Sulphur Springs Mayor Sellers urges celebration of Texas History Month

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On June 30, 2003, the Texas legislature declared March “Texas History Month.” Sulphur Springs Mayor John Sellers enacted a proclamation before the city council on Monday, calling on all citizens to mark the historic value of our state.

“It is imperative that the citizens of the great State of Texas make every effort to preserve, protect and promote the diversified and cultural history of our state,” Sellers stated.

Here are a few important dates noted by Sellers and the Daughters of the Revolution of Texas:

Important March dates in Texas history:

• March 1– Fifty-four delegates convened as Delegates of the People of Texas, elected from all municipalities in Texas in 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos.
• March 2- The delegation publishes “The Unanimous Declaration of Independence, by the Delegates of the People of Texas, in General Convention, at the Town of Washington, on the Second Day of March, 1836.” Texans had declared themselves a free and independent republic.
  • In 1915, the State of Texas commemorated this day as Flag Day.
  • In 1933, the Texas pledge was instated on this day.
  • Sam Houston was born March 2, 1793 in Virginia.
• March 6– Alamo Heroes Day commemorates the determination to the struggle for Texas independence as  demonstrated by a small force of Texan soldiers at the Alamo in San Antonio in 1836. The siege on the Alamo ended this day, and Colonel William B. Travis’s forces fell, yet refused to surrender.
• March 27- Goliad Heroes Day commemorates the 342 prisoners of war killed in 1836 by the Mexican Army, including their leader Colonel James Fannin. Although their remains were scattered, they were all later given a full military burial by General Thomas Rusk.

Other important dates in Texas history:

• October 17, 1835– Texas Rangers established by Stephen F. Austin to “track down outlaws, reconcile land disputes and settle feuds.”
• December 29, 1845– Texas annexed by the U.S.
• December 30, 1853– The Gadsen Purchase adds 45,000 square miles to Texas, mainly in West Texas
• February 23, 1861– Texas ratifies its decision to secede from the Union
• June 19, 1865– Slavery ends in Texas. This later becomes known as “Freedom Day,” “Emancipation Day” or, most popularly, “Juneteenth,” now a federally recognized holiday.
• January 28, 1925– Texas Rangers become a branch of the Department of Public Safety
• November 22, 1963– President John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas
• November 3, 1964– Lyndon Baines Johnson of Stonewall, TX elected president
• November 2, 1988– George H. W. Bush of Houston, TX elected president.
• November 4, 2000– George W. Bush of Midland, TX elected president.

Important Texas facts:

• Texas is the only state in the U.S. to have been its own Republic before joining the Union
• Texas has the second largest land area in the U.S., taking up about 7% of land and water
• Texas has the second largest population in the U.S., with 29 million residents
• Texas is the only state with a state capitol building taller than the nation’s capitol building, by a height of 15 feet. This is the height of a statue placed there in 1881, specifically to make it taller than the U.S. Capitol building. An 1899 act of Congress following Texas’s decision expressly forbid states to build their capitol buildings taller than the U.S. Capitol Building.

By Taylor Nye. Historical Data from DART, John Sellers, and Texas State’s Texas History Timeline project. 

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