When my cousin Jacque moved to San Antonio when I was in middle school, I became fascinated with the state. After I graduated from high school, my Aunt Verna, Jacque’s mom and I drove to visit my cousin. That was when I knew I wanted to live in Texas, and sure enough, my husband and I moved to the Dallas area after he graduated from college. Today I’m sharing a few interesting facts about my adopted home state.
Examples of how things are bigger in Texas:
- One Texas ranch, the King Ranch, is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
- The Texas State Fair is the largest, longest running US state fair and boasts North America’s largest Ferris wheel.
- Austin is home to the world’s largest urban bat colony.
- The Texas State Capital is fifteen feet taller than the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C.
- When you are in Newton County in southeast Texas, you’re closer to the Atlantic Ocean than to El Paso. When you’re in El Paso, you’re closer to the Pacific Ocean than Newton County.
- If you’re in Brownsville, Texas, you’re closer to Guatemala than you are to Dalhart, Texas.
Tidbits on some Texas towns:
- A town formerly known as Clark, Texas, changed its name to Dish so its 201 residents would get free TV service for ten years.
- Decatur voted to reschedule Halloween in 2014 because the holiday conflicted with high school football. Yup, that’s how important high school football is in Texas!
- Austin has more live music venues per capita than anywhere in the United States.
On Texas highways:
- The Texas Department of Transportation employs a group of gardeners to spread more than 30,000 pounds of wildflower seeds annually to beautify the state’s highways. For generations when the state flower is in bloom, families flock to fields of the flowers to snap photos.
- County road Highway 130 between Austin and San Antonio is the fastest road in the US with a speed limit of 85 mph.
- The Katy Freeway at Beltway 8 with 26 lanes across is the world’s widest freeway. (I won’t be driving on that road any time soon!)
Texas inventions:
- Pepper was invented in 1885 by Charles Alderton, a pharmacist in Waco.
- The frozen margarita machine was invented in Texas. (That’s definitely something to celebrate!) The original machine is on display at The Smithsonian.
A few miscellaneous facts:
- The Texas Ranchers founded in 1823 by Stephen F. Austin are the oldest state-wide law enforcement agency.
- True Texas Chili is made without beans.
- Y’all is singular, while all y’all is plural.
If you visit Texas, be aware it’s illegal to do these things:
- Milk someone else’s cow
- Sell your eye
- Dust a public building with a feather duster (I wonder if it’s okay to do so with a cloth.)
- Shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel (But I guess the first story is okay.),
- To let a camel run loose on a Galveston beach.
- However, you can kill Bigfoot if you find him!
Since everything in Texas is bigger I’m having two giveaways today. One is for a coozie, to-go coasters with one of my favorite Texas sayings, and a cactus coaster. The other is for the Blessed and Lucky T-shirt in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. To be entered, tell me which of the facts I listed you found the most interesting and why.
Now I’m off to figure out how to use one of those odd laws to get a hero or heroine into trouble…
Julie Benson has written five novels for Harlequin American, and her Wishing, Texas series is available from Tule Publishing. Now that her three sons have left the nest in Dallas, when she isn't writing, Julie spends her time working on home improvement projects, rescuing dogs, and visiting Texas wineries with her husband. Visit her at www.juliebenson.net.
I find it interesting that you cannot sell you eye. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Debbie, first of all, why would anyone want to sell his/her eye? It’s a scary thought. I wonder what event prompted that law being passed. Take care, have a great day, and thanks for stopping by.
Since my husband is a transportation engineer, I just surprised him with: The Katy Freeway at Beltway 8 with 26 lanes across is the world’s widest freeway.
denise
Denise, I read that and just sat there for a moment. I should’ve Googled it to get a picture, but I didn’t think of it to this very moment. (I’ll see if I can find one and add it in a minute.) I’d love to see that highway, but you’ll never catch me driving on it! Thanks for stopping by today. Take care and stay safe.
