Texas Day by Day
Find out what happened today in Texas history.
Construction begins at Toledo Bend Reservoir
59 years ago today on May 11th, 1964
On this day in 1964, construction began on the Toledo Bend Reservoir. The reservoir is the largest lake in Texas and is formed by the Toledo Bend Dam eighty miles northeast of Beaumont on the Sabine River. The reservoir occupies parts of Newton, Sabine, Panola, and Shelby counties in Texas and Sabine and De Soto parishes in Louisiana. The area is rich in Native American history, and by 1967 more than 100 archeological sites had been found at the Toledo Bend project. The dam was completed in 1969. With a drainage area of 7,178 square miles, the Toledo Bend Reservoir conserves water for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and recreational purposes and stretches for well over 100 river miles. Recreational areas around the lake, including Willow Oak Recreation Area, Indian Mounds Wilderness Area, Ragtown, and Lakeview, provide boat ramps and picnicking and camping facilities.
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Waco hit by tornado
70 years ago today on May 11th, 1953
On this day in 1953, Waco was ravaged by a tornado that tore through the heart of the city. The storm killed 114 people and seriously injured another 145; 196 business buildings were completely destroyed, and 396 were damaged so badly that they had to be torn down. After the storm, many shoppers began to frequent suburban shopping centers, thus hastening the decline of the downtown business district. "White flight" also contributed to urban decay, especially after the city's schools were integrated in the late 1960s. Connally Air Force Base was closed in 1966, dealing a blow to the city. The Waco Urban Renewal Project was begun in 1958 to deal with the problem of inner-city blight, and in 1967 the city was chosen for the federal government's "Model Cities" program. By 1978 the Urban Renewal Project had helped to channel more than $125 million into renovating the city's urban core. Slums were cleared and a number of new buildings were constructed, including new apartment complexes, a shopping center near Baylor University, and a convention center. The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, a city zoo, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame have also contributed to Waco's urban revival.
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Army officer charged with murders at Franciscan mission
271 years ago today on May 11th, 1752
On this day in 1752, in a notorious example of bad civil-military relations, carpenter Juan Ceballos and Father Juan José de Ganzabal were murdered at Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Mission, near the site of modern Rockdale, Texas. Suspicion fell on the post commander, Felipe de Rábago y Terán. Assigned to establish a presidio to protect several nearby missions in March of 1750, Rábago fell out with the Franciscans over where to build the fort. He further alienated the padres by chasing after both Indian and Hispanic women, and by carrying on an affair with the carpenter's wife. After spending eight years in prison awaiting trial for the double murder, Rábago was exonerated of all charges in 1760.
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From Cabeza de Vaca's ship-wreck in 1528 through the Texas Revolution to present day—almost 500 years of recorded history—a myriad of significant events in Texas history have occurred. These events are arranged by day of the year to allow the reader to see into the past on any specific day.
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Recent & Upcoming Anniversaries
The following entries have anniversaries that occurred this month or will occur in the next 2 month(s)
325th Anniversary
- San Juan Bautista Mission founded 1 month 2 weeks from now
310th Anniversary
- St. Denis arrives at San Juan Bautista 2 months 1 week from now
245th Anniversary
- American Revolution reaches Texas 1 month 1 week from now
205th Anniversary
- Provisional government declares Texas independence 1 month 1 week from now
- Early Texas journalist heralds Long expedition 4 weeks from now
200th Anniversary
- Austin Colony settlers clash with Karankawas 1 month 1 week from now
195th Anniversary
- Future Alamo defender and survivor elope 2 weeks from now
- Irish trader takes citizenship oath 1 week from now
185th Anniversary
- Texans defeat Cherokees in battle of the Neches 2 months 6 days from now
- Republic of Texas defeats revolutionary plotters in key action 1 week from now
- "Village Blacksmith of Cumby" born in Tennessee 3 weeks from now
- Principal battle of Cherokee War begins 2 months 5 days from now
- Lamar expresses good will to Chief Colita 1 month 4 weeks from now
180th Anniversary
- Pioneer Texas doctor born in Alabama 1 week from now
- English writer leaves Texas 2 months 23 hours from now
- Historic steamer arrives in Texas 3 days ago
175th Anniversary
- Major Neighbors returns to San Antonio after leading historic western surveying expedition 3 weeks from now
- German furniture artist arrives in Texas 1 week from now
170th Anniversary
- Texas Germans declare slavery to be evil 4 days from now
165th Anniversary
- Mexican folk hero shoots Brownsville marshal 2 months 3 days from now
160th Anniversary
- Partisan leader promoted 3 weeks from now
- Former Texan rallies Union troops, awarded Medal of Honor 4 days ago
- Hood's Texas Brigade rallies around General Lee 4 days ago
- Civil War skirmish at Las Rusias 1 month 2 weeks from now
155th Anniversary
- Alleged participants in mob killing go on trial 2 weeks from now
150th Anniversary
- Governor Coke appoints commander of Frontier Battalion 1 week ago
- Indian raiders strike again at Adobe Walls 1 month 2 weeks from now
- Feudists intensify conflict by lynching 1 month 1 week from now
145th Anniversary
- New law authorizes sale of state land to finance education 2 months 4 days from now
- Northeast Texas community gets a post office 1 month 6 days from now
- Greatest manager in Texas League history born 1 month 3 weeks from now
140th Anniversary
- Santa Fe Expedition survivor dies 2 months 1 week from now
- First public hospital in Central Texas opens 1 month 3 weeks from now
135th Anniversary
- Texas booster fair opens in Fort Worth 2 weeks from now
130th Anniversary
125th Anniversary
- Water rises disastrously as rain gluts the Brazos rivershed 1 month 1 week from now
120th Anniversary
- First train to Brownsville touches off Kingsville celebration 1 month 3 weeks from now
105th Anniversary
- Texas Senate ratifies women's right to vote 1 month 2 weeks from now
- Racial disturbance rocks Longview 2 months 1 day from now
- Texas congressman calls Mexican president a "spineless cactus" 1 month 1 week from now
100th Anniversary
- Congress establishes United States Border Patrol 2 weeks from now
90th Anniversary
85th Anniversary
- UT observatory dedicated in Davis Mountains 5 days ago
- Soil Conservation Board established 2 weeks from now
- Refugee conductor gives "demonstration concert" in San Antonio 1 month 2 days from now
80th Anniversary
- African-American civil rights advocate achieves ballot 2 months 1 week from now
- Rudder's Rangers fight with distinction on Normandy beaches 3 weeks from now
75th Anniversary
- Residents of homestead community petition for incorporation 1 month 2 weeks from now
65th Anniversary
- African American bus franchise in Houston suburb is first in the South 1 month 3 weeks from now
60th Anniversary
- San Antonio preservationist and architect dies 2 months 23 hours from now
- Construction begins at Toledo Bend Reservoir 1 day from now
- Natural Bridge Caverns, largest in Texas, opens to public 1 month 3 weeks from now
55th Anniversary
- New park opens to public 3 weeks from now
- Last passenger train leaves Dallas terminal 3 weeks from now
- New airport opens in Houston 4 weeks from now
- El Paso County gives rock art site to state 1 month 2 days from now
50th Anniversary
- Old Galveston lives again in restored Ashton Villa 2 months 2 weeks from now
45th Anniversary
- Dallas designates Federal Reserve Bank a historic landmark today
- Novelist dies after fistfight 4 weeks from now
- Orange Show opens to the public 1 day ago
40th Anniversary
- Landmark public education suit filed 1 week from now
25th Anniversary
- Spurs are champions! 1 month 2 weeks from now