Name: Atascosa County
Brand: Martin Gonzales
SKU: 9781467108836
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Atascosa County

9781467108836

$24.99

A rural area in Texas, Atascosa County is located directly south of San Antonio. The old roads traveled through this land were en route to missions, forts, and places of importance to natives, explorers, settlers, wildlife, and battle-tested armies. Atascosa County was created in 1856 by the Texas Legislature, and since the land grants were distributed in the late 1800s, the population has increased substantially as settlers dealt with Indian raids, drought, and the hardships of farming and ranching. As the rest of America embraced the machine age and technical wonders, Atascosa County has evolved along in stride. Initially, wagons, plows, and mules toiled for rural Atascosa County; today, vehicles, tractors, and modern machinery keep the county moving forward. Coined "The Birthplace of the Cowboy" by historian Dr. Ben Parker, the land continues to be dominated by the cattle industry. In modern history, country stars such as Willie Nelson and George Strait have blazed a path through Atascosa County with deep ties and humble beginnings.
Martin Gonzales is the chairman of the Atascosa County Historical Commission. He and his fellow volunteers have carried on the great work of appointed commissions of the past by recognizing and continuing to study local history. This publication was made possible with contributions from Atascosa County citizens who gladly answered the call for historical pictures and the stories that went with them.

New Orleans Jazz

9781467111713

$24.99

Discover how Jazz shaped the history and enhanced the life of the citizens of New Orleans.

From the days when Buddy Bolden would blow his cornet to attract an audience from one New Orleans park to another, to the brass bands in clubs and on the streets today, jazz in New Orleans has been about simple things: getting people to snap their fingers, tap their toes, get up and clap their hands, and most importantly dance! From the 1890s to World War I, from uptown to Faubourg Treme and out to the lakefront, New Orleans embraced this uniquely American form of music. Local musicians nurtured jazz, matured it, and passed it on to others. Some left the city to make their names elsewhere, while others stayed, playing the clubs, marching in the parades, and sending loved ones home with ""jazz funerals."" Older musicians mentored younger ones, preserving the traditions that give New Orleans such an exciting jazz scene today.

Brenham

9781467108621

$23.99

While "Born in Brenham" is a local badge of honor, thousands of people who are not originally from the area have been welcomed into the charming city and nearby rural communities of Washington County. Visitors and newcomers will discover a relaxed atmosphere infused with the better aspects of the past. Even in the face of modern change and growth, history occupies a place of value, and traditions in Brenham still reign. Maifest, the spring celebration spawned by German immigrants, has been an annual tradition since 1881, and young and old alike line downtown streets to cheer on the royal courts. The Washington County Fair is the oldest in Texas, honoring the family farms and ranches that still abound. The streets surrounding the courthouse square have remained largely intact for the past century. Once fueled by cotton and railroads, Brenham's economy now reflects a diversity that ranges from artists to ice cream, and historic buildings are seen as treasures to be adapted and reused.

Opelousas

9781467108072

$23.99

Opelousas, one of Louisiana's oldest European settlements, takes its name from the Opelousas tribe, who roamed the area for years before the first French explorers arrived.

After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the community was called Opelousas Church until it was officially incorporated as a town in 1821. Known for its hospitality, music, cuisine, and cultural diversity, Opelousas prospered during antebellum times, survived the Civil War, and suffered through the period of Reconstruction. In the late 1870s, the town again began to flourish with an increasing population and a great number of new businesses. The coming of the railroad in the 1880s led to more economic development, and Opelousas grew to be one of the most progressive towns in the state by the turn of the 20th century. In the 21st century, Opelousas is again seeing a revival of its past glory and continues to be the seat of Imperial St. Landry Parish, a title it has held for over 200 years.

Carola Lillie Hartley, a native of Opelousas, has worked for the city as tourism director and in 1993 became the first Opelousas Main Street director. A community activist and local historian for over 50 years, she has written numerous books and articles about Opelousas, including a weekly column titled Parlons Opelousas for the Daily World newspaper, part of the USA network.