I googled it last night, and it really didn’t seem much worse than ones we have up this way. 😉 The DMV (DC/MD/VA) area is notorious for having huge interchanges and lots of traffic. My husband works for a private consulting firm, but MDDOT/SHA is his largest client.
Denise, I put a picture of the highway into the post, but don’t show it to your husband. Since he works for the DOT, it’ll give him nightmares!
I’m surprised TX DOT spreads wildflower seeds. I thought it was all done by volunteers, mostly down around Ennis. We certainly don’t have any up I-30 NE of Dallas! Sure wish we did!
Sherry, I was also surprised that there is a staff of gardeners who do this. I think I read that Ennis is the North Texas place to go for bluebonnet sightings. We don’t have many up here in the Dallas area either. Sometimes we’ll see a couple here and there but that’s about it. I church near me has a big chunk of land between their building and the street. The last couple years they’ve seeded for bluebonnets. It was such a wonderful thing to see a bluebonnet field in the middle of a Dallas suburb! But getting these patches of wildflowers isn’t as “natural” as we think. Thanks for being here today. Stay safe and take care.
I love the fact that they spread seeds and you have beautiful flowers growing every where.
Charlene, the highways are absolutely beautiful when the wildflowers and particularly bluebonnets are in bloom. The beautification project was started by Lady Bird Johnson. I did a post talking about that a few years ago. She was an amazing woman who had a huge impact on Texas. Thank you for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
I was surprised Dr Pepper was invented that long ago.
Alice, I was too! Who knew it had been around that long? I was also surprised that a pharmacist invented it. Thanks for stopping by today. Stay safe out there.
I found it hilarious that they rescheduled Halloween so it wouldn’t conflict with the football game ?
Tonya, I hate to say this, but I wasn’t. High school football is a major event in Texas. You wouldn’t believe the money that schools spend on their stadiums. It’s actually obscene when I think of all the cuts that have been made the last few years. Thank you for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
Some old laws are so amazing. You wonder how they got there.
Debra, I bet there are great stories or events behind each of those laws. Ooooh, thanks for saying that. I’ll have to do some research and if I can find the answers, I’ll do a post on that! I appreciate you setting off that idea more than you know. For me, coming up with an idea for my posts is hard. Writing it is the easy part. Maybe next month I’ll actually have my post written early thanks to you! I’m so grateful you were here today and got me thinking about the stories behind the laws.
It’s ok to kill bigfoot if you find him.
That was hilarious. Of course, I’m thinking how would one prove that it was Bigfoot you’d killed? Makes me wonder if at the time the law was written were there numerous sightings of something people feared was Bigfoot? I definitely need to research how these laws came about. Thanks for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
You can’t let a camel run on the beach? What’s up with that?
Rhonda, I know! Who would bring a camel to a Galveston beach? It’s not like they’re running loose all over Texas. Until I started reading all y’alls’ 🙂 comments. This is another law that I bet has a great story behind it. Thanks for stopping by the corral today. Take care and stay safe.
https://petticoatsandpistols.com/?s=camels probably related to this
I find it very interesting that true Texas Chili is made without beans. Personally I love beans in my chili.
I know. There’s a funny Big Bang Theory episode where Sheldon is invited to Leonard’s girlfriend’s Pria’s house for dinner. She asks if he’d like some homemade chili. Being raised in Texas he asks if it has beans. She says yes, to which he responds that it’s not chili because real chili doesn’t have beans. I wonder how it came about that Texas chili doesn’t have beans. I may have to research that, too. Thanks for stopping by today. Take care and stay safe.
Good morning Julie, there are so many of these saying that really make you scratch your head 🙂 I wonder why you can’t dust with a feather duster .. REALLY. If some wants to dust my house trust me they can use anything they want !!
On another note , through ancestry I found a sister I never knew about, she lives in Austin Tx. She’s always telling me how awesome Austin is, I can’t wait to go ( hopefully in May) to meet her and see all the sites Texas has to offer!
