lowest in the country. It encompasses all of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park, major economic activities in the district include farming, ranching, oil and mineral extraction, recreation, manufacturing, and tourism. As of the 2000 census, the district contained 651,620 people, of these, 41% are non-Hispanic white,55. 1% Hispanic regardless of race, 2% non-Hispanic black, and 2. 2% other. The districts population is 74. 6% urban, per capita Income for the district is $18,692. The district has a 6. 5% unemployment rate, of the employed,71. 8% is private,19. 4% government, and 8. 4% self-employed. Major industries include Retail trade, Education services, Health Care,222,012 households are within the district, with an average of 2.8 persons per household. This district was created in 1967, following passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, in addition, it followed the case of Wesberry v. Sanders, resulting in Texas previous congressional map being tossed out. Democrats held the district until 1993, following the 1990 census, in 1992, the Texas Legislature created the new 28th District, mostly from the eastern portion of the 23rd. In the process, the left a heavily Republican section of western San Antonio in the 23rd. Republican Henry Bonilla beat 4-term incumbent Albert Bustamante to take the seat in 1992, although the 23rd leaned slightly Democratic on paper, Bonilla had a very conservative voting record. During the 2003 Texas redistricting, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature shifted most of Laredo, several heavily Republican suburbs in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio were shifted into the 23rd district, all but ensuring Bonilla of a seventh term. On June 28,2006, the U. S. Supreme Court, the case turned on the fact that the 23rd District was a protected majority-Hispanic district. If the 23rd were redrawn to put Hispanics in a minority, although Hispanics made up 55 percent of the new 23rds population, they comprised only 46 percent of the new 23rds voting-age U. S. citizen population. Therefore, the Court said, the new 23rd was not a true majority-minority district, the Court found that the new Austin-to-McAllen 25th District was not compact enough to be an acceptable replacement. The Court ruled that the legislature had violated the rights of Hispanic voters, as a result, on August 4,2006, a three-judge panel announced replacement district boundaries for the 2006 election in the 23rd district
7.
Time in the United States
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The time zone boundaries and DST observance are regulated by the Department of Transportation. The clocks run by these services are synchronized with each other as well as with those of other international timekeeping organizations. It is the combination of the zone and daylight saving rules, along with the timekeeping services. The use of solar time became increasingly awkward as railways. American railroads maintained many different time zones during the late 1800s, each train station set its own clock making it difficult to coordinate train schedules and confusing passengers. Time calculation became a problem for people travelling by train. Every city in the United States used a different time standard so there were more than 300 local sun times to choose from, Time zones were therefore a compromise, relaxing the complex geographic dependence while still allowing local time to be approximate with mean solar time. Railroad managers tried to address the problem by establishing 100 railroad time zones, operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced at noon on November 18,1883, the conference therefore established the Greenwich Meridian as the prime meridian and Greenwich Mean Time as the worlds time standard. The US time-zone system grew from this, in all zones referred back to GMT on the prime meridian. It is, within about 1 second, mean time at 0°. It does not observe daylight saving time and it is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, standard time zones in the United States are currently defined at the federal level by law 15 USC §260. The federal law establishes the transition dates and times at which daylight saving time occurs. As of August 9,2007, the time zones are defined in terms of hourly offsets from UTC. Prior to this they were based upon the solar time at several meridians 15° apart west of Greenwich. Only the full-time zone names listed below are official, abbreviations are by common use conventions, the United States uses nine standard time zones. The Central standard time zone, which comprises roughly the Gulf Coast, Mississippi Valley, the Mountain standard time zone, which comprises roughly the states that include the Rocky Mountains
8.
Central Time Zone
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The North American Central Time Zone is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time is six hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, during summer most of the zone uses daylight saving time, and changes to Central Daylight Time which is five hours behind UTC. The province of Manitoba is the province or territory in Canada that observes Central Time in all areas. Also, most of the province of Saskatchewan is on Central Standard Time year-round, major exceptions include Lloydminster, a city situated on the boundary between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city charter stipulates that it shall observe Mountain Time and DST, putting the community on the time as all of Alberta, including the major cities of Calgary. As a result, during the summer, clocks in the province match those in Alberta. The Central Time Zone is the second most populous in the US after the Eastern Time Zone, lanett and Valley observe Eastern Time historically because they were textile mill towns and the original home office of their mills was in West Point, Georgia. Some eastern counties observe Central Time because they are close to the border of the Middle Tennessee counties surrounding the Nashville metropolitan area. Louisiana Michigan, All of Michigan observes Eastern Time except the four Upper Peninsula counties that border Wisconsin, other westernmost counties from this area such as Ontonagon observe Eastern Time. South Dakota, Eastern half as divided by the Missouri river adjacent to the state capital, note, the metropolitan area of Pierre is Central, including Fort Pierre. Wisconsin Most of Mexico—roughly the eastern three-fourths—lies in the Central Time Zone, except for six northwestern states, the federal entities of Mexico that observe Central Time, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua all use Central Standard Time year-round. The Galápagos Islands in Ecuador uses Central Standard Time all year-round, Daylight saving time is in effect in much of the Central time zone between mid-March and early November. The modified time is called Central Daylight Time and is UTC−5, in Canada, Saskatchewan does not observe a time change. One reason that Saskatchewan does not take part in a change is that, geographically. The province elected to move onto permanent daylight saving by being part of the Central Time Zone, Mexico decided not to go along with this change and observes their horario de verano from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. In December 2009, the Mexican Congress allowed ten border cities, eight of which are in states that observe Central Time, to adopt the U. S. daylight time schedule effective in 2010
9.
Coordinated Universal Time
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Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated to UTC, is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean time at 0° longitude. It is one of closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, the first Coordinated Universal Time was informally adopted on 1 January 1960. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments, a number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds, but no consensus has yet been reached. Leap seconds are inserted as necessary to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of universal time, see the Current number of leap seconds section for the number of leap seconds inserted to date. The official abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time is UTC and this abbreviation arose from a desire by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Astronomical Union to use the same abbreviation in all languages. English speakers originally proposed CUT, while French speakers proposed TUC, the compromise that emerged was UTC, which conforms to the pattern for the abbreviations of the variants of Universal Time. Time zones around the world are expressed using positive or negative offsets from UTC, the westernmost time zone uses UTC−12, being twelve hours behind UTC, the easternmost time zone, theoretically, uses UTC+12, being twelve hours ahead of UTC. In 1995, the nation of Kiribati moved those of its atolls in the Line Islands from UTC-10 to UTC+14 so that the country would all be on the same day. UTC is used in internet and World Wide Web standards. The Network Time Protocol, designed to synchronise the clocks of computers over the internet, computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC as it is more specific than GMT. If only limited precision is needed, clients can obtain the current UTC from a number of official internet UTC servers, for sub-microsecond precision, clients can obtain the time from satellite signals. UTC is also the standard used in aviation, e. g. for flight plans. Weather forecasts and maps all use UTC to avoid confusion about time zones, the International Space Station also uses UTC as a time standard. Amateur radio operators often schedule their radio contacts in UTC, because transmissions on some frequencies can be picked up by many time zones, UTC is also used in digital tachographs used on large goods vehicles under EU and AETR rules. UTC divides time into days, hours, minutes and seconds, days are conventionally identified using the Gregorian calendar, but Julian day numbers can also be used. Each day contains 24 hours and each hour contains 60 minutes, the number of seconds in a minute is usually 60, but with an occasional leap second, it may be 61 or 59 instead
10.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
11.
County (United States)
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In the United States, an administrative or political sub-division of a state is a county, which is a region having specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term county is used in 48 U. S. states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes, most counties have subdivisions which may include municipalities and unincorporated areas. Others have no divisions, or may serve as a singular consolidated city-county. Some municipalities are in multiple counties, New York City is uniquely partitioned into multiple counties/boroughs, the U. S. federal government uses the term county equivalent to describe non-county administrative or statistical areas that are comparable to counties. Alaskas Unorganized Borough is divided into 11 census areas that are equivalent to counties. As of 2013, the United States has 3,007 counties and 137 county equivalents for a total of 3,144 counties, the number of counties per state ranges from the 3 counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas. Counties have significant governmental functions in all states except Rhode Island and Connecticut, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has removed most government functions from eight of its 14 counties. The county with the largest population, Los Angeles County, counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the workload in Jamestown. Americas oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia, in Northampton County, maryland established its first county, St. Marys, in 1637, and Massachusetts followed in 1643. When independence came, the framers of the Constitution did not provide for local governments, rather, they left the matter to the states. Subsequently, early state constitutions generally conceptualized county government as an arm of the state, in some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties smaller divisions usually called townships, though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called towns. The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, the newest county in the United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado, established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county. The newest county-equivalents are the Alaskan boroughs of Skagway established in 2007, Wrangell established in 2008, there are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U. S. Similarly, some of Alaskas boroughs have merged with their principal cities creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among the geographically largest cities in the world, see also, #County names, regarding Louisiana. Independent cities, These are cities that legally belong to no county, Washington, D. C. outside the jurisdiction of any state, has a special status. The city of Washington comprises the entirety of the District of Columbia, when founded in 1801, the District consisted of two counties and three cities. In 1846, Alexandria County – including the then–City of Alexandria – was given back to Virginia, in 1871, the three remaining entities – the City of Washington, Georgetown City, and Washington County – were merged into a consolidated government by an act of Congress
12.
