Texas Day by Day
Find out what happened today in Texas history.
Spanish treasure ships wrecked on Padre Island
469 years ago today on April 29th, 1554
On this day in 1554, three Spanish ships were wrecked by a storm off Padre Island near present-day Port Mansfield. The San Esteban, the Espíritu Santo, the Santa María de Yciar, and the San Andrés had set out from Mexico on April 9, bound for Spain. Only the San Andrés escaped the storm. Approximately 300 people were on the three wrecked vessels; of them, perhaps one-half to two-thirds drowned before reaching the beach. A small contingent, probably including Francisco del Huerto, departed for Mexico in a little boat to organize a relief expedition. The second and larger group of survivors undertook what they thought would be a short journey back to Mexico by land. They ran afoul of the local Indians, and only one survivor, Fray Marcos de Mena, reached Pánuco. A Spanish salvage expedition arrived at the site of the wrecks within two months and managed to recover less than half of the 1,000,000 ducats the ships were carrying. After that, the remains of the three ships lay undiscovered until the late 1960s. Artifacts recovered from the San Esteban are now in the Corpus Christi Museum.
Share this entry on Social Media:
Camels arrive for trial service in Texas
167 years ago today on April 29th, 1856
On this day in 1856, a shipload of camels arrived at the Texas port of Indianola. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis had urged Congress to bring the animals from North Africa to help the army in its Indian operations. Major H. C. Wayne sailed to North Africa in the naval storeship Supply in May 1855 and returned with the first thirty-three camels in April 1856. On June 4 Wayne set off with his caravan for the frontier posts. The expedition stopped for a time at Victoria, where the animals were clipped and Mrs. Mary A. Shirkey made camel-hair socks for the president of the United States. At Camp Verde experiments were conducted to test the camels' utility in chasing Indians and transporting supplies. Although more camels were imported, ultimately the experiment failed. Handlers found the animals smelly, obnoxious, and hard to control. Escaped camels roamed the desert for years and got into the folklore of the region.
Share this entry on Social Media:
Celebration inaugurates Rusk Tramway
148 years ago today on April 29th, 1875
On this day in 1875, the townspeople of Rusk celebrated the inauguration of the Rusk Transportation Company, commonly called the Rusk Tramway. The town had been bitterly disappointed when the International Railroad Company, completed from Palestine to Jacksonville in 1872, bypassed Rusk. Citizens of Rusk chartered the Rusk Transportation Company in 1874 to build a tram railway from Jacksonville to Rusk. It had a six-ton locomotive, a passenger coach, and three flat cars. But pine rails cut from neighboring forests were substituted for more expensive iron rails and warped frequently, causing regular derailments. The cars had to be lifted back on the rails by crew members and passengers. Often freight thrown off the open cars had to be picked up. The Rusk Tramway was sold at foreclosure for $1,000 in 1879. Although the enterprise was a financial disaster to its promoters, the property rights and franchises were sold to the Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railroad Company in 1881. Parts of the old tram roadbed were used by that company in constructing its own track between Jacksonville and Rusk.
Share this entry on Social Media:
Want more? Get the book!
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.