Rose, I’m with you. If someone wants to dust my house, I’m not about to complain how they do it! Austin is a great city. The music is fabulous for starters. I hope you get down this way in May. Now when you’re there, make sure you don’t go shooting any buffalo from a second story hotel room and if you go to a beach in Galveston, leave your camel at home! I hope you have a wonderful time in Austin. Thanks for stopping by today.
I loved all your Texas info. But no beans in chili surprised me. I’m going to have to google Texas chili. Ha! Hope all is well in your corner Julie!
Kathy, I’m so glad to hear from you. I’m doing well. I hope you and your hubby are as well. I’ve been wondering how some of these things came to be, and the beanless chili is one of them. I found an article online in Texas Living entitled To Bean or Not To Bean: The Chronicles of Texas Chili so I may have the answer soon. I definitely need to do a post on how these laws and beanless chili came about. Take care and stay safe.
I loved visiting Texas!
Estella, Texas is a great place to visit. There are so many fun cities…San Antonio, Houston, Galveston and the beaches, and Austin. They’re all so varied and offer different things to do. Thanks for stopping by today. Take care and stay safe.
Ooooh, Dr. Pepper is my favorite, so love that fact!
I was born in California, but moved to Kansas when my dad was stationed here. And I’ve been here ever since! Love the pride you have for your adopted home state!
Jess, it’s funny how people either love Dr. Pepper or aren’t really keen on it. So few food/drink items have such polarized reactions. I didn’t realize it was invented so long ago, and I think it’s a hoot that a pharmacist created it. Thanks for being here today and I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Take care and stay safe.
I too love Texas and could live there! And the fact that the chili has no beans in it!
Teresa, my mom always made her chili with beans, but I always picked them out. I guess I was always destined to live in Texas. Thank you for stopping by today. Take care and stay safe.
Good morning. I’m a native Texan so I love all of these. We love our football, so yep, just move Halloween.
Dublin Texas is in my hometown county. It’s actually the oldest Dr Pepper plant. But Waco like to claim it. Ha ha!!
This was great the only thing that surprised me was Dust a public building with a feather duster. That’s strange but funny. Thanks for sharing the great things about the greatest state of all.. TEXAS.
Tonya, thank you for correcting/adding to my Dr. Pepper facts! Dublin should say Waco can claim the pharmacist who created it and Dublin gets the fame for the oldest plant. And the duster thing…who complains about how someone else is dusting. As Rose Ann Folger said above, if someone wants to dust my house or business, have at it no matter what they use! I’m glad you enjoyed the post. If I can please a native Texan than I know I did a good job. Thanks for stopping by today. Take care and stay safe.
I find it all very interesting, especially that you can’t dust with the feather duster! I’ve been to Amarillo and the Dallas/Ft Worth airport! It wasn’t what I thought it would be, but I’d love to go back!! I’m like you, I would NOT want to be on Beltway 8!!!!!!!!!!
Trudy, you’ll have to check the post again. I added a picture of the Katy Highway at Beltway 8. All I can say is you won’t ever find me on that road. It’s downright scary. I mean, the stuff nightmares are made of! I’d have to find another way to get where I was going even if it added an hour or more to the trip. I hope you get a chance to see more of Texas. I love the Riverwalk and old missions in San Antonio, so that would be my suggestion for a vacation spot. Thanks for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
I’m definitely with you!!! I would NOT want to be driving on there!! I’d go out of my way, too!!
Those laws are hilarious! In one MN town it’s illegal to walk your chicken down main street (but other streets, it’s apparently okay). I love Texas. It’s my second most-visited state, first being South Dakota.
Kari, that’s hilarious about the chicken. It makes me wonder. Was the town having a problem with a lot of people walking their chickens on main street? Were there so many they became a nuisance? And why was it okay for folks to walk chickens on the other streets?
We lived in Austin in the 70s and now it’s the music venue capital? Wow.