Edwards Plateau
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San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area. The eastern portion of the plateau is known as the Texas Hill Country, the landscape of the plateau is mostly savanna scattered with trees. It mostly lacks deep soil suitable for farming, though the soil is fertile mollisols and some cotton, grain sorghum, for the most part, though, the thin soil and rough terrain areas are primarily grazing regions, with cattle, sheep and Angora goats predominant. The area is drained, rainwater flows into the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone at the south of the plateau to feed rivers to the south. Rainfall varies from 15 to 33 inches per year, on average, from northwest to southeast, and the area has a moderate temperature and a reasonably long growing season. Flora Trees of the include a juniper-oak mix and a mesquite-acacia mix scattered over fairly short grasses. Some pecan trees are found near the springs and rivers, the Balcones Fault is associated with the Edwards Plateau formation. This fault line is a demarcation for the range definition of a number of species. Fauna Caves of the Edwards Plateau are important habitats for a deal of wildlife. The area is home to some of the largest colonies of bats in the world, there are also large numbers of reptiles and birds, including breeding populations of the Texan endemic golden-cheeked warbler. Further alteration to the savanna has incurred though the encroachment of shrubs now that grassland fires are carefully controlled, small areas of intact habitat remain, particularly around Austin, where areas are protected, such as the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. Another important area for wildlife is Fort Hood military base, earliest human settlement of this area was by Native Americans. First it was used and wandered about by Jumano and Coahuiltecan groups, then the Apacheria extended into the Southern Plains by the forerunners of the Lipan and Mescalero Apaches. After the expulsion of the Apachean groups from the Plains by the Comanche, Texas Hill Country Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge Colorado River Mount Bonnell List of ecoregions in the United States Johnson, E. H. Edwards Plateau. Texas counties map showing the ecoregion
13.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
14.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
15.
Henry Hopkins Sibley
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Henry Hopkins Sibley was a career officer in the United States Army, who commanded a Confederate cavalry brigade in the Civil War. After capturing Albuquerque and Santa Fe, he was forced to retreat after the Battle of Glorieta Pass and he was then given minor commands in the Southern Louisiana operations, but was accused of serious blunders, apparently caused by drunkenness. Sibley designed a new 12-man bell tent and stove, easy to pack, Henry Hopkins Sibleys grandfather, Dr. John Sibley, served as a medic in Massachusetts in the American Revolutionary War. His wife was Elizabeth Hopkins, whose name was given as a middle name to their son Samuel. After her death in 1803, Dr. Sibley was part of an expedition to the Red River country of western Louisiana for the US government after the Louisiana Purchase and chose to settle in Natchitoches, in 1811 his son Samuel Hopkins Sibley and his wife followed to Natchitoches. Samuel Sibley served as a clerk from 1815 until his death in 1823. Henry Hopkins Sibley was born in Natchitoches in 1816, Union general and first Governor of Minnesota, Henry Hastings Sibley, was a distant cousin. His family had migrated west in the Northern Tier, which historians have called Greater New England, at the age of 17, Henry was admitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated in 1838 and was commissioned as lieutenant in the 2nd U. S. Dragoons. He fought Seminole Indians in Florida, 1840–1841, participated in the Military Occupation of Texas, 1845–1846, Sibley was on frontier duty in Texas from 1850–1855. Sibley was a military man. In the 1850s, he invented the Sibley tent, which was used by the Union Army during the American Civil War. The United Kingdom also adopted the design of the Sibley tent and he also invented the Sibley stove, to heat the tent. The Army used tent stoves of this design into the years of World War II. He took part in the Utah War, 1857–1860, and was in service in New Mexico 1860–1861. After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Sibley resigned on May 13,1861, native to Louisiana, he had southern sympathies and joined the Confederate States Army. Sibley resigned from the US Army as he sided with the Confederacy and he then intended to continue north to Colorado to capture the numerous gold and silver mines in the area as a means of replenishing the badly depleted Confederate treasury. From there Sibley planned to join forces with Confederate Lieut, John R. Baylor, already in control of much of Southern New Mexico and Arizona territories and headquartered in Tucson, AZ
16.
New Mexico Territory
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In 1846, during the Mexican-American War, the U. S. provisional government of New Mexico was established. After the Mexican Republic formally ceded the region to the U. S. A. in 1848, earlier in the year 1850, a bid for New Mexico statehood was underway under a proposed state constitution prohibiting slavery. The request was approved at the time that the Utah Territory was created to the north. Texas raised great opposition to this plan, as it claimed much of the same territory, in addition, slaveholders worried about not being able to expand slavery to the west of their current slave states. The Compromise of 1850 put an end to the push for immediate New Mexico statehood, approved by the United States Congress in September 1850, the legislation provided for the establishment of New Mexico Territory and Utah Territory. It also firmly established the western boundary of Texas. The status of slavery during the territorial period provoked considerable debate, the granting of statehood was up to a Congress sharply divided on the slavery issue. Regardless of its status, slavery was rare in antebellum New Mexico. Black slaves never numbered more than about a dozen, as one of the final attempts at compromise to avoid the Civil War, in December 1860, a U. S. House of Representatives committee proposed to admit New Mexico as a slave state immediately. As in New Mexico, slavery was already limited, due to earlier Mexican traditions, laws. The northwestern corner of New Mexico Territory was included in Arizona Territory until it was added to the southernmost part of the newly admitted State of Nevada in 1864, eventually Arizona Territory was organized as the State of Arizona. The Purchase treaty defines the new border as up the middle of river to the point where the parallel of 31°47 north latitude crosses the same 31°47′0″N 106°31′41. Although this area was smaller than what had been included in the failed statehood proposal of early 1850, the Gadsden Purchase was acquired by the United States from Mexico in 1853/1854, arranged by the then-American ambassador to Mexico, James Gadsden. The land of 29,640 square miles provided an easily constructed route for a future southern transcontinental railroad line for the future Southern Pacific Railroad. The Colorado Territory was established by the Colorado Organic Act on February 28,1861 and this Act removed the Colorado lands from the New Mexico Territory. This Act left the New Mexico Territory with boundaries identical to the eventual State of New Mexico for a half-century until admitted to the Union in 1912 as the 47th state, as the route to California, New Mexico Territory was disputed territory during the American Civil War. S. Albuquerque, NM, University of New Mexico Press,2014
17.
Milam County, Texas
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Milam County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 24,757, the county was created in 1834 as a municipality in Mexico and organized as a county in 1837. Milam County is named for Benjamin Rush Milam, an early settler and a soldier in the Texas Revolution. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,022 square miles. U. S. Highway 77 U. S. Highway 79 U. S, the population density was 24 people per square mile. There were 10,866 housing units at a density of 11 per square mile. 18. 63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,16. 7% were of American,16. 1% German,7. 2% English and 6. 8% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 25. 90% of all households were made up of individuals and 14. 10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.11. In the county, the population was out with 27. 50% under the age of 18,7. 70% from 18 to 24,24. 70% from 25 to 44,22. 90% from 45 to 64. The median age was 38 years, for every 100 females, there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males, the median income for a household in the county was $33,186, and the median income for a family was $40,431. Males had an income of $30,149 versus $20,594 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,920, about 12. 20% of families and 15. 90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21. 80% of those under age 18 and 15. 30% of those age 65 or over. Four additional districts extend into parts of Milam County, but are based in neighboring counties, Bartlett, Caldwell, Holland, st. Paul Lutheran School in Thorndale is a private institution that serves students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight
18.
Lipan Apache people
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Present-day Lipan live mostly throughout the U. S. The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is headquartered in McAllen, Texas, the name Lipán is a Spanish adaption of their self-designation as Lépai-Ndé reflecting their migratory story. The first recorded name is Ypandes, by 1750, the Lipan Apache were driven from the Southern Great Plains by the Comanche and their allies, the so-called Norteños. Tche shä, Tche shäⁿ, lived from San Antonio, Texas, canneci Nde, Connechi, Cancee Nde, Made up of many bands and family groups that joined together after being forced into and escaping slavery. Lived from Louisiana to East Texas along the Red River, sharing a kinship with the Kune Tsa Ndé. Kól kukäⁿ, Kó´l Kahäⁿ, Cuelcahen Ndé, lived on the Central Plains of Texas along the upper Colorado River, and its tributaries southward to the Pecos River. Tchókanä, Tchóⁿkanäⁿ, merged later with the Tcha shka-ózhäye, lived west of Fort Griffin, Texas, along the upper Colorado River towards the side of the Rio Grande. Kóke metcheskó lähä, Kóke metcheskó lähäⁿ, lived south of San Antonio as far as northern Mexico, Tsél tátli dshä, Tsél tátli dshäⁿ, merged later with Kóke metcheskó lähä, lived east of the Rio Grande along the lower Guadalupe River and Nueces River in Texas. Shá ia Nde, Sháiánde, Nde Shini, Shä-äⁿ, most northern group of the Lipan, sharing contacts with the Kiowa-Apache. They were forced to relocate 1884, when 300 people were moved to the Washita Agency in Oklahoma) Tsés tsembai, Tel kóndahä, Tel kóndahäⁿ, lived west of Fort Griffin in Texas, along the upper Colorado River and its tributaries, were renowned and fierce warriors. Tsésh ke shéndé, Tséc kecénde, perhaps lived former along the upper Brazos River, later moved down to live near Lavón, Mexico, about 1884 extinct. Tindi Ndé, Túe Ndé, Tüzhäⁿ, Täzhäⁿ, lived along the upper Rio Grande, in southern New Mexico and in northern Mexico, at about 1850 they were in close contact to the Mescalero. Tcha shka-ózhäye, Tchaⁿshka ózhäyeⁿ, lived along the shore of the Rio Pecos in Texas, were close allies of the Nadahéndé or Natage. Twid Ndé, Tú’édiné Ndé, moved north and therefore away from the gulf area, zitisti Nde, Tséghát’ahén Nde, Tas steé be glui Ndé, wearing a red turbanlike headdress like the neighboring Mescalero, lived in the deserts of northern Mexico. In addition the following bands were recorded, Biuhit Ndé, Buii gl un Ndé, lived in the deserts and highplains of New Mexico and northern Mexico. Hadidla Ndé, Goschish Ndé, lived from the lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas into the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, Zuá Zuá Ndé, lived in the lava beds of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. Indantųhé Ndé, Nakaiyé Ndé, Mexicans who intermarried with Lipan bands who sought refuge in Mexico, the Spanish associated these groupings with the Lipan, Lipiyánes Natagés Ypandes Llanero The Lipan are first mentioned in Spanish records in 1718 when they raided Spanish settlements in San Antonio. It seems likely that the Lipan had become established in Texas during the half of the 17th century
19.
