Texas Day by Day

On this day in 1910, the Texas Industrial Congress was organized at San Antonio. This nonpolitical, nonpartisan, and nonsectional organization sought the development of Texas resources in agriculture, commerce, and industry. With the slogan "Equal Rights to All; Special Privileges to None," it proposed to work for legislation to develop Texas resources, to correct misimpressions about the state, and to encourage homeseekers and investors to move here. Annual conventions were proposed to discuss state welfare and outline action. As a result of the 1915 depression that followed the outbreak of World War I, the Industrial Congress sponsored a "Buy It Made in Texas" movement, which combated unemployment and encouraged manufacture. By 1917 this movement resulted in legislation allowing corporations to make contributions to commercial organizations. The influence of the Industrial Congress dwindled with the development of regional chambers of commerce.

On this day in 1875, Kiowa chief White Horse (Tsen-tainte) and a group of followers surrendered at Fort Sill, Indian Territory. White Horse had gained considerable notoriety during the early 1870s for his raids on Texas settlements, and was considered the "most dangerous man" among the Kiowas. He participated in the Warren wagontrain raid in May 1871 and in the second battle of Adobe Walls in June 1874. He was also present in September 1874 at the battle of Palo Duro Canyon, which apparently convinced him that further resistance was futile. White Horse was among those singled out by Kicking Bird for incarceration at St. Augustine, Florida. He died of a stomach ailment in 1892 and was buried on the reservation near Fort Sill.

On this day in 1897, S. E. Haydon, a cotton buyer in the small Wise County community of Aurora, released a fictional "news" story in the Dallas Morning News describing the crash of a mysterious airship just outside of town. Aurora was founded in the late 1850s and had grown considerably by the mid-1880s. But an outbreak of spotted fever began in 1888, and by 1889 fear of the epidemic had caused a mass exodus. Two years later, when the Burlington Northern Railroad abandoned its plan to lay tracks through Aurora, most of the few remaining inhabitants moved to Rhome, the site of a new railroad stop two miles to the southeast. Hayden's story succeeded in causing a sensation because tales of UFOs near Fort Worth were already current. Aurora remained comatose, however. In 1901 postal service was discontinued. The construction of State Highway 114 through the town in 1939 probably saved it from extinction. In the early 1970s Aurora underwent a rebirth as the town became a bedroom community of Fort Worth.

On this day in 1924, the West Texas Historical Association was organized at the Taylor County Courthouse in Abilene. The organization was the brainchild of Royston Campbell Crane Sr., the son of former Baylor University president William Carey Crane. Crane and six Abilene residents, including R. N. Richardson, Laura J. D. Scarborough, and William C. Holden, signed the call for the organizational meeting. In 1925 the association, headquartered at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, began publication of its annual Year Books, which have included scholarly articles, memoirs, documents, book reviews, and other miscellaneous pieces. The association has grown from twenty-four members in 1924 to several hundred.