The antidotal fact we found was we never met a person born in Texas while we lived in Austin for four until our daughter was born.
Have a blessed day.
I’m surprised in the 70’s you didn’t meet a native Texan. I know Dallas has always had a lot of native Texans, but I didn’t know Austin was like that then. The music in Austin is supposed to be fabulous, but I’ve never been to any of the venues. The city is also known for being big on tiny living. Okay, that sound weird…being big on tiny living. But I know Austin is really forward thinking in that area.
Thank you for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
Sell your eye – who needs to do this?
My thoughts exactly. Followed by ewwww. Thanks for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
I moved to Texas last year! I’m in Lubbock! I never thought I’d live in Texas but my husband & I decided to retire here because all our kids and our 3 grandkids live in Texas and we lived in Oregon which was way too far away! If we were retired, we wanted to live close to them! So, off to Texas we went! It has taken getting used to after living all my life on the West Coast where there are mountains, rivers, lakes and beaches! I grew up in Southern Calif.! But, it’s great to be close to those sweet granddaughters!
Valri, I bet Lubbock has been a huge adjustment from the west coast! That area is very different from where I live in Dallas. It’s much greener here and we don’t have as much of the red clay here. How wonderful to move closer to your children and grandchildren. What a special gift you’re giving them! I wish my children had been as blessed as yours are.
Have you become a big Texas Tech fan? You’ll learn the college rivalries between University of Texas, Texas A &M, TCU, and Texas Tech are a big deal, especially in football. State bragging rights are something worth fighting for.
Take care, stay safe, and thanks for being here today.
We are big college sports fans so we are becoming interested in Texas Tech! My brother lives in Dallas so we’ve been there a few times over the years! We know how important sports, especially college, is to Texans!!! ha ha We are mostly BYU fans so it doesn’t matter where you live to be a BYU fan, you can live anywhere for that!!! We are excited that they are joining the Big 12 next year!!!
Proud Texan here! I was actually born in Tucumcari, New Mexico, when my dad & uncle had a trucking company based out of there. Our family moved back to East Texas where generations of Jenkins are from. I have five siblings and only 2 of us were not born in Texas.
I don’t think I knew about the bat Colony but I have MS and my memory often fails me.
It crazy all the laws that haven’t been removed from the books when they became irrelevant due to the progression of society. As well as, there are laws that I can’t fathom why they exist. The feather duster law is one but I’m guessing it’s from the days of the wild west and the fact that dust was so thick due to dirt roads and so if it was a public venue and you dusted with a feather duster during business hours you’d have all the patron coughing, gagging and sneezing from inhaling the stirred up dust.
More fun facts about Texas:
Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation. The state was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.
Texas boasts the nation’s largest herd of whitetail deer.
A coastal live oak located near Fulton is the oldest tree in the state. Some articles say it’s in Rockport but Fulton and Rockport are only 3.3 miles apart so I’m assuming it’s the same tree that is rural and both towns claim. LOL I don’t even know how they figured this out there are tons of trees in Texas.
The Texas State Capitol building is the largest state capitol in the nation. In terms of gross square footage, the Texas Capitol is only smaller in size to the U.S. Capitol building. Additionally, the Texas Capitol dome actually sits 7 feet (2.13 meters) higher than the U.S. Capitol’s.
Surveyors in 1999 using high-tech equipment measured the Texas State Capitol pink-granite dome at 302.64 feet. It is almost 15 feet taller than our nation’s Capitol in Washington D.C., which sits at 288 feet.
Fun blog, I’d love the opportunity to read your book and a giveaway is an awesome way to find a new author to add to my go to authors list.
Stephanie, thank you for being here today and sharing your Texas trivia. I thought it was interesting about the Texas Capital. I’m sure it’s by design that our capital is bigger. I’m sure Texans couldn’t stand to think that ours would be smaller than anyone’s, even the nation’s.