Coahuiltecan people
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Coahuiltecan people is a collective name for the many small, autonomous bands of Native Americans who inhabited southernmost Texas, the Rio Grande valley and adjacent Mexico. The survivors were absorbed into the Hispanic population of southern Texas or northern Mexico, in 1886, ethnologist Albert Gatschet found perhaps the last survivors of Coahuiltecan bands,25 Comecrudo,1 Cotoname, and 2 Pakawa. They were living near Reynosa, Mexico, the name given to the Coahuiltecans derives from Coahuila, the state in which some of them lived. The word Coahuila derives from a Nahuatl word and they lived on both sides of the Rio Grande. Their neighbors along the Texas coast were the Karankawa, and inland to their northeast were the Tonkawa, to their north were the Jumano and, later, the Lipan Apache and Comanche. People of similar hunting and gathering livelihood lived throughout northeastern Mexico, although living near the Gulf of Mexico, most of the Coahuiltecans were inland people. Near the Gulf for more than 70 miles both north and south of the Rio Grande, there is fresh water, which limited the opportunity to live near. Most modern linguists, however, discount this theory for lack of evidence, at least seven different languages are known to have been spoken, one of which is called Coahuiltecan or Pakawa, spoken by a number of bands near San Antonio. The best known of the languages are Comecrudo and Cotoname, both spoken in the delta of the Rio Grande and Pakawa, vocabularies of several languages were compiled in the 18th and 19th century, but the language samples are too small to establish relationships between and among the languages. The names of more than one thousand bands or ethnic groups were recorded, primarily by Spanish explorers and priests, band names and their composition doubtless changed frequently. Most of the bands apparently numbered between 100 and 500 people, the total population of non-agricultural Indians, including Coahuiltecans, in northeastern Mexico and neighboring Texas has been estimated by two different scholars as 86,000 and 100,000. Possibly 15,000 of these lived in the Rio Grande delta, a small group of African blacks was recorded as living in the delta in 1757. Smallpox and slavery decimated the Coahuiltecans in the Monterrey area by the mid 17th century, however, after a Franciscan Roman Catholic Mission was established in 1718 at San Antonio, indigenous population of the people declined rapidly, especially from smallpox epidemics beginning in 1739. Most groups disappeared before 1825, their remnants absorbed by the diverse population of Texas or Mexico. Coahuiltecan lifeways, in the words of one scholar, “represent the culmination of more than 11,000 years of a way of life that had adapted to the climate and resources of south Texas. ”They shared the common traits of being non-agricultural and living in small autonomous bands with no political unity above the level of the band. They were nomadic hunter-gatherers, carrying their possessions on their backs as they moved from place to place to exploit sources of food that might be available only seasonally. At each campsite, they built small huts with frames of four bent poles which they covered with woven mats. At times, they together in large groups of several bands and hundreds of people, but most of the time their encampments were small, consisting of a few huts
20.
Suma people
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The Suma People lived in northern Chihuahua and the Rio Grande valley of western Texas. They were nomadic hunter gatherers who practiced little or no agriculture, confusion is rife concerning the complex mix of indigenous peoples who lived near the Rio Grande in west Texas. Near La Junta de los Rios, the junction of the Rio Grande and it is unclear whether the La Junta Indians belonged to a single ethnic group and spoke the same language or were instead a mixture of languages and peoples. Also unclear is whether they were related to the more nomadic Jumano, upstream on the Rio Grande from La Junta were the people who came to be called the Suma, and further upstream from El Paso northward were the Manso Indians. The Manso and the Suma appear to have had similar cultures, the Suma lived, at least during winter, along 130 miles of the Rio Grande southeast from El Paso. Their range extended westward from the Rio Grande valley approximately 200 miles to the municipalities of Janos and Nuevo Casas Grandes. The Janos and Jocomes people of northwestern Chihuahua were probably sub-tribes or closely related to the Suma, as hunter-gatherers the Suma had no fixed habitations. During summer they dispersed in small groups to exploit the plant, the Suma, said early visitors, are hunters, they eat all sorts of game, wild reptiles, and acorns…mesquite beans, tunas and other cactus fruits, roots, seeds, and unspecific game animals. They have no knowledge whatsoever of agriculture, have no fixed homes, or ranches, the Suma also raided their agricultural neighbors, the Opata, to the west in Sonora. The language of the Suma is unknown, scholars have speculated that it belongs to the Uto-Aztecan language family. Athabaskan affiliations have also been proposed, the Suma and their neighbors the Manso are believed to be the descendants of the Jornada Mogollon culture. About 1450, the Mogollon pueblos near El Paso were abandoned, the Suma were not politically united, but rather seem to have been a group of closely related autonomous bands and sub-tribes each of which acted independently. The Suma were probably encountered by Cabeza de Vaca in 1535 and he was received cordially by more than one thousand of them near the Rio Grande. The first mention of them by the name Suma came in 1630, the Suma at the time were at war with the Opata in Sonora and endangering Franciscan missions. In 1659, a mission was established for the Manso and the Zumanas, in present-day downtown Ciudad Juárez, some of the Suma, Manso, and Jumano sought Spanish protection from the growing danger of Apache raids. Others seem to have continued their nomadic ways and joined the Apache, by 1680, the Missions at El Paso were ministering to over 2,000 Indians, including Sumas. But the Pueblo Revolt in New Mexico caused an additional 2,000 Spaniards and allied Indians to take refuge in El Paso, a famine resulted in 1683-1684, and in 1684 the Indians revolted and fled the missions. Some of the Sumas returned to the later that same year
21.
Comanche
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The Comanche people are federally recognized as the Comanche Nation, headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma. Post-contact, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers with a horse culture, there may have been as many as 45,000 Comanches in the late 18th century. They were the dominant tribe on the Southern Plains and often took captives from weaker tribes during warfare, selling them as slaves to the Spanish and they also took thousands of captives from the Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers. Today, the Comanche Nation has 15,191 members, approximately 7,763 of whom reside in tribal jurisdictional area around the Lawton, Fort Sill, the Comanche Nation Homecoming Powwow is held annually in Walters, Oklahoma in mid-July. The Comanche language is a Numic language of the Uto-Aztecan family, only about 1% of Comanches speak their language today. The name Comanche is from the Ute name for them, kɨmantsi, the Comanche Nation is headquartered in Lawton, Oklahoma. Their tribal jurisdictional area is located in Caddo, Comanche, Cotton, Grady, Jefferson, Kiowa, Stephens, membership of the tribe requires a 1/8 blood quantum. The tribe operates its own housing authority and issues tribal vehicle tags and they have their own Department of Higher Education, primarily awarding scholarships and financial aid for members college educations. Additionally, they operate the Comanche Nation College in Lawton, Oklahoma and they own ten tribal smoke shops and four casinos. The casinos are Comanche Nation Casino in Lawton, Comanche Red River Casino in Devol, Comanche Spur Casino, in Elgin, in 2002, the tribe founded the Comanche Nation College, a two-year tribal college in Lawton. Each July Comanches from across the United States gather to celebrate their heritage and culture in Walters, the Comanche Nation Fair is held every September. The Comanche Little Ponies host two annual dances—one over New Years and one in May, the Comanche emerged as a distinct group shortly before 1700, when they broke off from the Shoshone people living along the upper Platte River in Wyoming. In 1680, the Comanche acquired horses from the Pueblo Indians after the Pueblo Revolt and they separated from the Shoshone after this, as the horses allowed them greater mobility in their search for better hunting grounds. The horse was a key element in the emergence of a distinctive Comanche culture and they only just fall short of possessing all of the conveniences of the earth, and have no need to covet the trade pursued by the rest of the Indians. Their original migration took them to the southern Great Plains, into a sweep of territory extending from the Arkansas River to central Texas. They reached present-day New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle by 1700, forcing the Lipan Apache people ever southward, by 1777, the Lipan Apache had retreated to the Rio Grande and the Mescalero Apache to Coahuila. The Comanche never formed a single cohesive unit, but were divided into almost a dozen autonomous groups. These groups shared the language and culture, and rarely fought each other
22.