Granbury and Hood County

9781467161169

$24.99

Granbury and Hood County's history is both an American pioneer saga and a 20th-century rags to riches story. In the 17th century, Spanish explorers and the Comanche were vying to control the land carved across Texas by the mighty Brazos River. By the mid-19th century, white settlers came, led by visionaries like fiery preacher "Fighting" Joe Robinson in Acton, lawyer and legislator Abel Landers, the Nutt brothers, and Quaker-raised farmer Amon Bond in Granbury as well as education-minded Campbellite Pleasant Thorp in Thorp Spring and the Sears family in Lipan. Soon small settlements dotted the area. Once the Civil War passed and Hood County was formed in 1866, Granbury and the towns across the county became thriving centers of commerce fed by nearby farms and ranches. The 20th century brought hard times, but the creation of Lake Granbury in 1969 opened a new era of possibilities. Newcomers joined founders' descendants to create a multifaceted renewal inspired by echoes of the past.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

9780738579610

$24.99

Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson took pride in his heritage and in the Texas Hill Country roots of his pioneer ancestors. He delighted in showing guests the ancestral settlement, and his birthplace, boyhood home, and the family treasure: the LBJ Ranch and the home that became known as the Texas White House. LBJ generously gifted these cherished assets to the people of the United States. Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park holds more assets significant to an American president than any other U.S. presidential site. Visitors may stroll through the Johnson Settlement, stepping back in time to the 1860s, when President Johnson's ancestors helped settle Johnson City, which was named after James Polk Johnson, nephew to LBJ's grandfather. The Boyhood Home and Visitor Center are located close to the Johnson Settlement, and visitors can tour the reconstructed Birthplace and enjoy a scenic drive through the LBJ Ranch before touring the Texas White House. This book illustrates the significance of LBJ's heritage and the circle of life represented by what is both a birthplace and a final resting place.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

Will Rogers Coliseum

9780738585482

$24.99

Few buildings in Fort Worth are more iconic than the Will Rogers Coliseum and Auditorium. Built in 1936 as a part of the Texas Centennial celebrations, it stands as a tribute to the spirit of patriotism and pride with which it was constructed and to the optimism that it represented. The list of events that have been held at this venue includes World War II bond drives, Golden Gloves boxing competitions, the symphony, the opera, rock concerts, high school graduations, the Ice Capades, evangelical gatherings, and, of course, the Fort Worth Stock Show. As each decade passes, new demands challenge the role the complex may serve in the future. It is hoped that this book will contribute in some small way to the preservation of this amazing structure.

Holy City of the Wichitas

9780738560045

$24.99

It is a trip back in time, only 100 miles from Oklahoma City and northwest of Lawton. In the time line of history, the Holy City of the Wichitas is just a youngster at 84 years old. Here the future is spoken of as well as the past. The Holy City is now as it has always been. Visitors can walk the pathways, feel the boulder-clad buildings, be married in the breathtakingly beautiful chapel, and see the Prince of Peace pageant. The original setting was five miles to the east in mountainous Medicine Park. Many events had been set in motion for this time in history: the economy of the day, the arrival of a slightly built young minister with a magnificent dream, and a president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was willing to become involved.

Big Bend National Park and Vicinity

9780738578538

$24.99

The Rio Grande makes a large bend into Mexico and forms the "boot heel" of Texas that is the Big Bend. Big Bend National Park nestles inside this meander, and its history is as much a part of Mexico as it is of Texas. The remote border location is historically replete with rich cultural diversity, including nomadic bands of Native Americans, Spanish explorers, Mexican and Anglo farmers, ranchers, miners, military men, and entrepreneurs. In the 1930s, a handful of people saw the Big Bend's majestic ruggedness as a place where all Americans could touch the Creator in nature and appreciate the alien qualities that both test and console the human spirit. This remote frontier still draws the souls of those seeking wide-open vistas and crystal-clear night skies.