Now Available!Get the Texas Day by Day delivered straight to your inbox…
Recent & Upcoming Anniversaries
The following entries have anniversaries that occurred this month or will occur in the next 2 month(s)
470th Anniversary
335th Anniversary
- Spanish explorer names the Nueces 3 weeks ago
- Coahuila governor discovers and names Guadalupe River 2 weeks ago
- Spanish explorer finds defunct French fort 1 week ago
325th Anniversary
- San Juan Bautista Mission founded 1 month 3 weeks from now
315th Anniversary
- Expedition reaches future site of San Antonio 2 weeks ago
245th Anniversary
- American Revolution reaches Texas 1 month 3 weeks from now
205th Anniversary
- Provisional government declares Texas independence 1 month 3 weeks from now
- Early Texas journalist heralds Long expedition 1 month 1 week from now
200th Anniversary
- Austin Colony settlers clash with Karankawas 1 month 3 weeks from now
195th Anniversary
- Future Alamo defender and survivor elope 3 weeks from now
- Irish trader takes citizenship oath 2 weeks from now
185th Anniversary
- Republic of Texas defeats revolutionary plotters in key action 2 weeks from now
- "Village Blacksmith of Cumby" born in Tennessee 1 month 1 day from now
180th Anniversary
- Pioneer Texas doctor born in Alabama 3 weeks from now
- Historic steamer arrives in Texas 1 week from now
175th Anniversary
- Major Neighbors returns to San Antonio after leading historic western surveying expedition 1 month 3 days from now
- German furniture artist arrives in Texas 3 weeks from now
170th Anniversary
- War Department orders surveys for Indian reservations 3 days ago
- Texas Germans declare slavery to be evil 2 weeks from now
- Prairie chicken namesake born in England 1 day ago
160th Anniversary
- General Taylor foils Union campaign in Louisiana 3 weeks ago
- Partisan leader promoted 1 month 2 days from now
- Former Texan rallies Union troops, awarded Medal of Honor 1 week from now
- Hood's Texas Brigade rallies around General Lee 1 week from now
- Civil War skirmish at Las Rusias 1 month 3 weeks from now
155th Anniversary
- Alleged participants in mob killing go on trial 3 weeks from now
- High court rules that Texas can sue in federal courts despite secession 2 weeks ago
150th Anniversary
- Governor Coke appoints commander of Frontier Battalion 3 days from now
- First letter from "Pidge" appears in Austin paper 3 days ago
- Indian raiders strike again at Adobe Walls 1 month 4 weeks from now
- Feudists intensify conflict by lynching 1 month 3 weeks from now
145th Anniversary
- Northeast Texas community gets a post office 1 month 2 weeks from now
- First county in Panhandle organized 2 weeks ago
135th Anniversary
- Texas booster fair opens in Fort Worth 1 month 23 hours from now
130th Anniversary
- Water-well contractor accidentally discovers first major Texas oilfield 1 month 1 week from now
125th Anniversary
- Water rises disastrously as rain gluts the Brazos rivershed 1 month 2 weeks from now
120th Anniversary
- West Texas Landscape painter born in Milford 1 week ago
105th Anniversary
- Texas Senate ratifies women's right to vote 1 month 4 weeks from now
- Texas congressman calls Mexican president a "spineless cactus" 1 month 2 weeks from now
100th Anniversary
- Congress establishes United States Border Patrol 4 weeks from now
- West Texas Historical Association organized in Abilene 1 week ago
- Texas baritone makes professional debut in New York 1 week ago
90th Anniversary
- Murderers and bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde gunned down in Louisiana 3 weeks from now
85th Anniversary
- UT observatory dedicated in Davis Mountains 6 days from now
- Soil Conservation Board established 1 month 23 hours from now
- Refugee conductor gives "demonstration concert" in San Antonio 1 month 1 week from now
80th Anniversary
- U.S. Supreme Court dooms white primary 3 weeks ago
- Rudder's Rangers fight with distinction on Normandy beaches 1 month 1 week from now
75th Anniversary
- Residents of homestead community petition for incorporation 2 months 23 hours from now
60th Anniversary
- Construction begins at Toledo Bend Reservoir 1 week from now
55th Anniversary
- Houston surgeon implants first artificial heart 3 weeks ago
- New park opens to public 1 month 2 days from now
- Famous horse wins at Aqueduct on the eve of his trainer's death 3 weeks ago
- Last passenger train leaves Dallas terminal 1 month 1 day from now
- New airport opens in Houston 1 month 1 week from now
- El Paso County gives rock art site to state 1 month 1 week from now
45th Anniversary
- Dallas designates Federal Reserve Bank a historic landmark 1 week from now
- Novelist dies after fistfight 1 month 1 week from now
- Orange Show opens to the public 1 week from now
40th Anniversary
- Landmark public education suit filed 3 weeks from now
- Legendary jazz pianist dies 6 days ago
25th Anniversary
- Spurs are champions! 1 month 3 weeks from now