A true Texan knows his Texas history(Test)

"March 2, 1836 dawned, frigid and gray; cutting winds blew through glassless windows. Texians - as they styled themselves - huddled close, pulled blankets tight, and gave birth to a dream." -- Dr. Stephen L. Hardin, professor of history, The Victoria College

That dream of which Dr. Hardin recently spoke so eloquently was that of a free Texas, a shining Republic answering to no one but its own elected representatives, and formed from the ground up by the blood, sweat and tears of a rough-hewn bunch of frontiersmen who would die willingly to stake claim to the Texas clay beneath their feet.

And that cold, gray dawn 169 years ago today was down in the Brazos River bottoms, where a makeshift, ramshackle "courthouse" served as the cradle of the new Republic. There, these Texians signed their statement of independence from Mexico.

The Republic of Texas would stand proud until statehood came about 10 years later, standing for all time, Dr. Hardin said, as "a decade of independence singular in the annals of American history."

So, as proud Texans, it's always fun to test ourselves on our general knowledge of the state we revere so much. Therefore, here are 10 questions. They're varied, and they don't follow any particular time line. They're also not that difficult. If you can answer seven or more correctly, you're a good Texan. Less than that ... well, back to school. Here goes:

(1): The first shot of the Texas Revolution was fired at Gonzales, when Mexican troops came to take a cannon away from Texian settlers in the town. "Here it is," the Texians said, and then they said, "___________________."

(2): Fulfilling a campaign promise, this U.S. president signed the papers that made Texas the 28th state in the Union.

(4): The Battle of Plum Creek in 1840 ended this Indian tribe's threat to the Texas Republic.

(5): In February 1861, Gov. Sam Houston, one of Texas' greatest heroes, fell from grace when he spoke out against what decision?

(6): In October 1876, Texas opened its first public institution of higher learning. What is it called today?

(7): What did they call the oilfield where black gold was discovered in 1901 and set Texas on the road to decades of riches.

(8): Name the famous pirate who ran his smuggling and privateering operations out of Galveston around 1817-20.

(9): This "Father of Texas" got a grant from Mexico to bring settlers to an area along the Brazos River in 1823.

(10): This man wrote a letter from the walls of the Alamo that said, "The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls."

OK, those are the 10 questions. Here are the answers. I hope you did well, you Texan, you.

Jim Bishop is executive editor of the Advocate. Contact him at 361-574-1210 or jbishop@vicad.com.

Thank you for remembering!

Here's a little background on the preservation of that building where those 52 brave Texians huddled to write our Texas Constitution.

If you want to see more photos of the restoration, they are at the article linked below. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

The town of Washington-on-the-Brazos as it looked in the Nineteenth Century. The photograph was taken after a heavy snowstorm. The Houston Post, 28 April 1936.

Side view of the 1969 replica

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS IN TEXAS PRESERVATION: THE CASE OF WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS STATE HISTORICAL PARK http://www2.uah.es/histant/trujillo/wob/wob.htm

On March 2, 1836, the small and ramshackle town of Washington in Washington County entered history when fifty-two representatives of the largest settlements in Texas huddled inside an unfinished building on the banks of the Brazos River to declare independence from Mexico, write a new constitution which established the Republic of Texas, and organized an ad interim government. The delegates worked seventeen straight days and nights, and on March 17 they fled Mexico's advancing troops along with the local citizens. When independence was gained, various of those delegates lobbied to designate Washington as the permanent capital of the new nation. However, Texas government elected a town named Waterloo as the capital, later renamed Austin. When in 1842 Mexico again invaded the young republic, Texas President Sam Houston moved the capital back to Washington for security reasons. While the capital remained there, the settlement began to grow thanks to the thriving cotton trade that circulated along the Brazos River. It was a short-lived prosperity, though: in 1845 the seat of government was moved back to Austin; in 1858 the town received a mortal blow when the railroad bypassed it; and the Civil War finally sealed its fate. By the end of the nineteenth century Washington was little more than a ghost town, and today's community is only composed of a handful of houses. Despite its slight importance, Texans have always regarded this place as one of the "cradles" of their independence. Hence, it is not surprising that when the historic preservation movement began in Texas, Washington-on-the-Brazos was one of the first places considered deserving of protection. (1)

The origins of historic preservation in the U.S. can be dated back to the 1850s, when groups New England citizens began saving historic homes because of their association with early American patriots. Their intention was to use the structures to instill patriotism in the people and teach national history, especially to America's youth. New Englanders' ideas and behavior influenced the entire nation, including Texans, who in the 1880s began to get together to preserve their own historic sites. Organizations such as the Alamo Monumental Society, Texas Veterans Association, and Daughters of the Republic of Texas, led by charismatic preservationists such as Adina De Zavala and Clara Driscoll, appeared at the end of the century to salvage the two historic sites most linked with the patriotic history of Texas: the Alamo and the San Jacinto battlefield. (2)

Since Washington-on-the-Brazos (as the town is known today) had been the site where the Texas Declaration of Independence had been signed, it seemed logical that Texas citizens should be interested in preserving this place as well. Yet, it was not as attractive as the Alamo and San Jacinto for two reasons. First, Washington-on-the-Brazos was little more than a few ruined houses far from major towns and roads, whereas the Alamo was located in downtown San Antonio and San Jacinto battlefield was close from Houston. Second, the event that took place there (the signing of the declaration of independence) was less related to a concrete physical place, and the document was not in Washington but stored in the State Archives at Austin. Consequently, only the locales regarded the town site as a place worthy of preservation.

The first step towards the recognition of Washington as a historic place was taken, not surprisingly, by a local educator--E. W. Tarrant, superintendent of Brenham Public Schools. (Continued at website linked above)

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