Devils River (Texas)
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The Devils River in southwestern Texas, part of the Rio Grande drainage basin, has limited areas of whitewater along its length. It begins in northwest Sutton County, at 30°19′40″N 100°56′31″W, where six watercourses come together, Dry Devils River, Granger Draw, House Draw, Jackson, Flat Rock Draw and its drainage basin above that point is 10,259 square kilometres. The Devils River is considered the most unspoiled river in Texas and its remote location in a hostile environment limits pollution from human and domestic animal populations. In addition, the river flows underground for part of its journey, as it passes underground, the gravel, sand and limestone scrub the river water clean before it re-emerges some 20 miles downstream. Although the river is popular for kayaking and canoeing, it is difficult to access because much of the river is bounded by private property. However, much of the river is protected through conservation easements on both sides, the Nature Conservancy holds conservation easements on several ranch properties protecting the river. Along with the Devils River State Natural Area the protected land along the river totals 110,000 acres. The river itself is 90 miles long, but much of the half of the river is not suitable for canoeing or kayaking because of a lack of water. The best part of the river for recreation is about 40 miles long, the most common point of entry into the river is Bakers Crossing on Texas State Highway 163. Camping sites are available and you can leave your vehicle at Bakers Crossing. Most of the river is fairly calm with mostly class two rapids and small class three rapids, however the river can rise and fall greatly with rainfall, even if the rain is not in the direct area of the river. Dolan Falls is a waterfall about 15 feet tall and is located at about 16.9 miles, the river is characterized by long, deep pools with reed covered rapids near the end of these pools. A map is strongly suggested as both Dolan Falls and Three Tier Rapids are not able to be seen until you are right on top of them, after Three Tier Rapids, there are no more large rapids and the river is fairly smooth. Some boulder and fields do occur past Three Tier Rapids but are small in size. The river finally empties into Lake Amistad after traveling some 40 miles from Bakers Crossing, from this point it is another 12-mile trip on the lake to the last take out at Rough Canyon Marina. The journey for the section of the trip can be very strenuous on a person kayaking or canoeing because of the strong south headwind. Part of the appeal of the river is its location, the very rugged and rough terrain. There are only five houses in the first 20 miles of river
23.
Black Seminoles
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The Black Seminoles are black Indians associated with the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma. They are the descendants of free blacks and of escaped slaves who allied with Seminole groups in Spanish Florida, historically, the Black Seminoles lived mostly in distinct bands near the Native American Seminole. Some were held as slaves of particular Seminole leaders, but they had more freedom than did slaves held by whites in the South, today, Black Seminole descendants live primarily in rural communities around the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. Its two Freedmens bands, the Caesar Bruner Band and the Dosar Barkus Band, are represented on the General Council of the Nation, other centers are in Florida, Texas, the Bahamas, and northern Mexico. Since the 1930s, the Seminole Freedmen have struggled with cycles of exclusion from the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma. In 1990, the received the majority of a $46 million judgment trust by the United States, for seizure of lands in Florida in 1823. In 2004 the US Supreme Court ruled the Seminole Freedmen could not bring suit without the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and they argue that the Dawes Rolls were inaccurate and often classified persons with both Seminole and African ancestry as only Freedmen. In all likelihood, the words Maroon and Seminole share the etymology as the Spanish word cimarrón. This word usually referred to runaways or castaways and is derived from the word for thicket in Old Spanish. The Spanish strategy for defending their claim of Florida at first was based on organizing the people into a mission system. The mission Native Americans were to serve as militia to protect the colony from English incursions from the north, but a combination of raids by South Carolina colonists and new European infectious diseases, to which they did not have immunity, decimated Floridas native population. After the local Native Americans had all but died out, Spanish authorities encouraged renegade Native Americans, the Spanish were hoping that these traditional enemies of the English would prove effective in holding off English expansion. As early as 1689, African slaves fled from the South Carolina Lowcountry to Spanish Florida seeking freedom and these were people who gradually formed what has become known as the Gullah culture of the coastal Southeast. Under an edict from King Charles II of Spain in 1693, the Spanish organized the black volunteers into a militia, their settlement at Fort Mose, founded in 1738, was the first legally sanctioned free black town in North America. Not all the slaves escaping south found military service in St. Augustine to their liking, more escaped slaves sought refuge in wilderness areas in Northern Florida, where their knowledge of tropical agriculture—and resistance to tropical diseases—served them well. Most of the blacks who pioneered Florida were Gullah people who escaped from the plantations of South Carolina. As Gullah, they had developed an Afro-English based Creole, along with cultural practices, the Gullah pioneers built their own settlements based on rice and corn agriculture. They became allies of Creek and other Indians escaping into Florida from the Southeast at the same time, in Florida, they developed the Afro-Seminole Creole, which they spoke with the growing Seminole tribe
24.
Camp Bullis
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Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation is a U. S. Army training camp comprising 27,990 acres in Bexar County, Texas, USA, just northwest of San Antonio. Camp Bullis provides Base Operations Support and Training Support to Joint Base San Antonio, the camp is named for Brigadier General John L. Bullis, Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley make up the Leon Springs Military Reservation. Camp Bullis is used primarily as maneuvering grounds for U. S. Army, Air Force and it is also utilized as a field training site for the various medical units stationed at Brooke Army Medical Center in nearby Fort Sam Houston. In 1906 United States military bought over 17,000 acres from all or parts of six ranches and this area was designated the Leon Springs Military Reservation and was to be used as a maneuvers and training area for troops based at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Leon Springs was praised for its population and varied terrain. Use of the new training area began almost immediately, in July and August 1907, the target ranges in present-day Camp Stanley were used for the Southwestern Rifle and Pistol Competition. The first major maneuvers were held in 1908, involving regular army and National Guard infantry, cavalry, the first documented firing of artillery occurred in 1909. Mobilization of troops in response to upheavals in Mexico in 1911 led to large-scale maneuvers at the Reservation, with the increased tensions along the United States-Mexico border between 1912 and 1916, activity at the Reservation decreased as troops from Fort Sam Houston were deployed along the border. Activity increased again in 1916, as numbers of troops were called up for training after the raid of Columbus, New Mexico. Also in 1916, a large remount station was built near Anderson Hill in present-day Camp Stanley, in February 1917, the facilities at the reservation were renamed Camp Funston in honor of Major General Frederick Funston. In May 1917 while preparing for World War I, Camp Funston established the First Officers Training Camp, drills and training at the FOTC included practice marches, target practice, and trench warfare training. Officers of the FOTC graduated in August 1917, after which a Second Series Officer Training Camp began, the Camp Bullis cantonment was located across Salado Creek from the old Scheele Ranch. Training facilities at Camp Bullis included cavalry camps, maneuver grounds, construction of permanent facilities was limited to a camp headquarters, an administrative building, and spaces for rows of mess halls and tents. The 315th Engineer Regiment of the 90th Division constructed rifle ranges, between World Wars I and II, Camp Bullis grew significantly in size. The leased properties of Camp Bullis and additional adjacent properties were purchased, the remaining area, formerly known as the Leon Springs Military Reservation, was transferred to Camp Bullis. During this period, infantry and engineering units of the 2d Division, Training and drills by the Citizens Military Training Camp and the Reserve Officers Training Corps also took place at Camp Bullis. Troops took part in target and combat practice, firing Stokes mortars, starting in 1937, the second Division tested new divisional structures meant to increase mobility and flexibility through mechanization and motorization. These tests, featured in a 1939 LIFE Magazine issue and employed the use of units and the 6th Infantry Regiment
25.
Langtry, Texas
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Langtry is an unincorporated community in Val Verde County, Texas, United States. The community is notable as the place where Judge Roy Bean, Langtry was originally established in 1882 by the Southern Pacific Railroad as a grading camp called Eagle Nest. It was later renamed for George Langtry, an engineer and foreman who supervised the immigrant Chinese work crews building the railroad in the area, Roy Bean arrived soon after completion of the railroad and set up a tent saloon on company land. He later built a structure for his saloon, which he called The Jersey Lilly after the well-known British stage actress Lillie Langtry. She was a native of the island of Jersey, Bean used the saloon as his headquarters when authorized as a justice of the peace and notary public. He called himself the Law West of the Pecos, after a notable career as justice of the peace, Bean died in 1903. In 1884 the town was authorized a post office, in 1892 it had a general store, a railroad depot, and two saloons. Langtry began to decline after the highway was moved north in the early 1900s for a more direct east-west route. Once bypassed, the towns businesses lost revenue and jobs, when in the 1920s Southern Pacific moved its facilities away, more jobs were lost and the town population dwindled to 50. By the 1970s the population dipped as low as 40, tourism to the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center continues to keep the town alive. In 1955, Robert Burton Willingham claimed an unidentified flying object crashed along the bank of the Rio Grande. The incident came to be known as the Del Rio, Texas UFO Crash, Willingham, a former Air Force Reserve pilot, stated that he was flying a North American F-86 Sabre jet fighter when he observed a UFO streak past him and crash near Langtry. No local residents have been located who could confirm Willinghams story, the Westerner, a film featuring Walter Brennan as Judge Roy Bean and Gary Cooper as a fictional interloper. It repeated the myth of the towns being named for Lillie Langtry, Lillie, a TV mini-series about Lillie Langtry produced by Britains London Weekend Television, also related the myth of the Texas towns name. Judge Roy Bean a western series set in Langtry but filmed in Pioneertown, California. The supporting cast included Jack Buetel, Jackie Loughery, and Russell Hayden, the Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, a film set in Langtry and starring Paul Newman, sparked new interest in Texas history. The Other Roswell, UFO Crash on the Texas-Mexico Border, non-fiction book about a reported UFO crash at Langtry, the town plays a major role in R. A. Langtry is mentioned in the Cormac McCarthy novel No Country for Old Men and it is implied that Langtry could be the hometown of the novels protagonist, Llewelyn Moss
26.
