Barrington Living History Farm [TX]

Description

Last president of the Republic of Texas Anson Jones farmed near Washington during and after his presidency. Jones named his farm "Barrington" after his Massachusetts home, Great Barrington. There he lived with wife Mary, their four children, his sister, sister-in-law, and five slaves. The family home, two slave cabins, a kitchen building, smokehouse, cotton house, and barn made up Barrington Farm. With Jones's daybook as their guide, the interpreters at Barrington Living History Farm conduct themselves much as did the earliest residents of the original farmstead. The Jones home is original; the outbuildings are replicas constructed by Texas Parks and Wildlife using Jones's own journal and drawings. Visitors to the farm can experience the sights, smells, and sounds of the 19th century. The scene is complete with heritage breeds of livestock. Interpreters, dressed in period style clothing, help visitors better understand what life was like 150 years ago. Visitors can participate in the work of the farm and become a part of the exhibit.

The farm offers demonstrations, tours, classes, educational programs, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Austin Treasures: Online Exhibits from the Austin History Center

Image
Photo, Elnora Douglass
Annotation

A collection of 10 exhibits documenting aspects of the local history of Austin, TX. Each exhibit contains approximately 40 images and essays from 1,000 to 3,000 words in length. Topics include working in the city, the suffrage movement, life in the city during World War II, Victorian houses, city streets, the erection of the state capital building, landscaping, the historic suburban Hyde Park area, and memorable "firsts" in Austin.

The site links to the main local history site for the Austin Public Library—the Austin History Center—which provides a 2,400-word student essay on Austin's growth during its first 100 years, a chronology of the city from 1830–1900, and links to other relevant sites, including one presenting hundreds of historic postcards of the city. Useful for those studying Texas, urban, and western history.

San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site [TX]

Description

The San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site holds a significant responsibility to preserve the history of the State of Texas and the United States. The famous Battle of San Jacinto that brought Texas its independence was fought on this site. Because of the great importance of the battle to the course of history, the battleground is of state, national, and international significance, a fact that is attested to by the site's National Historic Landmark status. The primary purpose of the 1,200-acre site is to commemorate the battle and to preserve the battleground on which Texan troops under General Sam Houston achieved the independence of Texas by defeating a Mexican army led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna on April 21, 1836.

A second website related to the battleground, maintained by the Friends of San Jacinto, can be found here.

The site offers a multimedia presentation and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site [TX]

Description

A double-pen, cedar log dogtrot house, Fanthorp Inn was built by an English immigrant, Henry Fanthorp, when Texas was part of Mexico. Fanthorp petitioned Stephen F. Austin in 1832 for permission to settle in this Original Austin Colony. He bought 1,100 acres and built his house in 1834 on the road that crossed his land, thus bringing travelers to his door immediately. Henry Fanthorp was appointed Postmaster by the Provisional Texas Government in 1835 and saw the advantage of offering other services and goods to his frequent visitors. Within time, Fanthorp's became a well-known stopping place for both travelers and the community.

The site offers tours, stagecoach rides, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

No Man's Land Museum [OK]

Description

When the Territory of Kansas was created in 1854, its boundary was set at the 37th parallel. When Texas came into the union, being a slave state, it could not extend its sovereignty over any territory north of 36° 30' North. The Missouri Compromise specified that territory North of this line would be free-state territory. This situation left a narrow strip of land 34 miles wide between Kansas and Texas extending from the 100th parallel on the East to the 103rd parallel on the West, a total of 168 miles in length. Since the area was claimed by no state, it was soon given the name of No Man's Land. In the mid-1880s, drought and depression caused many to leave heavily mortgaged farmlands in western Kansas. They became squatters in what was in time to become the Oklahoma Panhandle. While the settlers could not receive legal title to the land they settled, precedents in other territorial regions indicated the Federal Government would in time recognize "Squatter's Rights." No Man's Land Museum chronicles the struggles of the settlers as they established their own government and developed their communities.

The museum offers exhibits.

Heritage Society of Washington County and Museums [TX]

Description

The Heritage Society of Washington County seeks to preserve and share the architecture and history of Washington County, Texas. To this end, the society operates the 1869 Giddings Stone Mansion and 1843 Giddings Wilkin House Museum. Both residences are furnished to period. The owner of both properties, Jabez Deming Giddings, was involved in real estate, cattle, banking, and the railway systems.