I loved teaching about the six flags that flew over Texas and the time when Texas was its own country. I’m sure you know, but for anyone else reading this, the six flags that have flown over Texas are Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America.
Thanks for stopping by today and for sharing those wonderful facts. Take care and stay safe.
Interesti9ng story about Texas. Being a history person i enjoyed stores of texas wish i could have visited the state
Emma, Texas does have a rich history. With having been part of six different countries (Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States of American, and USA) there have been a lot of cultures that influenced it. One of my favorite places to visit is all the old missions in San Antonio, the most famous of which is the Alamo. As a history buff, you would love touring the missions.
Thank you for stopping by today. Take care and stay safe.
Sell your eye! This just sounds horrible, who could do that, it certainly wouldn’t be me!
Connie, I can’t imagine that either. And what happened that would make the legislature so concerned about this that they enacted a law? Yikes.
Thank you for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
I love all these great facts! I was born and raised in Texas. I have never lived somewhere else.
I am a proud Texan!
Melanie, I’m so pleased you enjoyed the post. I have to admit I wondered what a native Texan would think about it. I’m glad I did the state proud. Thank you for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
I’m wondering why it is illegal to dust a public building with a feather duster. What is the story behind that law?
Roxanne, I’m going to research to see if I can discover what was going on that made the legislature create the laws I listed. As I told Debra Guyette, the hardest part of posting for me is thinking of an idea. If I can find the stories behind the laws, I’ll do a post on that next month. 🙂
Thank you for being here today. Take care and stay safe.
I was born in Ft Worth and raised in DECATUR! Yay, EAGLES!! We always had great football teams!! And, I never had chili with beans in it until I was a married woman with kids and I got a new church cookbook with a chicken chili recipe in there that had beans. My sister was so excited about putting beans in chili! Lol When I was a little bitty girl I would tell everyone I met that I was a long-tall Texan!!
Lana, I know where Decatur is! I think a friend, Kristi Cross, lives there. I’ll have to check. I love that and the Denton area. It’s amazing how those areas have grown over the last few decades. When I first moved here in the 1980’s I went to UNT. (Of course then it was North Texas State University.) Once I left the suburb where I left there would be miles of nothing. So much so that my husband would go with me when I had to observe for the astronomy class I was taking. I’d have to drive back after 10 and he worried about me being “in the middle of nowhere. Now the Denton area melds into Lewisville and then the other Dallas suburbs!
I love your chili story! Eek gads, though. A native Texan eating chili with beans! I hope the rest of the family didn’t disown you. 🙂
Take care, stay safe, and thanks for being here today.
Oh, Julie! I had to laugh at your title. What a great attention-getter!
I do think I would love living in Texas, too. My brother lives there, and I doubt he’ll ever come back home to Nebraska. So much tradition and history in Texas.
Great blog as always, my friend!
Thanks for the kind words, Pam.
My parents kept asking my brother if he’d ever move back to the midwest. They lived in Iowa and Nebraska. My mom loved living in Omaha. He said no way would he ever leave Texas.
A town formerly known as Clark, Texas, changed its name to Dish so its 201 residents would get free TV service for ten years.
That is truly interesting… was it worth it having to change everything that had the original name for that? Hmmm…
Colleen, I’m sorry I missed your comment yesterday. But I did enter you in for the giveaway. That’s how I realized I missed commenting. You make a good point I hadn’t thought of. I wonder how much it cost the town to change all the things that had the name Clark listed. But the residents saved money and I bet that kept someone in office. 🙂
Hey Julie, Thank you for your fun post! I’m a native Texan. Today, March 2, is Texas Independence Day. I love my state and it’s rich history.
Caryl, how did I miss the fact that today is Texas Independence Day?! I wish I’d realized and mentioned it. Then my post would’ve appeared to be inspired by the day. I guess it was just a happy coincidence that I wrote about it today. Thank you for being here. Take care and stay safe.
