This Day In Texas History - January 2

[joe817]

1836 - The Nacogdoches Texian and Emigrant's Guide ceased its publishing operations.

1848 - Bustamante Ranch, located on State Highway 16 fifteen miles northeast of Zapata in central Zapata County, was established in 1802 by Pedro Bustamante. Not until January 2, 1848, did he acquire legal ownership to the land. On that date the Mexican government deeded him 22,142 acres as a part of Las Comitas, a land grant.

1863 - The Eighth Texas Calvary, a group of Texas volunteers for the Confederate Army popularly known as Terry's Texas Rangers, distinguished themselves at the battle of Murfreesboro.

1881 - Brigadier General Randolph Barnes Marcy, retires from the Army after a long and illustrious career. In 1854 Marcy surveyed Indian reservations in northern and western Texas, and in 1856 he explored the headwaters of the Big Wichita and Brazos rivers. He reportedly discovered the sources of both forks of the Red River, as well as the Palo Duro and Tule canyons, which he became the first white man to explore.

1882 - Jay Gould predicts the end of Jefferson after the town refuses to give his railroad right-of-way. As the westernmost outpost for navigation on the Red River, Jefferson quickly developed into an important riverport. The first steamboat, the Llama, reached Jefferson in late 1843 or early 1844. A post office was established in 1846, and the town was incorporated in March 20, 1848. By the late 1840s Jefferson had emerged as the leading commercial and distribution center of Northeast Texas and the state's leading inland port. By 1870 only Galveston surpassed Jefferson in volume of commerce. In 1971 a roughly forty-seven-block area containing fifty-six historic structures was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, some ten other buildings have been accorded National Register status, including the antebellum Excelsior Hotel and Planters Bank.

1883 - The residents of Abilene voted to incorporate. Abilene owes its genesis to the Texas and Pacific and a group of ranchers and land speculators. Before the coming of the railroad, the Abilene area had been sporadically inhabited by nomadic Indians and United States military personnel and later by buffalo hunters and ranchers. By the 1870s the Indians had been driven out, and cattlemen began to graze their herds in the area. Taylor County was organized in 1878, and Buffalo Gap was designated the county seat. But with the railroad going through Abilene and not Buffalo Gap, Abilene became the county seat.

1888 - The Daily-Times Herald published its first issue after the merger of the two Dallas newspapers, the Daily Times and the Daily Herald.

1936 - Musician Roger Miller was born in Fort Worth. In 1985 he received five Tony awards for his score to Big River, a musical based on Huckleberry Finn. He died in Los Angeles on October 25, 1992.

1974 - Tex Ritter died in Nashville, Tennessee. The native of Murval, Texas, attended the University of Texas, where he was influenced by Frank Lomax and J. Frank Dobie. Some of his greatest hits were "Rye Whiskey," "Wayward Wind," and "You Are My Sunshine." His performance of "High Noon," from the movie of the same name, won an Oscar in 1952. Ritter appeared in eighty-five movies and starred in the television series "Ranch Party" (1959-1962). In 1964 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. John Ritter, his youngest son, starred in the popular series "Three's Company."