The society offers period rooms and tours. Reservations are required.

Battleship TEXAS State Historic Site [TX]

Description

In 1948, the battleship Texas became the first battleship memorial museum in the U.S. That same year, on the anniversary of Texas Independence, the Texas was presented to the State of Texas and commissioned as the flagship of the Texas Navy. In 1983, the Texas was placed under the stewardship of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and is permanently anchored on the Buffalo Bayou and the busy Houston Ship Channel.

The site offers tours and occasional recreational and educational events.

Lyndon B. Johnson State Park, Historic Site, and Sauer-Beckmann Farm [TX]

Description

The park's location is historically significant since it is in the heart of the former President's home country. The area has been influenced by three major cultures: Native Americans, Spanish, and German. Indians roamed the Hill Country first, leaving behind artifacts which tell of their nomadic life. The Spanish conquistadors followed, bringing a culture which was to endure to the present. German immigrants settled the Hill Country in the early 1800s and their descendants still call it home. Their culture has had a major impact on the development of the region and the park itself. All of these cultures are represented at the park. The Visitor Center contains memorabilia from President Johnson's presidency and interactive displays about the land and people that shaped a president. Attached to the Visitors Center is the Behrens Cabin, a two-room dogtrot cabin built by German immigrant H. C. Behrens during the 1870s. The furnishings are typical of such homes in that period. Visitors can further explore the history of these immigrants by viewing the 1860s Danz family log cabin located just west of the Visitor Center. Also located in the park is the Sauer-Beckmann Farm, a living history farm. Life on the farmstead is presented as it was in 1918. Park interpreters wear period clothing, do the farm and household chores as they were done at that time, and also conduct tours for the visitors.

The site offers exhibits, tours, demonstrations, and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events).

A Clear Shot across the Continent jbuescher Thu, 04/08/2010 - 14:54
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signatures
Question

What territories did President Polk gain after the war with Mexico?

Answer

Just before James K. Polk became president in 1845, Texas was admitted to the Union. Polk was an “expansionist,” an enthusiastic supporter of Texas annexation. In order to balance the new southern territories, he also looked for a way to bring northern territories into the Union.

As a result, in 1846 the U.S. signed the Oregon Treaty with Britain, essentially settling, as U.S. territory, the land south of the 49th parallel (and as British territory, the land north of it). This extended the northern continental U.S. boundary to the Pacific as it stands today, including the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which formally ended the Mexican War, was signed in February 1848. It ceded the formerly Mexican territories of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México to the U.S. By this treaty, Mexico also recognized the U.S.'s annexation of Texas, and recognized the Rio Grande as its border with the U.S.

Out of this territory, much of the present-day states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and California, as well as large portions of Wyoming and Colorado, were eventually created. When Polk submitted the treaty to the Senate for approval, opposition came equally from Southern Democrats who wished even more land from Mexico and from Northern Whigs, who did not wish for any land from Mexico whatsoever. U.S. politicians clearly saw that the accession of land in the South would have consequences for the political balance of power in Congress on the issue of slavery. Nevertheless, the Senate ratified the treaty.

Five years later, in 1853, with the Gadsden Purchase (during President Franklin Pierce’s administration), the U.S. added the land south of the Gila River and West of the Rio Grande. Today, that area comprises the southern portions of the states of Arizona and New Mexico.

It may seem ironic today (as it did to some even at the time), but Polk was often praised as a “great champion of liberty” because his territorial acquisitions pushed outward the “boundaries of democracy.”

For more information

Richard Griswold del Castillo, The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A Legacy of Conflict. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.

Jason Porterfield, The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1848: A Primary Source Examination of the Treaty That Ended the Mexican-American War. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2006. [Aimed at middle and high school students]

Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, Foreign Affairs under James Knox Polk.

For an example of a contemporary of Polk’s finding the President’s expansionism darkly ironic, see the New York Evening Mirror’s editorial comments on his inauguration speech, “President Polk a Humorist,” reprinted in William Lloyd Garrison’s The Liberator, March 21, 1845.

Bibliography

Detail of signatures on the last page of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Library of Congress, Hispanic Reading Room.

Detail of photograph by Matthew Brady of James K. Polk, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.