The Bridge Street History Center

YepI’m always early! It’s annoying when people are late! ... See MoreSee Less

Wow!!!!It's seafood time! 🍤

All roads lead to The Fisherman's Corner. ... See MoreSee Less

The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day:

Comfort, Texas (in Kendall County) was the sight of an amusing event in 1856. At that time the town had a cannon that was to be fired only in the event of an emergency, like a fire or an Indian attack. But on at least one occasion it was used for something quite different.It seems that back in 1856 the little town of Comfort was preparing for its Fourth of July celebration and had ordered a wagon load of beer from the Menger Brewery in San Antonio. The wagon, unfortunately, arrived on July 2, two days early. At that time there was no cold storage in Comfort and the unpasteurized beer was basically a living organism just WAITING to spoil. Well, a wagon full of beer in such danger was judged by at least some of the Germans thereabouts to be a calamity of the first magnitude, so somebody fired the cannon and everybody came running to the cannon, where they learned the true nature of the emergency. Some of the citizens were miffed because, by strict definition, the firing of the cannon was a false alarm. But those voices were drowned out by (intoxicated?) voices of reason, who decided right there on the spot to celebrate the 4th of July on July 2nd. You've got to love that pragmatic way of thinking!I was told this story several years ago by a man from Comfort. He was presented to me as somewhat of a local historian and told me this tale at a picnic. He was a tad inebriated, though, and I never knew whether it was true. But I received "A Treasury of Texas Trivia" by Bill Cannon, and this story is included. So apparently it IS true. And, if it isn't, it should be. 😉 The book is pretty good by the way. Lots of interesting tidbits.Shown here: the corner of 8th and High Streets in downtown Comfort, 1904. These buildings still stand. Here's a current view:www.google.com/maps/@29.9663279,-98.9062508,3a,75.5y,254.58h,94.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHupGnpqyn... ... See MoreSee Less

On this day in history! ... See MoreSee Less

Texas ranching historyThe Texas Quote of the Day is a good one:

"Of all the fabulous cattle empires in Texas, only three ever surpassed the Waggoners' in sheer size: the 3-million-acre XIT ranch in the Panhandle, the 1.8 million-acre Matador Land and Cattle Company just below the Panhandle, and the 1-million-acre King Ranch on the southern coast. The Chicago corporation, which owned the XIT, disbanded it in 1912, and the Scottish syndicate that ran the Matador had sold it off in parcels by 1951. In 1954 ranch historian J.W. Williams wrote that 'if the the great ranches are to be weighed according to value, the vast oil wealth of the owners of the Waggoner Estate might tip the scales in their favor.'The oil, however, came years after Dan Waggoner's death in 1904. They discovered it in 1903 while drilling water wells. They considered it a damn nuisance. Dan's son, W. T., is said to have abandoned the wells in disgust, plugging them with fence posts. "Damn it," he bellowed, "cattle can't drink that stuff." Tom, as they called him, had better things to think about. He was once heard to say, 'a man who doesn't admire a good steer, a good horse, and a pretty woman ---- well, something is wrong with that man's head.'Tom was a chip off the old bock, not one of those sons who is devoured by his father's epic appetites. At the age of eighteen he herded up the Chisholm Trail with the old man. Their bond was so close that he and the widowed Dan married sisters. The mansion in Decatur was imposing but not removed from the workaday ranch life. It was headquarters and hotel for the hands as well as residence for the Waggoners. Eventually, their operation outgrew the environs. They bought one-half million acres in Vernon. When the old man died, he left Tom an estate valued at seven million dollars. Thirty years later when Tom died, he left his two sons and daughter an empire worth seven million dollars multiplied a hundred times over. It included cattle, banks, oil, buildings in cities, and a famous race track and horse breeding farm called Arlington Downs ---- now the site of Six Flags Over Texas and the home of the Texas Rangers baseball team." ---- Bill Porterfield describes the famed Waggoner Ranch and the men who created it, "A Loose Herd of Texans," 1978Shown here: The entrance to the Waggoner Ranch in 1989, an AP photo taken by Torin Halsey. ... See MoreSee Less

TCU – Texas Christian University was founded in 1873 as Add-Ran Male and Female College. The name referred to brothers Addison and Randolph Clark, who established the school as one of the earliest coed colleges in the region.

In 1895, the school moved from Thorp Spring outside of Fort Worth to Waco. However, after the main building was destroyed by fire in 1910, Fort Worth city leaders offered the school $200,000 and a 52-acre campus to move back.The new Fort Worth campus opened in 1911. Early buildings Jarvis Hall and Reed Hall still stand.TCU is playing in the College Football Playoff's national championship game on Monday; football has been part of the school since 1896. After returning to Fort Worth, the university’s football team played at Panther Park and Clark Field, but outgrew both. Amon G. Carter Stadium was built in 1930 with room for 22,000 fans. The Horned Frogs’ first game in the new stadium—against the University of Arkansas—was a blowout at 40-0. Over the following decades, the facility was expanded to more than double its original seating capacity.A 1973 marker was placed in front of Sadler Hall recognizing the university’s first hundred years.📷: “Addie the Fighting Frog” in 1966; Texas historical marker on campus. Courtesy Special Collections, Mary Couts Burnett Library, Texas Christian University. ... See MoreSee Less

The governor's mansion in Austin, 1919. It was designed by Abner Cook, who was a 19th century architect here in Austin. He designed a number of noteworthy Texas buildings, including the Governor's Mansion, which was completed in 1856. Abner was known for his work in the Greek Revival style, and many of his buildings were notable for their grandeur and attention to detail. He is considered one of the foremost architects of the 19th century in Texas, and his work had a significant influence on the development of architecture hereabouts.

Courtesy the great folks at the Friends of the Governor's Mansion: txfgm.org/about/our-mission/ ... See MoreSee Less

To-do list: Take a load off under the big live oak in front of President Lyndon Johnson’s ranch house in Stonewall. You’re now in the very place where countless dignitaries discussed some of the most pressing issues of the time. The “Texas White House” (and this oak tree in particular) looms large in LBJ lore, not only because he supposedly spent nearly a quarter of his presidency here, but also because of its clever strategic use. LBJ was famously insecure around highfalutin Washington types, so parking them on the lawn in flimsy folding chairs was a fool-proof way to level the playing field.

Although the interior of the Texas White House is closed for structural rehabilitation, the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is open for visitors to the grounds, visitors center exhibits, schoolhouse, presidential jet, and show barn.Planning the ultimate Texas history pilgrimage, or just adding a local curiosity to your next weekend trip? Explore by region, topic, or culture on Texas Time Travel, the THC’s very own travel website curated by our in-house heritage travel experts.For more on the LBJ Ranch in the Texas Hill Country Trail , see link in bio. texastimetravel.com/the-past-is-all-around-you/📷: LBJ Museum of San Marcos; National Park Service, 2022 ... See MoreSee Less