Roy Bean
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Phantly Roy Bean, Jr. was an eccentric U. S. saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself The Law West of the Pecos. According to legend, Judge Roy Bean held court in his saloon along the Rio Grande on a stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert of southwest Texas. After his death, Western films and books cast him as a hanging judge, Roy Bean was born in 1825 in Mason County, Kentucky, the youngest of five of Phantly Roy Bean, Sr. and the former Anna Henderson Gore. The family was poor, and at age sixteen Bean left home to ride a flatboat to New Orleans. After getting into trouble there, Bean fled to San Antonio, Samuel Gore Sam Bean, who had earlier migrated to Independence, Missouri, was a teamster and bullwhacker. He hauled freight to Santa Fe and then on to Chihuahua, after Sam fought in the Mexican–American War, he freighted out of San Antonio, where Roy joined him. In 1848, the two opened a trading post in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Soon after, Roy Bean shot and killed a Mexican desperado who had threatened to kill a gringo, to escape being charged with murder by Mexican authorities, Roy and Sam Bean fled west to Sonora. By the spring of 1849, Bean had moved to San Diego, California, the older Bean was elected the first mayor of the city the following year. Considered handsome, Roy Bean competed for the attentions of local women. A Scotsman named Collins challenged Bean to a match on horseback. Bean was left to choose the targets, and decided that they would shoot at each other, the duel was fought on February 24,1852, ending with Collins receiving a wound to his right arm. Both men were arrested and charged with assault with intent to murder, in the two months that he was in jail, Bean received many gifts of flowers, food, wine, and cigars from women in San Diego. His final gift while incarcerated included knives encased in tamales, Bean used the knives to dig through the cell wall. After escaping on April 17, Bean moved to San Gabriel, California, where he became a bartender in his brothers saloon, after Joshua was murdered in November, Bean inherited the saloon. In 1854, Bean courted a woman, who was subsequently kidnapped and forced to marry a Mexican officer. Bean challenged the groom to a duel and killed him, Six of the dead mans friends put Bean on a horse and tied a noose around his neck, then left him to hang. The horse did not bolt, and after the men left, the bride, Bean was left with a permanent rope burn on his neck and a permanent stiff neck
27.
Lillie Langtry
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Lillie Langtry, born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was celebrated as a young woman of beauty and charm, who later established a reputation as an actress and producer. Her looks and personality attracted interest, commentary, and invitations from artists and society hostesses. By 1881, she had become an actress and starred in plays, including She Stoops to Conquer, The Lady of Lyons. In later life she performed dramatic sketches in vaudeville and she was also known for her relationships with noblemen, including the Prince of Wales, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and Prince Louis of Battenberg. She was the subject of public and media interest. Born in 1853 as Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, Langtry was the daughter of Rev. William Corbet Le Breton and his wife Emilie Davis. They eloped to Gretna Green and, in 1842, married at Chelsea, Emilie Charlotte was born in the rectory of St Saviours Parish Church in Jersey where her father was Rector and Dean of Jersey. Emilie, the daughter, was the sixth of seven children and her brothers were Francis Corbet Le Breton, William Inglis Le Breton, Trevor Alexander Le Breton, Maurice Vavasour Le Breton, Clement Martin Le Breton, and Reginald Le Breton. When she died, William was her last surviving brother, purportedly, one of their ancestors was Richard le Breton, allegedly one of the assassins in 1170 of Thomas Becket. Her French governess was unable to manage her, so Lillie was educated by her brothers tutor and this enabled her to gain a better education than did most women of her day. Their father was the Dean of Jersey, but he earned an unsavoury reputation because of several extramarital affairs, when his wife Emilie finally left him in 1880, he left Jersey. On March 6,1874, 20-year-old Lillie married 30-year-old Irish landowner Edward Langtry, a widower and she was the sister of Elizabeth Frances Price, who had married Lillies brother William. They held their reception at The Royal Yacht Hotel in St. Helier. Langtry was wealthy enough to own a yacht, and Lillie insisted that he take her away from the Channel Islands, eventually, they rented an apartment in Eaton Place, Belgravia, London before moving to 17 Norfolk Street off Park Lane. In an interview published in newspapers in 1882, Lillie Langtry said, “It was through Lord Raneleigh. I went to London and was out by my friends. Among the most enthusiastic of these was Mr Frank Miles, the artist, I learned afterwards that he saw me one evening at the theatre, and tried in vain to discover who I was. He went to his clubs and among his artist friends declaring he had seen a beauty, then Mr Miles came and begged me to sit for my portrait
28.
Crockett County, Texas
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Crockett County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,719, the county was founded in 1875 and later organized in 1891. It is named in honor of Davy Crockett, the legendary frontiersman who died at the Battle of the Alamo, prehistoric people live in Gobbler Shelter, located on a small tributary canyon of Live Oak Creek. Earliest known Native American tribes are Tonkawa, Lipan Apache and Comanche,1590 Spanish explorer Gaspar Castaño de Sosa leads a mining expedition of 170 who pass through the western section of Crockett County to reach the Pecos River. 1684, May 22 - Juan Domínguez de Mendoza and his expedition cross the Pecos River,1849 John Coffee Hays expedition charting waterholes for transporting people and freight. 1852 U. S. Army Colonel Joseph K. Mansfield recommends establishing a new post on Live Oak Creek to protect travelers,1855, August 20, Fort Lancaster is established in response to Mansfield’s recommendation. 1866 The Texas legislature provides three battalions of Texas Rangers to protect settlers in the area,1875, January 12 - Crockett County, named for Davy Crockett, is formed from Bexar County. 1880’s Sheep and cattle ranchers establish themselves in the county, kirkpatrick Hotel built to serve stagecoach passengers and cowboys. 1885 W. P. Hoover becomes one of the first settlers, Crockett County becomes a subsidiary of Val Verde County. 1887 Crockett County is further reduced as Sutton and Schleicher counties are formed from it,1889 Emerald becomes first town in Crockett County. The first water well is drilled at the First Baptist Church in Ozona,1900 Stagecoach service begins in Crockett County. 1902 Crockett County Courthouse built, Empire style, architect Oscar Ruffini, the building does multiple duty for courtroom and county offices, as well as a community center and dance hall. 1925 First producing oil well on L. P. Powells ranch in north central Crockett County,1938 Ozona erects a statue of Davy Crockett in the town square. 1939 Ozona opens the Crockett County Museum, in 1958, it was moved to its current location on the town square. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 2,807 square miles. Interstate 10 U. S. Highway 190 State Highway 137 State Highway 163 State Highway 349 Crockett County is among the few counties in the United States to border as many as nine counties. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,099 people,1,524 households, the population density was 1.46 people per square mile. There were 2,049 housing units at a density of 0.73 per square mile
29.
Kinney County, Texas
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Kinney County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,598, the county was created in 1850 and later organized in 1874. It is named for Henry Lawrence Kinney, an early settler, first inhabitants were 6, 000-10,000 years ago and later came to include Lipan Apache, Mescalaro Apache, Coahuiltecan, Jumanos, Tamaulipans, Tonkawa and Comanches. These tribes settled in rockshelters in the river and creek valleys, leaving behind artifacts and caches of seeds, implements, burial sites, and petroglyphs. Saltillo alcalde Fernando de Azcué in 1665 passed through the southeast corner of the county on an expedition, Franciscan Brother Manuel de la Cruz explored the county in 1674. In 1675, Fernando del Bosque traversed the area on an expedition up the Rio Grande from the city of Nuestra Sra. de Guadalupe and he was accompanied by the Franciscan Friars Juan Larios and Dionisio de San Buenaventura. During the latter eighteenth century, several Franciscans established a settlement on Las Moras Creek near the center of the county, in 1834, English land speculators John Charles Beales and James Grant attempted to establish an English-speaking colony called Dolores at the site. Streets were laid off and fifty-nine colonists were brought in, the state legislature formed Kinney County from Bexar County in 1850 and named it for Henry Lawrence Kinney. The United States Army established Fort Clark in June 1852 on Las Moras Creek, Clark, who had died in the Mexican War. Brackettville was founded in 1852 originally as the town of Brackett, Brackett, who came to set up a stage stop and opened the towns first dry-goods store. Brackett became a stop on a line from San Antonio to El Paso. The town received its first post office in 1875, on February 18,1861, on orders from United States Army General David E. Twiggs, Fort Clark was surrendered to the Texas Commission. Twiggs was dismissed by the United States for the act, the fort was evacuated by federal troops on March 19 and occupied by Confederate troops under the command of Confederate Colonel John R. Baylor. It remained in the hands of the Confederates until the end of the war, in December 1866 it was reestablished as a federal fort. In the early 1872 a number of Black Seminole Indians living along the border were organized into a company of scouts, others joined them, and by the mid-1870s they numbered some 400 or 500. For the next century they lived on a reservation along Las Moras Creek. In 1914 the Black Seminoles were removed from the Fort Clark reservation, the Seminole Indian Scouts cemetery was founded on Fort Clark in 1872. The county was organized in 1874, in 1876, Brackettville was designated county seat after the final boundaries of the county were set by the legislature
30.
