The Cities of Texas

"It's not Texas, it's Austin" is the reassuring mantra newcomers to this city hear repeatedly. For years this green oasis of lakes and hills has served as a geographic and cultural counterpoint to the flatlands, oil money, and cowboy ways of cities like Dallas and Houston. Austin has always been the sort of town where the '60s never really died, where creativity was encouraged and free spirits were nurtured. "If you grew up anywhere in Texas and were kind of different, Austin would be the place you'd gravitate to."
Economically, however, for a long time about all Austin had going for it was the University of Texas and state government, since it's the capital. "People used to say, 'I'd love to live here, but how can I make a living?' " That is not a concern on anyone's mind today--the city's economy has taken off like its most famous homegrown success story, Dell Computer.

Other than Dell, none of the city's homegrown companies have become a household name, but it's only a matter of time. When that happens, Austin's reputation as a breeding ground for high-tech entrepreneurs will be assured. And as long as you can listen to great live music and chow down on cheap enchiladas, the old-timers won't complain too much.

Named after Sam Houston, general of Texas army that won independence from Mexico, and president

of Republic of Texas. The city, largest in Texas
and fourth largest in nation, has experienced ;phenomenal growth since a small riverboat landing was established on Buffalo Bayou by Allen brothers in August 1836.
Today the metropolis is industrial and financial hub for much of the state. it is one of the nation's largest seaports, and headquarters of Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
Houston lies on I-10, a segment of the Ports to Plains Highway connecting the state's heartland to coastal ports.
Institutions of higher learning include Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Baptist University, Rice University, South Texas College of Law, South Texas Junior College, Texas Southern University, University of Houston, University of Houston Junior College, Texas Southern University, University of Houston Downtown, University of St. Thomas and University of Texas Health
and Science Center.

The first Anglo-American settlers at the site of the present metropolis built a single log cabin here in 1841. Two years later the town consisted of two lag cabins. By the mid-1870's, Dallas had become a thriving business town and market center with cosmopolitan, urbane air unmatched anywhere on the frontier at the time, primarily due to several immigrations of skilled and cultured groups of French, German, Swiss, English and other Europeans.
The Southwest's largest banking center, leader in wholesale business, second in nation for home of insurance companies, third in the nation in terms of million dollar companies, and number two in
convention sites.
If it doesn't sell in Dallas, it won't sell, say buyers to some 32 wholesale fashion and home furnishing markets each year. Citizens pursue culture with almost
as much enthusiasm as business. Any day or night of the year, one may choose from a lavish variety of events. Excellent major symphony orchestra and a steady stream of visiting groups: opera and ballet, theater and musical comedy, literary societies and debating groups.

San Antonio was christened by Franciscan Father Damien Massanet on June 13, 1691 for the Native

American village site in a pleasant wooded area of spring-fed streams at the southern edge of the Texas Hill Country. He named the site and the river for the Feast Day of Saint Anthony of Padova. ( In 1718 Spain established The Mission San Antonio de Valero, later called the Alamo.
Today's city and county names derive from those 18th- Century Spanish beginnings that predate founding of the United States by more than half a century.
Today, San Antonio is colorfully accented by its multicultural heritage. Institutions of higher learning include Incarnate Word College, Our Lady of the Lake Univ., St. Mary's Univ., National Univ. of Mexico, Trinity Univ., San Antonio College, Palo Alto College, St. Philips College, Univ. of Texas Health Science
Center at San Antonio, and the Univ. of Texas at San Antonio.
Art museums and theaters are among the state's finest; its symphony orchestra rates with
the nation's best, and San Antonians' love for fiestas is unsurpassed!

Located in area where Stephen F. Austin's colonists settled between 1821-1831, Bryan formally chartered in 1855. Economy long based on diversified agriculture, enhanced by educational centers, including Allen Academy and Texas A&M Univ. College Station adjoins Bryan forming the urban center of Brazos County.
As its name implies, the city has always received its sustenance from Texas A&M Univ., the state's first institution of higher education, established in 1876.
Hunting, fishing, and camping popular almost year round at nearby streams and woodlands. Wolf Pen Amphitheater, in center of College Station, is surrounded by three acre lake, and features big-name entertainers and free open-air concerts throughout the year.
Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History-Natural history, archaeology, prehistory, other collections.

One of Texas major cities, Waco is located in a rich agricultural region of the Brazos river Valley. Waco's oldest suspension bridge was the nations largest when it was built back in 1870.
Modern industries thrives, but this city retains much of its flavor of its past when the 5 "C's" was its main support: Cattle, Cotton, Corn, Collegians, and Culture.
The beautiful large, cold springs on the Brazos river were long popular with the Waco Indians. The first non-natives to see this area were the remnants of De Soto's band in 1542. The famous Texas Rangers Fort was established near an Indian village in 1837; the first white settlers came 12 years later.
Great plantations along the Brazos prospered briefly, but Civil War wrecked plantation economy and scattered the population. A Renewed Western movement and the Chisholm Trail through Waco brought another boom to Waco - and frontier wildness that nicknamed the town Six-shooter Junction
Today, Waco is known for educational, cultural and recreational facilities. Institutions of higher learning are Baylor Univ., McLennan Community College, and Texas State Technical College.

Nestled on the banks of the Neches River just 30 miles upstream from the Gulf of Mexico, Beaumont is a thriving, dynamic city with a colorful past that dates back to early French and Spanish explorers.
Incorporated in 1838, Beaumont first sprang to life as a lumber mill and trading center. But on January 10, 1901, one word changed the city's fate forever: OIL! The Lucas Gusher blew in at the Spindletop salt dome just south of town -and the modern age of oil was born. Giants such as Mobil, Texaco and Gulf got their start in the days and weeks following Spindletop, and Beaumont grew to become the cradle of the industry as it is now known.
Beaumont is a natural and cultural crossroads, rich in history and offering the best of many worlds to

visitors. Because of our proximity to Louisiana, the French "Cajun" culture seasons our food, folkways and entertainment. Names like Boudreaux (BUDRO) and Hebert (A-BEAR) rival Smith and Jones in the phone book. We're steeped in Southern tradition as well and that includes our friendliness and hospitality. The food is fabulous and we might well be the world capital for savory seafood or spicy Cajun cuisine. Where else can you canoe through the Big Thicket in the afternoon, dine on barbeque crabs while overlooking the gulf and still enjoy an evening at the racetrack!

Home