Perhaps the eye thing was artificial eyes. A John Wayne movie, “The sons of Katie Elder”, one of the boys sold a fake artificial eye. Camels were brought to the west, but didn’t last. There a movie for that as well. James Garner in “One Little Indian”.
Now aren’t you smart! I’d never even thought about it meaning you couldn’t sell artificial eyes, but that is way less oogy. 🙂 And I should’ve realized about the camels, too. I’d have to look it up in the archives but one month I formatted a post for a guest authors who wrote about camels in the west!
Thank you for being here and making some sense out of those laws. Take care and stay safe.
Perhaps the eye was an artificial eye. In a John Wayne movie (The Sons of Katie Eder) one of the boys sold a fake artificial eye. A true fact camels were brought into the west, but they didn’t last long. A James Garner movie (One Little Indian) has a camel in it.
The Texas State Capital is fifteen feet taller than the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C. I really should have know this because everything is bigger in Texas so I here.
And that’s exactly why it was probably built that way! Thank you for stopping by today. Take care and stay safe.
Hi I was born in Texas and I live in Texas. That is really something about the Buffalo, I bet that became a law many many moons ago , kind of silly. Our son has been living in Austin for almost 20 yrs and he said that there are people from all over moving to Austin, and everything is going up alot (price wise). Austin is growing alot.
Alicia, I’ve heard that Austin is growing like crazy. My brother lives in Roundrock and the new construction there is unbelievable. Driving in Austin and its suburbs makes driving in Dallas feel so easy, and it never matters what time it is in Austin. The traffic is always horrendous. Thanks for stopping by today. Take care.
I can’t believe there’s a freeway with 26 lanes across! I’d be a nervous wreck serving on that. These were fun tidbits, thanks for sharing, and for the chance to win!
Megan, I said I’d never drive or even ride as a passenger on that highway and that was before I saw a picture of it. Talk about a nightmare. I don’t understand why anyone would willingly subject themselves to that. Can you imagine your daily commute involving navigating that highway? Yikes. Thanks for being here today. Take care.
I wasn’t surprised at all that football took precedence over Halloween. It seems to be a religion in the South. Smart of the people of Clark to do a town name change for 10 years of free TV. As expensive asTV services are, that is a good deal.
I remember my first time driving in Texas. I drove from the TN-NC border to Dallas for the last RT Convention in 2018. My husband flew in the night before it finished and we had a nice trip down to Big Bend and other places. That was my opportunity to drive 130. I was a bit surprised by the speed limit (80 at the time), but with the law to be in the left lane only when passing it works pretty well. I wasn’t comfortable doing 80 and certainly wouldn’t be doing 85. It surprised me the number of people who tried to get off the highway by driving through the grass rather than waiting for an exit. I passed several who were waiting for tow trucks to pull them out of the boggy mud. I do know if we go to Houston, we will NOT be going on the Katy Freeway at Beltway 8. That is insane.
Breaking any of those laws, except killing Big Foot, would make for an interesting situation in your book. Can’t imagine being arrested for using a feather duster. However, it would be a good way to pick on someone. Any lawmen heroes in your next book?
Patricia, you sound like you had an interesting adventure on 130 and I’m right there with you, girl. Katy Highway is insane. I’m way too smart to get on that road. It doesn’t surprise me that you saw people driving through the grass to exit. I see that all the time. Though most times it’s people driving trucks. Take care, and thanks for stopping by tonight.
I live between Austin and San Antonio and travel highway 130 to work. I usually stay on the access roads where the speed limit alternates from 55-65. I do travel on the 130 toll occasionally but I don’t drive the 85 mph limit, it is to fast for me at my age. I have also recently traveled the Katy freeway when attending our annual work conference in Houston, traffic is crazy and I definitely recommend finding an alternate route if you can. Loved reading your fun facts.
Carolyn, I am in awe of your courage. You are way braver than I am. Take care and stay safe out there when you’re on highway 130! Thanks for stopping by to chat with me.