Center for Texas Studies at TCU

We are back with another ! Did you know Blanco, Texas, is known as the "Lavender Capital of Texas!" Blanco is famous for its commercial lavender fields and annual springtime festival. The name translates to "white" in Spanish and was given in 1721 for the bright limestone banks along the spring-fed Blanco River!

📸Google Images

We are back with another and the continuation of our Route 66 Summer Tour! The Route 66 Bridge over the Chicago, Rock Island, and Gulf Railroad is an easily overlooked landmark set amid the open plains east of Shamrock, Texas. Long before the bridge existed, the Kiowa and Comanche peoples lived in the region, hunting vast herds of buffalo. Anglo settlers arrived in the late 19th century, replacing buffalo with agriculture and livestock. By the 1920s, the Texas Panhandle was booming—fueled by farming, ranching, and a rapidly expanding oil industry centered in Amarillo. To connect this once-isolated region to the rest of the country, new highways were essential, and Route 66—paved in 1932—became the primary artery through the Panhandle’s small towns.

One of the most unusual engineering features along this stretch of Route 66 is the Wheeler County bridge itself. Because the high plains required few bridges, this double‑decker structure stands out. It carried automobile traffic on the upper deck while trains of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Gulf Railroad passed 25 feet below. Locomotive blasts, however, threatened the steel I‑beams supporting the roadway above, and even risked stripping paint from passing cars. Engineers responded with an innovative solution for 1932: they encased the steel beams in concrete. The resulting 126‑foot structure features a main span of concrete‑encased beams, with additional spans built of reinforced concrete girders resting on concrete pile bents.

Remarkably, the Route 66 Bridge has remained unaltered since its construction, offering visitors a clear view of early 20th‑century engineering and craftsmanship. Its integrity and historical significance led to its listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Today, the bridge still carries traffic—now as part of a frontage road along Interstate 40—continuing its quiet service as a surviving piece of Route 66 history.

📸National Park Service

We are back with another ! Led by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Silliman and the Rev. Joseph Bird (1821-1909), this congregation was organized on November 6, 1859, with five charter members. Worship services were held in a Union church shared with the local Methodist and Church of Christ congregations until 1902, when the Baptists purchased land and built a frame sanctuary. It was replaced in 1951, and the congregation built a new facility at this site in 1975. Throughout its history, the First Baptist Church of Blanco has emphasized worship programs and missionary activities. The marker is located in Blanco, Texas, in Blanco County. It is at the intersection of Terri Lane and 4th Street (Farm to Market Road 1623), on the left when traveling north on Terri Lane. The marker is located on the eastern section of the church grounds near Terri Lane.

📸HMDB

Happy ! We are finishing up the week in Madisonville, Texas, with a fungi fun fact!

Did you know Madisonville proudly calls itself the Mushroom Capital of Texas? It is home to a major Monterey Mushrooms facility and the annual Texas Mushroom Festival each October, complete with a shiitake-themed 5K and plenty of gourmet fungus cooking fun!

📷Google Images

We are taking a break from our Route 66 coverage this to take a look at this day in Texas history!

Sixty‑five years ago today, May 27, 1961, a college professor from Wichita Falls won a Texas Senate seat that no Republican had held since Reconstruction. A state that had written off Republicans suddenly sent one to the U.S. Senate, and the political map was never the same.

In Anatomy of an Upset, historian Dr. James H. Broussard unpacks how John Tower’s unlikely win in the special election to replace Lyndon B. Johnson signaled the rise of the modern GOP in Texas.

It’s the story of the election that reshaped a state, and the forces that transformed its voters.

Available now wherever books are sold. Link in bio.

📷TCU Press

It is time for another ! We are in Madisonville, Texas, at the marker for Truman Kimbro.

Madison County native Truman Kimbro, born in Cottonwood about six miles west of Madisonville, attended school in nearby Center. Drafted into the U.S. Army in December 1941, he deployed to Europe in October 1943 with the 2nd Engineer Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Division. He took part in the Allied landing on Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944.

Kimbro was killed in December 1944 while laying anti‑tank mines to slow advancing German forces. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He rests today in the U.S. Military Cemetery near Henri‑Chapelle, Belgium.

📷HMDB

We are back with another ! Did you know was named after Robert. M. Coleman? Coleman was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and one of Sam Houston's right-hand men!

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It's another and the second week of our Route 66 Summer Tour! Before the designation of Route 66 in 1926, Vega was a small agricultural community in the western Texas Panhandle. The Ozark Trail linked the town to Amarillo, Texas, and Tucumcari, New Mexico, and this early roadway later became part of the new national highway. When Route 66 began carrying travelers directly through Vega, new roadside businesses emerged, including the Vega Motel. Built in 1947 by Ervin Pancoast, the motel—originally known as Vega Court—reflected the booming postwar travel culture. Its west and south wings held 12 units arranged with alternating pairs of garages and rooms, and a small house in the courtyard served as both office and residence for Pancoast and, after 1948, his wife.

The motel thrived for decades as Route 66 remained a busy corridor. In 1953, the Pancoasts expanded the property with an east wing of eight additional units, all with garages and some with kitchenettes. Like many mid‑century motels, the Vega Motel received a modern facelift in 1964 with the addition of a Perma‑Stone exterior. Even as traffic stayed strong through the 1950s and 1960s, plans were underway for a faster interstate system. When I‑40 was completed in the early 1970s, it diverted travelers away from the old highway, eventually impacting the motel’s business. After more than 30 years of operation, the Pancoasts sold the property in 1976, though it has continued to operate under subsequent owners.

Today, the Vega Motel stands as one of the few intact historic motel complexes remaining in the small towns of the Texas Panhandle. While Amarillo retains several Route 66 motels, only three such complexes outside the city are known to survive with their historic integrity. Recognizing its significance as a rare and well‑preserved example of mid‑century roadside architecture, the Vega Motel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. While the hotel is temporarily closed right now, you can still stop by and see it when you roll through Vega!

📸 Google Images

hey y'all! We are back with another ! Today, we are highlighting the Coleman County Jail in Coleman, Texas! The jail was the second county jail, erected in 1890. The building is a good example of Victorian jail architecture with some traces of Romanesque Revival. Belting on the ground and second floors is a notable detail. The lower floor houses the jailer's living quarters. The upper floor houses both maximum- and minimum-security cells.

If you are ever in Coleman, make sure to check it out! Also, it is fitting that the image for the jail is behind a fence!

📸HMDB