Plaquemine

9781467107143

$23.99

The city of Plaquemine sits along the Mississippi River where it meets with Bayou Plaquemine. Famous French explorer Sieur d'Iberville was brought to the bayou in 1699 by the Bayogoula tribe, who inhabited land a few miles south. While trade boats and ferries began operating on the waterway during the early 1700s, it was not for another 100 years, in 1819, that the first foundations of a town began to appear at the mouth of the bayou. The cattle, sugarcane, and lumber industries brought English, French, Spanish, Italian, Irish, and German settlers and African slaves. After building the Plaquemine Lock in 1909, the city became a commercial hub for trade as it connected New Orleans with the western half of the state.

West Baton Rouge Parish

9781467107464

$23.99

West Baton Rouge Parish was established in 1807 along the banks of the Mississippi River across from what would become Louisiana's capital. Its connection to the river has long been an attraction for the people who live here and the pioneers who first settled the area more than 200 years ago. Today, the parish has three incorporated towns--Addis, Brusly, and Port Allen. Because of the rich alluvial soil deposited by the Mississippi River, West Baton Rouge largely became an agricultural community; sugar has always been it biggest crop. In the early 20th century, the Texas & Pacific Railroad made the community a bustling hub. Over the years, West Baton Rouge's position along the river attracted petrochemical companies like Dow, ShinTech, and Placid Refining Company. Now, the parish has one of the largest deepwater ports and a thriving major chemical and manufacturing industry.

Hot Springs National Park

9781467112857

$23.99

One of America's first national parks, Hot Springs has welcomed the famous and the infamous, all seeking the healing elements of her waters.

Hot Springs was one of the first areas set aside as a federal land reservation in 1832--predating the first national park at Yellowstone by 40 years. In 1921, it was officially designated a national park. Physically the smallest of the 59 US national parks today, Hot Springs measures just larger than 5,500 acres. Its 47 on-site springs produce more than 700,000 gallons of thermal water per day. From early natives who quarried novaculite found in the surrounding hills to famous politicians, performers, and athletes, people have been coming to these springs for thousands of years to partake in the supposed healing powers of the water. President Franklin Roosevelt, boxer Jack Dempsey, and French opera diva Lily Pons are a few of the visitors who made the trek to the ""Valley of the Vapors."" The history of Hot Springs National Park revolves around people's' interactions with its thermal water.

Yukon

9781467107655

$23.99

Herding their cattle up the Chisholm Trail, the entrepreneurial Spencer brothers found the south side of the North Fork of the Canadian River appealing and began actively founding their settlement by 1890. They maneuvered the railroad through their village, and Yukon blossomed. The Yukon Mill and Grain Company took Yukon products across the nation and into Europe. Bohemians gravitated to the area, making Yukon the Czech capital of Oklahoma. Dale Robertson made Yukon his home, megastar Garth Brooks grew up in Yukon, and Yukon is central to Bob Funk's empire. And Route 66 blazes through the city's historic Main Street corridor.

Around Aldine

9781467109161

$23.99

Straddling a major railroad with plenty of open prairie, 1890s Aldine offered an ideal real estate development to enterprising land agent Ferris Colby. Colby platted a townsite and marketed acreage to Northerners looking for a warmer climate. Advertisements by Colby, as well as Eugene Robertson, touted Aldine's agricultural potential. Satsuma oranges and magnolia figs provided early cash crops. Entrepreneur John Carpenter started a fig canning factory after winning a silver medal for preserved figs at the 1904 World's Fair. The orange and fig orchards failed by 1920, however, and local farmers switched to produce and dairying. In the early 1960s, the automobile and new freeways opened Aldine to suburban development. Houses, apartments, retail centers, and even a major airport replaced the farms and dairies, changing Aldine from a rural outpost to an almost indistinguishable part of Houston's near-endless urban sprawl.