Pecos County, Texas
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Pecos County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 15,507, the county seat is Fort Stockton. The county was created in 1871 and organized in 1875 and it is named for the Pecos River. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, archeological digs at Squawteat Peak uncovered prehistoric hunter-gatherer artifacts. 14 clusters of stones interpreted as wickiup and tipi rings indicate human habitation, the Comanche Trail crossed Pecos County near Horsehead Crossing and through Comanche Springs. The Chihuahua Trail connecting Mexico’s state of Chihuahua with Santa Fe, United States Army outpost, Fort Stockton, was established in 1858 at Comanche Springs to guard the San Antonio-El Paso Mail. That same year the Butterfield Overland Mail began service to the army post, the town of Fort Stockton began near the Fort Stockton army post at Comanche Springs as St. Gall, Texas but was renamed Fort Stockton, Texas in 1880. Pecos County was established by the Texas legislature in 1871 originally out of Presidio County, in 1971, Pecos County was organized and St. Gall was named the county seat. There were 1,100 people living in the county that year, by 1890 the county had 227 cattle and 150 sheep that year, and 1,300 acres were planted in corn. By 1900 the areas economy had become almost completely dominated by cattle and sheep ranching, though plots of wheat, rye, corn, and oats were grown. Around 1900, a settlement known as Sheffield sprang up in eastern Pecos County on land owned by Will Sheffield. In 1913, construction of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway across Pecos County caused a boom in land speculation and community growth, as did irrigation projects along the Pecos River. The town of Girvin, named for rancher John H. Girvin, grew around a stop on the Kansas City, Mexico. Construction of Texas State Highway 290 linking Fort Stockton to Big Bend National Park gave a boost to the tourism dollar, in the 1980s the economy of Pecos County continued to be based on farming, ranching, oil and gas production, and tourism. The Yates Oil Field in Crockett County, Texas and Pecos County in 1927 resulted in a boom period for the county. Towns such as Red Barn, Iraan and Bakersfield rose up in response to oil-related employment opportunities, the population of the county more than doubled during the 1920s. Oil production helped to stabilize the local economy, the town of Iraan, Texas prides itself on being the birthplace of cartoon caveman Alley Oop, when creator V. T. Although first published in the Des Moines Register in 1932, Hamilin claimed to have originated the idea while he watched dinosaur bones being dug up by oil equipment, visitors to Iraan, Texas can visit the Alley Oop Museum found on Alley Oop Lane
31.
Laughlin Air Force Base
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Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located in Del Rio, Texas. As a census-designated place, it had a population of 1,648 at the 2015 census, Laughlin AFB, the largest pilot training base in the US Air Force, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Education and Training Command. On weekdays, the airfield sees more takeoffs and landings than any airport in the country. Laughlin AFB was originally named Laughlin Army Air Field on March 3,1943, after Jack T. Laughlin and he was trained as a pilot and was actually co-pilot of B-17E, Tail number 41-2476. The day of his first bombing mission, he was bumped by the Group Commander Major Stanley K. Robinson, Major Robinson brought along his own combat experienced navigator, Lt Richard Cease. Laughlin had no assigned position on the plane for the mission and he became Del Rios first World War II casualty when the plane he was flying in was lost at sea, having succumbed to damage received over the Makassar Strait on 29 January 1942. The damage occurred during two bombing runs against Japanese warships and transports in the Makassar Strait off the coast of Balikpapan, the field became simply Laughlin Field on November 11,1943 and later an Army Air Force Auxiliary Field. During World War II, Laughlins primary mission was the training of B-26 pilots and it was closed in October 1945. Laughlin Air Force Base reopened on May 1,1952, in October 1952, ATC transferred the base to Crew Training Air Force and activated the 3645th Flying Training Wing, as a combat crew replacement training facility for pilots headed for Korea. Training provided new pilots with basic bombing and gunnery combat skills in the F-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet, and T-33 jet aircraft, in Sept.1955, Laughlin came under the control of the Flying Training Air Force and switched missions with Williams Air Force Base, Arizona. Laughlin undertook single-engine pilot training, still using the T-33, the Air Force transferred jurisdiction of the base to the Strategic Air Command on April 1,1957 and the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing moved there from Turner Air Force Base, Georgia. Following graduation of the last class in March 1957, ATC inactivated the 3645th FTW, the 4080th Wing provided high-altitude reconnaissance and air sampling using the Lockheed U-2A and the RB-57D Canberra. The 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was redesignated the 4080th Strategic Wing on June 15,1960, heyser landed at McCoy AFB, Florida, following the mission, with McCoy becoming a U-2 operating location for the duration of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Another 4080th pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr. perished when his U-2 was hit by shrapnel from a Soviet-made SA-2 on October 22,1962 while overflying Cuba from McCoy AFB. While not suffering a hit, Anderson was struck by fragments from the warhead proximity explosion that penetrated and compromised his pressure suit. His body was returned to the U. S. following the crisis, Major Anderson posthumously became the first recipient of the Air Force Cross, the Air Forces second highest decoration for valor. Laughlins primary operations training complex, Anderson Hall, is named in his honor, in 1961, Headquarters US Air Force notified Laughlin officials their mission would expand to again include an Air Training Command undergraduate pilot training program. Plans called to transfer in about half the student load from Laredo Air Force Base, ATC reactivated the 3645th Pilot Training Wing at Laughlin in October 1961 to prepare for the phase-in of students and T-37 and T-33 trainers
32.
U2
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U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin formed in 1976. The group consists of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, initially rooted in post-punk, U2s sound grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music, yet has maintained an anthemic sound. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes, popular for their live performances, the group has staged several ambitious and elaborate tours over their career. The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency, within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album Boy. Subsequent work such as their first UK number-one album War, by the mid-1980s, they had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. The groups fifth album, The Joshua Tree, made them international superstars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. Topping music charts around the world, it produced their only number-one singles in the US, With or Without You, facing a backlash and creative stagnation, U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s through a new musical direction and public image. This experimentation continued through their album, Pop, and the PopMart Tour. U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Cant Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and their U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 is the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history. The groups thirteenth album, Songs of Innocence, was released at no cost through the iTunes Store, U2 have released 13 studio albums and are one of the worlds best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 170 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The band formed in Dublin on 25 September 1976, Larry Mullen Jr. then a 14-year-old student at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, posted a note on the schools notice board in search of musicians for a new band—six people responded. Mullen later described it as The Larry Mullen Band for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge. Martin, who had brought his guitar and amplifier to the first practice but could not play, did not remain with the group, the group settled on the name Feedback because it was one of the few technical terms they knew. Most of their material consisted of cover songs, which the band admitted was not their forte. Some of the earliest influences on the band were emerging punk rock acts, such as the Jam, the Clash, Buzzcocks, the popularity of punk rock convinced the group that musical proficiency was not a prerequisite to being successful. In April 1977, Feedback played their first gig for an audience at St. Fintans High School. Shortly after, the changed their name to The Hype
33.
Rudolf Anderson
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Rudolf Anderson, Jr. was a pilot and commissioned officer in the United States Air Force and the first recipient of the Air Force Cross, the U. S. Air Forces second-highest award for heroism. The only person killed by fire during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Anderson was born September 15,1927, in Greenville, South Carolina and he earned the rank of Eagle Scout from Greenvilles Boy Scout Troop 19, graduated from Greenville High School and from Clemson University as a member of Air Force ROTC Detachment 770, in 1948. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he completed Primary and Advanced pilot training and he began his operational career flying RF-86 Sabres and earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses for reconnaissance missions during the Korean War. Anderson was part of the 4028th Strategic Reconnaissance Weather Squadron, 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, headquartered at Laughlin Air Force Base, on October 15, when CIA analysts studied reconnaissance film from the first 4080th overflight, they found SS-4 medium-range ballistic missiles. These pictures triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis, on October 27, Anderson took off in a U-2F from a forward operating location at McCoy Air Force Base in Orlando, Florida. A few hours into his mission, he was shot down by a Soviet-supplied S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile near Banes, Anderson was killed when shrapnel from the exploding proximity warhead punctured his pressure suit, causing it to decompress at high altitude. On October 31, Acting United Nations Secretary U Thant returned from a visit with Premier Fidel Castro and announced that Anderson was dead. By order of President John F. Kennedy, Anderson was posthumously awarded the first Air Force Cross, as well as the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Cheney Award. Seven more airmen died when a Boeing C-135B Stratolifter delivering ammunition to Naval Base Guantanamo Bay stalled and crashed on approach on October 23. The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pride in presenting the Air Force Cross to Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr. During this period of national crisis, Major Anderson, flying an unescorted, unarmed aircraft. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Major Anderson reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force. After the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, Andersons body was returned to the United States, a memorial to Anderson was erected in 1963 at Cleveland Park in Greenville. No surplus U-2 aircraft were available at the time, so an F-86 Sabre like the ones he flew in Korea was used instead, North American YF-86H-1-NA Sabre, the memorial was redesigned, and it was rededicated on October 27,2012, the 50th anniversary of Andersons death. The auditorium for the 47th Operations Group at Laughlin AFB, Texas, is named in his honor, the Maj. Rudolf Anderson, Jr Squadron of the Arnold Air Society at Clemson University is named in his honor. Some of the wreckage of Major Andersons aircraft is on display in three museums in Cuba, one of the engine intakes is at the Museo Girón at Girón village, in the province of Matanzas, at the entrance to Bahia de Cochinos, or Bay of Pigs. The engine and portion of the assembly from the U-2 is at the Museum of the Revolution in Havana
34.
