3 Things Most Texans Don’t Know

| April 16, 2014 | 1 Comment

By: Heidi Reichling

When I went to Colorado a few summers ago, I had the chance to earn a hundred dollars if I could correctly answer the salesman’s questions. He asked me whom the yellow rose of Texas was, what are the six flags that fly over Texas, and what are the main rivers in Texas. I wasn’t as smart as I am now, so I naturally got all the questions wrong. I wasn’t that sad, but I was determined to find out all the answers to his questions. (I am going to exclude the rivers in Texas and input the cleanest river in Texas instead)

The first thing that I think you should know about Texas is who the yellow rose is. You must think I’m crazy, because I am referring to a rose as a person, but I assure you that being a yellow rose is a title. Emily D. West is supposed to be the “Yellow Rose of Texas”. Emily West is believed to have helped Texans defeat Santa Anna in the Mexican-American war by having an “affair” with General Anna to keep him occupied while the Texans attacked. This however has not been proven accurate, although there is an account of an African American woman who was with the Mexican army. Sorry, but she probably didn’t help the Texans win the war, she might not have even cared, since she was born in Connecticut.

Another thing to know, if you are visiting and you want to go to a river and not feel too dirty, the Devil’s River is the place for you! The Devil’s River, supposedly the cleanest river in Texas, has many waterfalls and is great for kayaking. I have not been there, so I do not know if it is as good as people say, but the pictures look gorgeous. The river for kayakers is only available to experts, but I’m sure there’s plenty of good wading water for the family. Directions to Devil’s River seem hard to find, but I found a reasonably good way to go from San Antonio; you will need to go to Drive via highway 90 E/US-90 E-205 miles, this will normally take three hours and thirty-five minutes.

The next tidbit you will want to know is the six flags that fly over Texas. The first flag to fly over Texas was the Spanish flag; the flag flew over Texas from 1519 to 1685. However, Spain remodeled its flag and the newer version flew over Texas with the other flag from 1690 to 1821. The flag still flies over Texas as a remembrance of that time even though it isn’t our national flag. The second flag to fly over the beautiful skies of Texas is the Bourbon royal standard, or the flag of France. I’ve been wondering if the people of Texas had to speak the language of France even if they were originally from Spain, I cannot answer this question though, because I can’t find the answer anywhere online! So, do me a favor and comment down below if you know the answer (I’m dying to know!). Back to the French flag, though, this flag flew over Texas from 1685 to 1690. France was only been occupying Texas for a short little while; disease, famine, shipwrecks and natives helped dwindle the numbers of the French. Their colony was later abandoned.

Once Mexico declared its independence from Spain, a new wavering cloth was flying over Texas again. The Mexican flag was waving over Texas from 1821 to 1836. There was a lot of land claiming and stealing throughout this time of history, so Texas decided that it wanted to decide for itself who it belonged to. Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and the new flag flew over Texas until The U.S. decided to annex Texas in 1845. In America, some of the states decided that they should have control over their own states and Texas came to that same conclusion. Their new confederate flag flew over Texas from 1861 to 1865 when Texas rejoined the U.S. And of course, the American flag flew over and still is flying over Texas since 1845.

I hope you find this information useful, maybe in your Texas History class, or just to fill your brain with knowledge.

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  1. jackson says:

    Heidi, this is astonishing information! I would have never known this otherwise. It is wonderfully written with striking vocabulary! It is completely marvelous! You a an extraordinary writer, keep on doing what you are doing! Excellent job!

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