Crowley

9781467108287

$23.99

Established around 1848 as Deer Creek Settlement, Crowley grew from a small pioneering community just south of Fort Worth, Texas. When Galveston, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad Company constructed a rail line during the 1870s connecting Cleburne to Fort Worth, the settlement relocated about a mile west. The first train ran through Crowley on December 8, 1881. An integral part of Crowley's growth, the railroad provided ease of shipping cattle and crops and access to transportation. Cattle were either loaded on to railcars or unloaded and sent directly to stock pens. From there they went straight to an auction barn. A feed mill was built, and grocery and hardware stores soon opened. Records indicate that the first post office was housed in Hayes Brothers General Store and opened in 1883. Crowley was officially on the map as a thriving town. By the end of the 20th century, Crowley boasted approximately 8,000 residents. Since then, the population size has doubled.

Freeport-Velasco

9781467126809

$24.99

In 1821, Stephen F. Austin and the "Old 300" colonists boarded the Lively and entered the Brazos River, landing at Old Velasco. After hurricanes repeatedly tore the little town apart, residents moved four miles upstream to New Velasco in 1891. Then, the 1900 hurricane, which nearly wiped Galveston off of the map, also devastated New Velasco. But even the earliest Texans were tough, and they endured, rebuilt, and thrived. In 1912, across the Brazos River, the discovery of sulphur gave birth to Freeport. Freeport and Velasco grew side-by-side for 45 years until 1957, when they were consolidated. Thus, some citizens felt that the city ought to then be called "Freeport-Velasco." In 1961, Hurricane Carla roared into Freeport. It was followed through the years by many other mega-storms, but Freeport has weathered them all. Efforts are being made to revitalize downtown to the beauty it had a century ago.

Pocahontas and Randolph County

9781467108997

$23.99

Pocahontas, Arkansas, began as an early settlement known as Bettis Bluff. The name Pocahontas appears to have first been used in 1836 when the town was chosen as the county seat of the new Randolph County. The area's rivers played a significant role in the county's development, with the first steamboat arriving in Bettis Bluff in 1829. Pocahontas flourished following the Civil War due to the growing lumber industry, which cleared vast forested areas, allowing for an agricultural economy. The arrival of the railroad in the early 20th century ushered in new opportunities, and while World War II led many to leave in search of better-paying jobs, others benefited from the opening of Brown Shoe, Magee Picture Frames, Waterloo, and other industries. A significant lumber industry developed as the forests of the Current and Black River bottoms were cleared. The Port of Pocahontas became a shipping point for lumber, and the Sallee Handle Mill along the riverfront in Pocahontas became a booming business. Randolph County emerged as a significant producer of rice, soybeans, and, more recently, peanuts.

San Antonio's Historic Market Square

9781467126694

$24.99

San Antonio was founded in 1718. By 1730, the viceroy of New Spain had issued orders to map plazas, squares, and parks for the Canary Islanders who would be arriving in 1731. The plazas with their markets became the centers for business and entertainment. The first square was Plaza de Armas (Military Plaza); when the islanders arrived, they marked off the Plaza de las Islas (Main Plaza). Before the Civil War, Alamo Plaza was the center of commerce. As San Antonio grew, the markets needed to relocate. The construction of Municipal Market began in 1899. This market house, built in Paschal Square, was demolished in the 1930s, but the Municipal Market Annex, constructed in the 1920s, survived. The annex buildings would become El Mercado and Centro de Artes. In the 1970s, a permanent building for the farmers market was built in Hay Market Plaza. Today, these buildings, along with the historic buildings in the area, are known as Market Square.

Tulsa Christmas Parade

9781467127653

$24.99

Since 1926, the Tulsa Christmas Parade has entertained thousands of children and adults year after year as it winds through the historic streets of downtown Tulsa. In its early days, when Tulsa was a new town booming with rapid growth from the recent discovery of oil, the Christmas parade quickly became an annual tradition that has continued to be a favorite event for the past 90 years. Throughout part of its history, the parade has been held at night, and Tulsa and the surrounding communities have come together to put on elaborate, twinkling displays--full of sparkling lights--including floats, marching bands, and large balloons, culminating each year with the guest of honor, Santa himself, making a special trip from the North Pole all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma. This book explores the grandeur and excitement of Tulsa Christmas Parade's history against the backdrop of one of the largest collections of Art Deco architecture in the United States.

