Portal:Texas

Texas
Texas
State
	State of Texas
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	Map of the United States with Texas highlighted

The Texas Portal

Texas (/ˈtɛksəs/ ^ⓘ TEK-səss, locally also /ˈtɛksɪz/ TEK-siz; Spanish: Texas or Tejas, pronounced [ˈtexas] ^ⓘ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest. Texas has a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Covering 268,596 square miles (695,660 km²) and with over 31 million residents as of 2024, it is the second-largest state by area and population. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State for its former status as an independent republic, the Republic of Texas.

Spain was the first European country to claim and control Texas. Following a short-lived colony controlled by France, Mexico controlled the land until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming the Republic of Texas. In 1845, Texas joined the United States of America as the 28th state. The state's annexation set off a chain of events that led to the Mexican–American War in 1846. Following victory by the United States, Texas remained a slave state until the American Civil War, when it declared its secession from the Union in early 1861 before officially joining the Confederate States on March 2. After the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation.

Historically, five major industries shaped the Texas economy prior to World War II: cattle, bison, cotton, timber, and oil. Before and after the Civil War, the cattle industry—which Texas came to dominate—was a major economic driver and created the traditional image of the Texas cowboy. In the later 19th century, cotton and lumber grew to be major industries as the cattle industry became less lucrative. Ultimately, the discovery of major petroleum deposits (Spindletop in particular) initiated an economic boom that became the driving force behind the economy for much of the 20th century. Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry during the mid-20th century. As of 2024^[update], it has the second-highest number (52) of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the United States. With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including tourism, agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace, and biomedical sciences. Texas has led the U.S. in state export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. (Full article...)

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ACL Music Festival’s Bud Light stage, 2012

Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, on two consecutive three-day weekends and is inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series Austin City Limits. The festival is produced by Austin-based company C3 Presents, which also produces Chicago’s Lollapalooza.

The ACL Music Festival has eight stages where musical groups from genres including rock, indie, country, folk, electronic, and hip hop perform. The concert starts at 11am and ends 10pm on each day during the festival at various stages spread out in the park. Approximately 450,000 people attend the festival each year. In addition to the music performances, there are food and drinks, an art market, a kids area for families and other activities for attendees. (Full article...)

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Holley circa 1957

Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his two siblings.

Holly made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group Buddy and Bob with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening once for Elvis Presley, Holly decided to pursue a career in music. He played with Presley three times that year, and his band's style shifted from country and western to rock and roll. In October that year, when Holly opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records. (Full article...)

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State symbols

Flower	Bluebonnet
Motto	Friendship
Nickname	The Lone Star State
Tree	Pecan
Dog	Blue Lacy
Bird	Mockingbird
Fish	Guadalupe bass
Flying Mammal	Mexican free-tailed bat
Reptile	Texas Horned Lizard

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Credit: Larry D. Moore (User:Nv8200p)
The Texas State Capitol at night.

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Downtown Fort Worth

Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly 350 square miles (910 km²) into Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise counties. Fort Worth's population was 918,915 as of the official 2020 U.S. census count, making it the 11th-most populous city in the United States. Fort Worth is the second-largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, after Dallas, and the metropolitan area is the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the United States and the most populous in Texas.

The city of Fort Worth was established in 1849 as an army outpost on a bluff overlooking the Trinity River. Fort Worth has historically been a center of the Texas Longhorn cattle trade. It still embraces its Western heritage and traditional architecture and design. USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) is the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city. Nearby Dallas has held a population majority in the metropolitan area for as long as records have been kept, yet Fort Worth has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. (Full article...)

List of cities
Houston Dallas Marshall, Texas Austin, Texas San Antonio Amarillo, Texas Arlington, Texas Beaumont, Texas Corpus Christi, Texas El Paso, Texas Midland, Texas Waco, Texas Tyler, Texas Lubbock, Texas Irving, Texas Sugar Land, Texas San Angelo, Texas Brownsville, Texas Grand Prairie, Texas Abilene, Texas Wichita Falls, Texas Richardson, Texas McAllen, Texas Denton, Texas

General images

The following are images from various Texas-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Sam Houston served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and seventh governor of Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 2René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle founded the French colony in Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 3McAllen (from List of Texas metropolitan areas)
Image 4Texas in 1718, Guillaume de L'Isle map, approximate state area highlighted, northern boundary was indefinite. (from History of Texas)
Image 5First Day of Passenger Service, Dallas & Sherman Interurban Railroad 1908 (from History of Texas)
Image 6Comancheria before 1850. (from History of Texas)
Image 7Mexican Texas in 1833 (from History of Texas)
Image 8Boom periods of the four major industries that built the early Texas economy. (from History of Texas)
Image 9Big Tex, the mascot of the State Fair of Texas since 1952 (from Culture of Texas)
Image 10Territories of some Native American tribes in Texas ~1500CE (from History of Texas)
Image 11The "Lone Star" Belle, postcard, around 1908. (from Culture of Texas)
Image 121913 cotton harvest in East Texas (from History of Texas)
Image 13The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad --the "Katy"--was the first railroad to enter Texas from the north (from History of Texas)
Image 14President John F. Kennedy in the presidential limousine, minutes before his assassination (from History of Texas)
Image 15The Republic of Texas. The present-day outlines of the U.S. states (white lines) are superimposed on the boundaries of 1836–1845. (from History of Texas)
Image 16Mission Concepcion is one of the San Antonio missions which is part of a National Historic Landmark. (from History of Texas)
Image 17The Spanish flag of Burgundy. (from History of Texas)
Image 18Austin (from List of Texas metropolitan areas)
Image 19French Texas in 1685 consisted of Fort St. Louis on Matagorda Bay. (from History of Texas)
Image 20The Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1819 (from History of Texas)
Image 21Captain Charles A. May's squadron of the 2d Dragoons slashes through the Mexican Army lines. Resaca de la Palma, Texas, May 1846 (from History of Texas)
Image 22A factory worker in Fort Worth, Texas, 1942 (from History of Texas)
Image 23The U.S. and Texas flags at the Texas State Capitol. (from History of Texas)
Image 24Texas Counties and urban areas (from List of Texas metropolitan areas)
Image 25Stephen F. Austin, known as the "Father of Texas." (from History of Texas)
Image 26The Praetorian Building in Dallas, completed 1909, was the first skyscraper west of the Mississippi and the tallest in Texas. (from History of Texas)
Image 27Spanish Texas in 1794 (from History of Texas)
Image 28Company D, Texas Rangers, at Realitos in 1887 (from History of Texas)
Image 29The French flag of the Bourbons (from History of Texas)
Image 30Spanish missions within the boundaries of what is now the state of Texas. (from History of Texas)