Cuban Missile Crisis
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The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. An agreement was reached during a meeting between Khrushchev and Fidel Castro in July 1962 and construction of a number of missile launch facilities started later that summer. The 1962 midterm elections were under way in the United States and these missile preparations were confirmed when an Air Force U-2 spy plane produced clear photographic evidence of medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic missile facilities. The United States established a blockade to prevent further missiles from reaching Cuba. It announced that they would not permit offensive weapons to be delivered to Cuba, after a long period of tense negotiations, an agreement was reached between U. S. President John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev. Secretly, the United States also agreed that it would dismantle all U. S. -built Jupiter MRBMs, when all offensive missiles and Ilyushin Il-28 light bombers had been withdrawn from Cuba, the blockade was formally ended on November 20,1962. The negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union pointed out the necessity of a quick, clear, as a result, the Moscow–Washington hotline was established. A series of sharply reduced U. S. –Soviet tensions during the following years. The United States had been embarrassed publicly by the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961, afterward, former President Eisenhower told Kennedy that the failure of the Bay of Pigs will embolden the Soviets to do something that they would otherwise not do. U. S. covert operations against Cuba continued in 1961 with the similarly unsuccessful Operation Mongoose, in addition, Khrushchevs impression of Kennedys weakness was confirmed by the Presidents response during the Berlin Crisis of 1961, particularly to the building of the Berlin Wall. He also told his son Sergei that on Cuba, Kennedy would make a fuss, make more of a fuss, CIA agents or pathfinders from the Special Activities Division were to be infiltrated into Cuba to carry out sabotage and organization, including radio broadcasts. When Kennedy ran for president in 1960, one of his key election issues was a missile gap with the Soviets leading. In fact, the U. S. led the Soviets by a margin that would only increase. In 1961, the Soviets had only four intercontinental ballistic missiles, by October 1962, they may have had a few dozen, with some intelligence estimates as high as 75. The U. S. on the hand, had 170 ICBMs and was quickly building more. It also had eight George Washington– and Ethan Allen–class ballistic missile submarines with the capability to launch 16 Polaris missiles each, the Soviet Union did have medium-range ballistic missiles in quantity, about 700 of them, however, these were very unreliable and inaccurate. The U. S. had an advantage in total number of nuclear warheads at the time. The U. S. also led in missile defensive capabilities, naval and air power, Khrushchev faced a strategic situation where the U. S. was perceived to have a splendid first strike capability that put the Soviet Union at a huge disadvantage
35.
Amistad Reservoir
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Amistad Reservoir is a reservoir on the Rio Grande at its confluence with the Devils River 12 miles northwest of Del Rio, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1969 by the construction of Amistad Dam, the dam and lake are managed jointly by the governments of the United States and Mexico through the International Boundary and Water Commission. The name of the dam and lake is the Spanish word for friendship, the reservoir is also known as Lake Amistad. Amistad Reservoir is part of the Rio Grande, which forms its principal inflow at its northwestern end, the other major inflow is the Devils River, which enters from the north. Since it is filled by the Rio Grande, Amistads drainage basin includes a vast area of West Texas, central New Mexico, southern Colorado, southeastern Chihuahua, Amistad Reservoir is stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish found in Amistad Reservoir include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Guadalupe bass, substantial aquatic vegetation grows in the lake, primarily hydrilla. Two captive populations didnt survive, and the fish was extinct by 1987, the area now covered by the reservoir was long inhabited by Indigenous Americans, who sheltered in caves along the rivers and left numerous cave paintings. After the Mexican–American War, American pioneers such as John Coffee Hays travelled through the area in developing a road from San Antonio to El Paso. During the construction of the dam, the land around the American shore of the reservoir was designated as the Amistad National Recreation Area. The area is rich in archaeology and rock art, and contains a variety of plant. The lake is home to yearly nationally-televised fishing tournaments and it is also near the flight path of USAF trainers. Fishing on Amistad Reservoir National Park Service, Amistad National Recreation Area
36.
United States Census Bureau
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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 Bureaus primary mission is conducting the U. S. Census every ten years, 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, and the Current Population Survey, furthermore, economic and foreign trade indicators released by the federal government typically contain data produced by the Census Bureau. The Bureaus various censuses and surveys help allocate over $400 billion in federal funds every year and help states, local communities, 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 now conducts a population count every 10 years in years ending with a 0. Between censuses, the Census Bureau makes population estimates and projections, the Census Bureau is mandated with fulfilling these obligations, the collecting of statistics about the nation, its people, and economy. The Census Bureaus legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the United States Code, the Census Bureau also conducts surveys on behalf of various federal government and local government agencies on topics such as employment, crime, health, consumer expenditures, and housing. Within the bureau, these are known as surveys and are conducted perpetually between and during decennial population counts. The Census Bureau also conducts surveys of manufacturing, retail, service. Between 1790 and 1840, the census was taken by marshals of the judicial districts, the Census Act of 1840 established a central office which became known as the Census Office. Several acts followed that revised and authorized new censuses, typically at the 10-year intervals, in 1902, the temporary Census Office was moved under the Department of Interior, and 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 role in the department. An act in 1920 changed the date and authorized manufacturing censuses every 2 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, the Census Bureau definition is pervasive. 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, only after 72 years does the information collected become available to other agencies or the general public
37.
U.S. Route 90 in Texas
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U. S. Route 90 is a major east-west highway in the U. S. state of Texas with large portions of it running concurrently with I-10. US90 begins at I-10 in Van Horn, travels through San Antonio and Houston, US90 begins in Van Horn at an intersection with I-10 and SH54. US90 travels in a direction towards Marfa where it starts an overlap with US67. US90 travels south and runs parallel to the US-Mexico Border near the Rio Grande, US90 crosses the Amistad Reservoir then runs through Del Rio. US90 turns right and runs east towards Brackettville, US90 runs through Uvalde and Medina counties. US90 then arrives in San Antonio where it serves as a freeway on the citys Westside until its interchange with I-10. East of Downtown San Antonio, US90 multiplexes with I-10 and this overlap ends in Seguin, and continues where the two highways continually cross each other en route to Houston. US90 once again duplexes with I-10 east of Columbus briefly separating near Brookshire, at I-610 east of Houston, US90 becomes independently known as the Crosby Freeway. The Crosby Freeway from east of Beltway 8 to east of Runneburg Road in Crosby, was constructed in the early 1990s, after several delays, construction work on the inner section of the freeway began in 2006 and was opened to traffic in January 2011. The previous interchange was a stack interchange though the new interchange is not a full five-level stack. As of December 2012, only the roads have been constructed. Unlike most new freeway extensions in the Houston area built in recent decades, also unlike most of Houstons existing freeways and tollways, the Crosby Freeway does not have continuous feeder roads. The Crosby Freeway has four to six mainlanes for its entire length, the US90 heads northeast leaving Houston and ends its freeway status in Crosby. US90 then continues traveling east through Beaumont and once again duplexes with I-10 and it then passes through Orange, until crossing the Sabine River into Louisiana towards Lake Charles. With the exception of a 13-mile-long section with two lanes between Ames and Nome, US90 has at least four lanes between Crosby and the Louisiana border. Interstate 10 in Texas U. S. Route 90 Alternate
38.
U.S. Route 277
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U. S. Route 277 is a north–south United States Highway. It is a spur of U. S. Route 77 and it runs for 633 miles across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277s northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at Interstate 44 and its southern terminus is in Carrizo Springs, Texas at U. S. Route 83. It passes through the states of Oklahoma and Texas, most of U. S. 277s route through the two states overlaps other U. S. highways. Through the Lawton area and again from Randlett, Oklahoma, to near downtown Wichita Falls, the highway begins at an intersection with US83 in Carrizo Springs, about 60 miles northwest of Laredo. The highway runs in an east-west direction, until reaching Eagle Pass, from here to Del Rio, the highway parallels the Rio Grande River at the U. S. -Mexico border. The highway overlaps US377 for about 26 miles, with the passing the Amistad National Recreation Area. US277 crosses I-10 near Sonora, before traveling to Eldorado, the highway overlaps both US67 and US87 in the city. In Abilene, the overlaps with US83 and US84. US83 leaves in Anson, traveling to Aspermont, while US277 travels to Stamford, in Seymour, US82 begins an overlap with US277. The two highways enter the city of Wichita Falls, with US82 leaving the highway at US 281/US287, US277 joins US 281/287 and the three highways travel into the downtown area of the city, where I-44 begins. US287 leaves the freeway, while I-44/US 277/US281 travel to Burkburnett, bailey east of Cement, under the interstate south of Fletcher and under the interstate/turnpike on the west side of Elgin. About five miles west of Elgin, U. S.277 rejoins U. S.62 for the next 10 miles with the triplex 62-277-281 route joining Interstate 44 at the point of the H. E. Bailey Turnpike north section near Medicine Park south through Fort Sill to I-44 Exit 40A, U. S.277 and 281 continue their concurrent route with I-44 through the Lawton-Fort Sill area to a point six miles south of Lawton where I-44 becomes the H. E. Bailey Turnpike at the Walters exit and toll plaza, at this interchange, U. S. 277-281 joins I-44 for the last 6 miles in Oklahoma before crossing the Red River into Texas. From Newcastle to the Red River north of Wichita Falls, Texas, present U. S.281 Business and former U. S. S. When US277 was commissioned in 1930, it ended at the Mexico–United States border in Del Rio and it was extended southeast to its present terminus in 1952. The original northern terminus was in Oklahoma City at its intersection with parent route US77, the northern terminus remained there until 1964
