This Day In Texas History - September 1
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:16 pm
1835 - The Texas schooner San Felipe, with the help of the steam tug Laura, captured the Mexican revenue vessel Correo Mexicano, which had been sent to Anahuac to restore order.
1835 - September 1, Stephen F. Austin arrived home from a long imprisonment in Mexico City.
1863 - Maj. Santos Benavides, the highest-ranking Mexican American to serve in the Confederacy, led seventy-nine men of the predominantly Tejano Thirty-third Texas Cavalry across the Rio Grande in pursuit of the bandit Octaviano Zapata. Union agents had recruited Zapata, a former associate of Juan N. Cortina, to lead raids into Texas and thus force Confederate troops to remain in the Rio Grande valley rather than participate in military campaigns in the east. Zapata was also associated with Edmund J. Davis, who was conducting Northern-sponsored military activities in the vicinity of Brownsville and Matamoros. For these reasons, and because his men often flew the American flag during their raids, Zapata's band was often referred to as the "First Regiment of Union Troops." Benavides caught up with Zapata on September 2 near Mier, Tamaulipas. After a brief exchange of gunfire, the Zapatistas dispersed, leaving ten men dead, including Zapata. Benavides later defended Laredo against Davis's First Texas Cavalry, and arranged for the safe passage of Texas cotton to Matamoros during the Union occupation of Brownsville. He died at his Laredo home in 1891.
1881 - On September 1, 1881, The Southwest Telegraph and Telephone Company began telephone service in Fort Worth with approximately 40 customers. Just three months prior, Dallas received telephone service. Other cities that had phone service by this time were Galveston, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.
1889 - The Waco suspension bridge crossing the Brazos River opened as a free bridge. It had been a toll bridge before being sold to the city of Waco for $1.
1917 - William Ashton Vinson and James A. Elkins founded what was to become one of the largest and most profitable law firms in the world. The firm began in Houston as a small partnership. By 2001 it had grown to more than 780 lawyers, five domestic offices, and four foreign offices. Vinson and Elkins initially did business with the oil and gas industry, which continues to be the firm's mainstay. Over the years the firm has expanded to include business, energy and environmental regulation, international law, real estate, securities, and taxation.
1926 - Ranger Junior College was founded. For years thereafter, classes were held on the top floor of Ranger High School.
1927 - Love Field in Dallas, commenced commercial airline service as the first passengers were boarded.
1931 - On this date in 1931, Lecil Travis Martin, "Boxcar Willie" was born in Sterrett in Ellis County. He was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry. Later he was one of the first stars to settle in Branson, Missouri, where he died in 1999.
1961 - The first state sales tax in Texas history went into effect. It was called the Limited Sales and Use Tax.
1835 - September 1, Stephen F. Austin arrived home from a long imprisonment in Mexico City.
1863 - Maj. Santos Benavides, the highest-ranking Mexican American to serve in the Confederacy, led seventy-nine men of the predominantly Tejano Thirty-third Texas Cavalry across the Rio Grande in pursuit of the bandit Octaviano Zapata. Union agents had recruited Zapata, a former associate of Juan N. Cortina, to lead raids into Texas and thus force Confederate troops to remain in the Rio Grande valley rather than participate in military campaigns in the east. Zapata was also associated with Edmund J. Davis, who was conducting Northern-sponsored military activities in the vicinity of Brownsville and Matamoros. For these reasons, and because his men often flew the American flag during their raids, Zapata's band was often referred to as the "First Regiment of Union Troops." Benavides caught up with Zapata on September 2 near Mier, Tamaulipas. After a brief exchange of gunfire, the Zapatistas dispersed, leaving ten men dead, including Zapata. Benavides later defended Laredo against Davis's First Texas Cavalry, and arranged for the safe passage of Texas cotton to Matamoros during the Union occupation of Brownsville. He died at his Laredo home in 1891.
1881 - On September 1, 1881, The Southwest Telegraph and Telephone Company began telephone service in Fort Worth with approximately 40 customers. Just three months prior, Dallas received telephone service. Other cities that had phone service by this time were Galveston, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.
1889 - The Waco suspension bridge crossing the Brazos River opened as a free bridge. It had been a toll bridge before being sold to the city of Waco for $1.
1917 - William Ashton Vinson and James A. Elkins founded what was to become one of the largest and most profitable law firms in the world. The firm began in Houston as a small partnership. By 2001 it had grown to more than 780 lawyers, five domestic offices, and four foreign offices. Vinson and Elkins initially did business with the oil and gas industry, which continues to be the firm's mainstay. Over the years the firm has expanded to include business, energy and environmental regulation, international law, real estate, securities, and taxation.
1926 - Ranger Junior College was founded. For years thereafter, classes were held on the top floor of Ranger High School.
1927 - Love Field in Dallas, commenced commercial airline service as the first passengers were boarded.
1931 - On this date in 1931, Lecil Travis Martin, "Boxcar Willie" was born in Sterrett in Ellis County. He was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry. Later he was one of the first stars to settle in Branson, Missouri, where he died in 1999.
1961 - The first state sales tax in Texas history went into effect. It was called the Limited Sales and Use Tax.