San Antonio's Historic Market Square -- Spanish Language Edition - La Histórica Plaza del Mercado en San Antonio

9781467127363

$24.99

San Antonio fue fundada en 1718, para 1730 el virrey de Nueva EspaÃ±a emitiÃ³ Ã³rdenes de trazar mapas de plazas y parques para la llegada de los isleÃ±os de las Canarias en 1731. Las plazas con sus mercados se convirtieron en centros de negocios y entretenimiento. La primera fue Plaza de las Armas y cuando los isleÃ±os llegaron, marcaron Plaza de las Islas (Plaza Principal). Plaza del Ã lamo era el centro de comercio antes de la guerra civil; al ir creciendo San Antonio los mercados se tuvieron que relocalizar. La construcciÃ³n del Mercado Municipal empezÃ³ en 1899. Ã?ste fue construido en Plaza Paschal y demolido en los 1930s pero el anexo del Mercado Municipal, construido en los 1920s, sobreviviÃ³. Los anexos se convirtieron en El Mercado y Centro de Artes. En los 1970s, un edificio permanente para el mercado de agricultores fue construido en la Plaza de Zacate. Hoy Ã©stos, con los edificios histÃ³ricos en el Ã¡rea, son conocidos como El Mercado.

San Antonio's Historic Market Square -- Spanish Language Edition - La Histórica Plaza del Mercado en San Antonio

Charro Days in Brownsville

9780738578514

$24.99

Brownsville, Texas, was established in 1850 on the banks of the Rio Grande. Every February since 1938, this thriving community of nearly 200,000 has joined its Mexican neighbor, Matamoros, to celebrate their shared cultural heritage. Charro Days burst upon the Rio Grande Valley scene in the depths of the Depression, bringing dances, parades, fireworks, boat races, and a rodeo to a dispirited populace. The celebration achieved instant success, followed by national recognition in magazines, radio, and television. Renowned dance bands and celebrities increased the enjoyment of revelers dressed in Charro costumes. As time passed, Charro Days evolved with the addition of events such as the Mr. Amigo presentation, which recognizes an outstanding Mexican, and the Sombrero Fest, which attracts a large number of attendees with its diverse entertainment.

Erath County

9781467108454

$23.99

Carved from central Comancheria, Erath (EE-rath) County was created by stock raisers and settlers with little to lose but hopes and dreams. Bisected by Grand Prairie and Western Cross Timbers, this is where East Texas ends and West Texas begins. The Bosque and Paluxy Rivers welcomed ranchers, farmers, millers, and ginners. Rustlers, deserters, train robbers, vigilantes, lawmen, and Texas Rangers soon followed. Faith, education, life, and death cultivated villages with churches, schools, stores, and cemeteries in walking distance. Bridges, roads, and railways meant the life or death of a township. This volume commemorates the people, places, and events of lost communities that made the "Cowboy Capital of the World'? what it is today.

Hutchinson County

9781467108584

$23.99

Hutchinson County is in the center of the High Plains in the Texas Panhandle. Home to diverse native vegetation and abundant wildlife, the fertile plains to the north and the deep canyons of the Canadian River valley in the south define this land of contrasts. Ancient Native American culture thrived along the river for centuries. Plains tribes still dominated the region until the imperialist idea of manifest destiny became the law of the land, leading to westward expansion during the 19th century. Some of the early participants in this expansion used the Canadian River as a natural highway as they mapped the Texas Panhandle. Hutchinson County was established in 1876, and ranchers and farmers created a prosperous economy. By 1901, most of the county was an agricultural community, but the discovery of oil in 1921 drastically changed the lifestyles of those who lived there--and made their futures even brighter. Today, oil, cattle, and crops still dominate the local economy. Hard work and tenacity remain distinctive characteristics of those who reside in the area.