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U.S. Route 377 in Texas
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U. S. Highway 377 is a U. S. Highway that begins at US90 in Del Rio and heads north through Fort Worth in the U. S. state of Texas before crossing into Oklahoma. When US377 was commissioned in 1930, US77 connected Dallas, Texas with the north and south, but nearby Fort Worth lacked a direct northern connection. US377 connected US77 in Denton, Texas with US81 in Fort Worth, Texas, when the Interstate highway system was built, Interstate 35 paralleled the Dallas/Fort Worth split with routes I-35E through Dallas and I-35W through Fort Worth. The southern terminus is in Del Rio, Texas at an intersection with U. S. Highway 90 and it goes north of town co-signed with U. S. Highway 277 for 20 miles. After splitting off, it enters Edwards County and Carta Valley and it meets SH55 at the county seat, Rocksprings, before serving as the western terminus of SH41. It heads northeast into Kimble County, crossing the county line near Telegraph, at Junction, Texas, it meets both Interstate 10 and US83. It then continues northeast through London, extreme southeastern Menard County, in Mason County, US377 passes through Streeter before forming a concurrency with SH29 near Grit. In Mason, SH29 splits off to its own alignment while US377 turns north to join U. S. Highway 87, US 87/377 head north together into Brady, where they meet US190, the southern terminus of US283, and SH71. US377 splits off to the north and heads to Mercury, in Brownwood, US377 joins with U. S. Highway 67, following its routing all the way to Stephenville, where US377 splits off on its own again. US377 then enters Hood County, where it passes through the county seat and it cuts the corners of both Johnson County and Parker County before entering Tarrant County and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. US377 crosses Interstate 20 at exit 429A in Benbrook and it then enters Fort Worth proper, meeting SH183 and Spur 580. It runs northeast on Camp Bowie Blvd. to Interstate 30, at the Interstate 35W junction, it heads north along that highway before splitting off at Exit 52A. It heads due north as the Denton Highway and continues to run parallel to I-35W through many D/FW suburbs, including Haltom City, Watauga, Keller, Westlake, Roanoke, and Argyle. In Denton, it crosses Interstate 35E and has a concurrency with US380 through the eastern portion of Denton. After splitting from US380, US377 runs east of Aubrey, through Pilot Point, Tioga and it then heads north to cross Lake Texoma into Oklahoma. State Highway Loop 118 is a short and unsigned loop highway, the highway connects Highway 377 to Business State Highway 114-K without the need for an intersection between those highways. The loop is just 0.209 miles long, and is located entirely within the portion of the town of Roanoke. The highway was first designated on February 4,1941, the original route traveled from US377 just south of Roanoke, along Oak Street, past Bus
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Texas State Highway 163
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State Highway 163 or SH163 is a 203-mile-long state highway in the western part of Texas, United States. SH163 runs almost directly north from its junction with U. S. Highway 90 at Comstock near the Rio Grande. The road passes east of the Seminole Canyon State Historical Park, the highway continues north to Ozona at Interstate 10 and to Barnhart, where it junctions with U. S. Highway 67, and on to Sterling City. The highway is co-routed with U. S. Highway 87 at Sterling City, but then diverges after a few miles to continue northward to Colorado City, counties traversed by the highway include Val Verde, Crockett, Irion, Tom Green, Sterling, and Mitchell. Most of the covered by the highway is sparsely populated ranch country. The original formation of the highway by 1931 included only the section from Comstock to Barnhart, in 1957 State Highway 101 and Ranch to Market Road 379 were cancelled and combined into the additional sections of SH163 from Barnhart to Colorado City. Texas official travel map at the Texas Department of Transportation
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Sutton County, Texas
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Sutton County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,128, the county was created in 1887 and organized in 1890. Sutton County is named for John S. Sutton, an officer in the Confederate Army, 1860s AD Paleo-Indians in the county leave behind archaeological remains of a burned-rock midden with mortar and pestle, as well as other tools. Later native inhabitants include Tonkawa, Comanche and Lipan Apache,1736 Lt. Miguel de la Garza Falcón leads 100 soldiers along the Devils River 1852, February 2 - Camp Terrett, later known as Fort Terrett, established to protect settlers from Comanches. Founded by Lt. Col. Henry Bainbridge and named for Lt. John Terrett,1881 Wall’s Well discovered by Tim Birtrong and Ed Wall. Birtrong Ranch is the only ranch. 1885 Charles G. Adams, a merchant and sometime rancher from Fort McKavett, founds Sonora, Texas, named after a servant from Sonora. 1887 The Texas legislature establishes Sutton County, carved out of eastern Crockett County named for Confederate officer John Schuyler Sutton,1890 Sonora becomes the county seat. 1915 Texas Sheep & Goat Raisers’ Association organized,1928 The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway acquires Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway to connect Sonora with San Angelo, Del Rio, and the outside world by rail. 1930 Sonora Wool and Mohair Company established,1936 WPA projects help local economy. 1958, August 1 – Sonora Municipal Airport activated,1960, July 16 – Caverns of Sonora open to the public. 1965 Caverns of Sonora designated National Natural Landmark,1975 Fort Terrett Ranch is purchased by the Texas oil industrrialist Bill Noël and used in part for the growing of pecans. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,454 square miles. The population density was 3 people per square mile, there were 1,998 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 45. 28% White,0. 25% Black or African American,0. 42% Native American,0. 17% Asian,2. 27% from other races,49. 99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 22. 60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.15. In the county, the population was out with 28. 80% under the age of 18,6. 70% from 18 to 24,27. 70% from 25 to 44,24. 40% from 45 to 64. The median age was 36 years, for every 100 females there were 99.50 males
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Edwards County, Texas
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Edwards County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,002, the county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1883. It is named for Haden Edwards, a settler of Nacogdoches. The Edwards Aquifer and Edwards Plateau are named after the county by reason of their locations, early inhabitants are Lipan Apache, Comanche. 1762 Looking for protection from Comanches, Lipan Apache chief El Gran Cabezón persuades Franciscans, the Mission was abandoned in 1771. 1825 Virginia born Haden Harrison Edwards joins forces with Stephen F. Austin, the next year, Edwards declares the Republic of Fredonia near Nacogdoches, Texas, an early attempt to secede from Mexico. Stephen F. Austin joins forces with Mexico against Edwards, Haden Edwards flees in 1827 to Louisiana for his safety, later to return and spend the rest of his life in Nacogdoches. 1858 Edwards County is formed from Bexar County,1871 Clint Smith, age 11, and brother Jeff Smith, age 9, kidnapped by Indians near Rocksprings. 1882 W. J. Greer settles a sheep camp at Rocksprings,1883 Edwards County officially organized and named for Haden Harrison Edwards. 1884 Francis Winan cattle and sheep ranch at Rocksprings, burr sets up farming at Rocksprings. County Courthouse is built by architects Ben Davey and Bruno Schort in the Romanesque Revival Style,1898 Rocksprings Telephone Company starts up. 1913 Edwards loses land in its section to Real County. 1940 Rocksprings calls itself the Top-o-the-World in mohair production, which peaks that year,1946 Oil discovered in the county. 1991 Kickapoo Cavern State Park,6,400 acres in both Edwards and Kinney County, opens to the public,1992 Devils Sinkhole State Natural Area near Rocksprings, home to the largest single-chambered cavern and third-deepest in the state, opens to the public. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 2,120 square miles. The population density was less than 1/km², there were 1,217 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 83. 26% White,0. 79% Black or African American,0. 79% Native American,0. 14% Asian,12. 72% from other races,45. 05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24. 70% of all households were made up of individuals and 13. 50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.20
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Terrell County, Texas
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Terrell County is a county located in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 984, making it the eighth-least populous county in Texas, and its county seat is the census-designated place of Sanderson, there are no incorporated municipalities in the county. The county was named for Alexander W. Terrell, a Texas state senator, Terrell County is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas. It is the setting for Cormac McCarthys novel No Country for Old Men, evidence of the indigenous peoples of Terrell County are found on the county’s various ranches – arrowheads, tools, burned-rock middens, caves, and shelters containing Indian pictographs. Pieces of reed sandals, baskets, and evidence of burials have been found in the caves, the most pictographs are on cliff walls above Myers Spring near Dryden, overpainting giving to the theory that several Indian cultures were involved. Capt. José de Berroterán in 1729 commanded an expedition on behalf of Spain to explore from Mission San Juan Bautista up the Rio Grande to the mouth of the Rio Conchos. Berroterán crossed the border, where at a spring near Dryden. Six years later, another Spaniard, Blas María de la Garza Falcón, found the cross while conducting an expedition in the area and named the spot Santa Cruz de Maya. Captain Samuel Highsmith, under the command of John Coffee Hays, in 1851 Army officer and geographer Lt. Nathaniel Michler, working under Major William H. Emory, mapped this portion of the boundary between Mexico and the United States. Under Lt. William Echols in 1859, caravans of the U. S. Camel Corps crossed the county searching for a route to Fort Davis. In 1905, Terrell County was created by the Texas Legislature by carving about 1,500,000 acres out of Pecos County and it was organized the same year. In 1881, Texas and New Orleans Railroad surveyors reached the site of present-day Sanderson, originally named Strawbridge by founder Cyrus W. “Charley” Wilson, the name was later changed in honor of railroad Engineer Joseph P. Sanderson. Charles Downie, a Scot, homesteaded in 1881 and became the first permanent sheepman in the area, together, the railroad, cattle, and sheep industries were the major economic assets. Dryden became a shipping point for cattle ranchers. Terrell County became one of the biggest sheep and wool producers in the U. S, in 1926,11,000 lambs averaging $6 per head were sold in one of the largest lamb sales in history. Thousands of pounds of wool and mohair were sold annually through the Sanderson Wool Commission, Dryden, the only town besides Sanderson in the county, was also started in 1882, but is now a ghost town. Judge Roy Bean is said to have operated a saloon at Sanderson, the oil and gas industry became increasingly important to Terrell Countys economy after 1957, when the Brown-Bassett gas field was discovered in the northeast part of the county. Only gas was produced until the 1970s, when petroleum prices encouraged limited oil production
Val Verde County, Texas
