Texas History Desk
Local history, archive work, courthouse records, old roads, forgotten names, true-crime files, and the Eastland County stories that still shape how this place is remembered.
Latest in Texas History
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The Confederacy: A Flag Texas Must Remember Honestly
Texas joined the Confederacy in 1861. Its fifth flag represents secession, slavery, civil war and a legacy that still shapes public memory.
Texas History Desk
More from Texas History
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Blue Duck: The Outlaw Texas Adopted Through Legend
He belonged more to the borderlands and Indian Territory than to Texas itself — but folklore and fiction gave him a lasting place in the Texas imagination.
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The Texas Bandit Queen
Belle Starr: How Texas Helped Make a “Bandit Queen” Her legend grew into dime-novel royalty, but the real woman behind the title was far more complicated than the…
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Spain: The Flag That Gave Texas Its First European Shape
Spanish exploration, missions, roads, ranching, law, and settlement left lasting marks on Texas while Indigenous histories long predated European claims.
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Latest Texas History News
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France: The Short-Lived Flag That Changed Texas Forever
France’s failed Fort St. Louis colony was brief, but it pushed Spain to strengthen its presence and permanently altered the contest for Texas.
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John Wesley Hardin: Texas Made the Legend
A preacher’s son became one of the Old West’s most feared gunmen, while John Wesley Hardin’s own claims helped turn a violent life into Texas legend.
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Mexican Texas: The Nation That Opened Texas — and Lost It
Mexico’s settlement policies, Tejano communities, land grants, slavery disputes, and local-control tensions helped shape Texas and the revolution that followed.
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Sam Bass: The Folk Hero Texas Never Really Had
Texas folklore made Sam Bass a beloved bandit, but the historical record shows a reckless train robber whose brief life became larger than the facts.
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The Republic of Texas: Where the Texas Myth Was Forged
The Republic of Texas lasted only nine years, but its debt, diplomacy, conflicts, and political choices helped shape the enduring Texas identity.
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Bill Longley: The Outlaw Who Could Not Escape the Gallows
Bill Longley built a violent reputation and a legend that outlived him, but the record shows the Texas outlaw did not escape the gallows.
Six Flags Over Texas Series
- Spain: The Flag That Gave Texas Its First European Shape July 12, 2026
- France: The Short-Lived Flag That Changed Texas Forever July 12, 2026
- Mexican Texas: The Nation That Opened Texas — and Lost It July 12, 2026
- The Republic of Texas: Where the Texas Myth Was Forged July 12, 2026
Texas Outlaws
- John Wesley Hardin: Texas Made the Legend July 12, 2026
- Sam Bass: The Folk Hero Texas Never Really Had July 12, 2026
- Bill Longley: The Outlaw Who Could Not Escape the Gallows July 12, 2026
More Texas History
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Series and Reader Contributions
The Gazette organizes continuing history projects here so readers can follow each series in order.
Have a local history lead, document, photo, or family record that may help explain Eastland County history? Send it to The Alliance Gazette.