Austin's Travis Heights Neighborhood

9781467129862

$23.99

The Travis Heights neighborhood in Austin, Texas, is comprised of three developments: the Swisher Addition, Fairview Park, and Travis Heights. Each of those three is unique. Fairview Park was designed to be an elegant Victorian suburb. The Swisher Addition developed as a thriving commercial district. The Travis Heights subdivision was the most successful residential development in the area and overshadowed the others. Travis Heights is known for its parks that run the length of the neighborhood. The history of Travis Heights is about the evolution of a neighborhood influenced by location and by its landscape.

The Oklahoma Music Trail

9781467109277

$23.99

The Oklahoma Music Trail is a pictorial essay that features the music genres, performers, and songwriters of Oklahoma. There are literally hundreds of artists who have made their home in Oklahoma. The cowboy ballads of Gene Autry, Western swing that originated with the fiddle of Bob Wills, the Tulsa Sound of Leon Russell and gospel songs of Albert E. Brumley have paved the way for generations of Oklahoma musicians and performers. This book tells the story of country music legends who have traveled along the Oklahoma Music Trail.

Baytown

9781467109130

$23.99

The early history of Baytown is intertwined with the early history of Texas. The first president of the Republic of Texas, David G. Burnet, and two-time president Sam Houston both lived in the neighborhood. Dr. Ashbel Smith, Texas ambassador to France and England, first president of the University of Texas in Austin, and a founder of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, called Goose Creek home. After the last president of Texas, Anson Jones, committed suicide, his widow, Mary Jones, moved here with their children. She later helped form the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and served as its first president. The major industry in the 1800s was brick making, and over a 100-year period, up to 12 million bricks a year were made on Cedar Bayou and shipped to Galveston, where many buildings built with these bricks still stand. In 1908, the industry became oil with the discovery of the Goose Creek oil field, which, for a while, was the largest producing field in Texas. Because of the proximity to the oil field and access to shipping, the huge Humble Oil Refinery was built at Baytown, starting up in 1919.

Dallas's Little Mexico

9780738579795

$24.99

Little Mexico was Dallas's earliest Mexican barrio. "Mexicanos" had lived in Dallas since the mid-19th century. The social displacement created by the Mexican Revolution of 1910, however, caused the emergence of a distinct and vibrant neighborhood on the edge of the city's downtown. This neighborhood consisted of modest homes, small businesses, churches, and schools, and further immigration from Mexico in the 1920s caused its population to boom. By the 1930s, Little Mexico's population had grown to over 15,000 people. The expanding city's construction projects, urban renewal plans, and land speculation by developers gradually began to dismantle Little Mexico. By the end of the 20th century, Little Mexico had all but disappeared, giving way to upscale high-rise residences and hotels, office towers of steel and glass, and the city's newest entertainment district. This book looks at Little Mexico's growth, zenith, demise, and its remarkable renaissance as a neighborhood.

Recollections of Pierre Part and the Belle River

9781467127974

$24.99

Pierre Part and the shores of Belle River were inhabited by Acadian French-speaking people. They learned from their ancestors how to live off the land, and if more was harvested or hunted than their families could eat, they gave the extra food to their neighbors. There, each family resided in a small house, or a cabin'eau in French. It was typically a one-room structure with stakes (pier), walls (bar d'eau), and a shingle roof. Located at one end of the house, a fireplace was made of timber held together with mud and moss. Commonly, the home's frame was constructed of cypress boards, but some people also included cane reeds, palmetto, and shorter cypress boards to make the structure stronger. Some families would relocate from Bayou Lafourche to the swamps of the beautiful Belle River, where they had family or knew someone so that they could trap. When trapping season was over, they would return to their settlement.