The Friends of the Texas Historical Commission partners with the Texas Historical Commission to preserve and promote the real places and real stories of Texas, including our state historic sites.?Register now for upcoming free online programs that tell these stories.?
Settlement and Survival Along the Lower Rio Grande
The inception of settlement along the lower Rio Grande in the mid-18th?century began with Spain?s viceregal government's urgency to prevent France from establishing colonies further west into the region we now know as Texas. The Spanish, intent on settling in the region, had been sending missionaries in the early 1700s to the Red River with the same goal.
In 1749, Spain appointed Jos? de Escand?n with a project to bring settlers north from the interior provinces of the Seno Mexicano to the area between the Rio Grande and San Antonio River, known as Nuevo Santander. Small towns were established along the Rio Grande, including Laredo, Camargo, Mier, and Reynosa. While Escand?n made some initial large grants of land, it was after the appointment of a royal land commission that the bulk of the leagues north of the Rio Grande were assigned to various applicants.
Those settlers formed not only sizeable settlements but ranches and farms. Join us for a virtual presentation and discussion with Mary Margaret McAllen exploring the success of these settlers and the arrival of newcomers over the next decades.
Date: Thursday, October 13, 6 p.m. Central Platform: Zoom (Registrants will receive the link to attend closer to event date) Cost:?Free (Donations?in support of the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission are welcome and appreciated!)
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Evolution of Overnight Accommodations
As vehicular transportation improved and gained popularity during the early 20th century, road trips along highways spurred the development of entirely new types of business that catered to an increasingly mobile public in need of temporary shelter and lodging. Deeply rooted in the tradition of inns and stagecoach stops that provided accommodation to weary travelers, these new auto-related businesses began as modest operations that offered the most basic services for the growing number of motorists touring the state and nation.
Join Leslie Wolfenden, the THC?s?Historic Resources Survey?coordinator, for a virtual presentation and discussion exploring the evolution of boarding houses and hotels, auto camps, cabin camps, cottage courts, motor courts, and more recently the motor inn and highway hotel.
Date: Thursday, October 20, 6 p.m. Central Platform: Zoom (Registrants will receive the link to attend closer to event date) Cost:?Free (Donations?in support of the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission are welcome and appreciated!)
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More Virtual Events...
The Power of Pitch?Mastering Your Year-End Appeal This two-hour long workshop is for anyone who is new to donor appeals or just needs a quick refresher on the core skills. Presented by?Laura Ingalls and Brianna Klink,?co-owners of Abeja Solutions Date: Thursday, September 29, 2 p.m., Cost: $42.00
The Green Book and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Texas Presented by Leslie Wolfenden, THC Historic Resources Survey Coordinator, and Daniele Dixon, Historian Date: Thursday, December 8; 6 p.m.,?Cost: Free
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