Enjoy these Texas history excerpts from the Texas State Historical Association.
https://www.tshaonline.org/home
1/9/1858: Anson Jones commits suicide
On this day in 1858, Anson Jones, last president of the Republic of Texas, committed suicide at Houston. Jones, a physician born in Massachusetts in 1798, came to Texas in 1833 and served in the Texas Revolution. He was elected to the Second Congress of the Republic of Texas and also served as minister to the United States and in the Republic of Texas Senate before being elected president in 1844. In 1845 he ignored mounting pressures for annexation until he had a treaty of recognition of the republic from Mexico. After Jones presented to the people of Texas the alternative of peace and independence or annexation, the Texas Congress rejected the treaty with Mexico, approved the joint resolution of annexation, and adopted resolutions censuring Jones. In 1846, at the ceremony setting up the government of Texas as a state in the Union, Jones declared, “The Republic of Texas is no more.” He hoped to be elected to the United States Senate, but Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk were chosen instead. Jones brooded over his neglect while he became a prosperous planter and accumulated a vast estate. After an injury that disabled his left arm in 1849, he became increasingly moody and introspective. In 1857 he believed that the legislature would send him to Washington as senator, but he received no votes.
1/10/1901: Spindletop oilfield discovered
On this day in 1901, the Spindletop oilfield was discovered on a salt dome south of Beaumont, marking the birth of the modern petroleum industry. Pattillo Higgins, the “prophet of Spindletop,” and others had tried for years to find oil on Spindletop Hill, but with no success. In 1899, however, Higgins hooked up with Anthony F. Lucas. Despite negative reports from contemporary geologists, Lucas remained convinced that oil was in the salt domes of the Gulf Coast. On January 10 mud began bubbling from a well that Lucas had spudded in the previous October. The startled roughnecks fled as six tons of four-inch drilling pipe came shooting up out of the ground. After several minutes of quiet, mud, then gas, then oil spurted out. The Lucas geyser, found at a depth of 1,139 feet, blew a stream of oil over 100 feet high until it was capped nine days later. The discovery of the Spindletop oilfield had an almost incalculable effect on world and Texas history. Investors spent billions of dollars throughout the Lone Star State in search of oil and natural gas. The cheap fuel they found helped to revolutionize American transportation and industry. Many of the major oil companies were born at Spindletop or grew to major corporate size as a result of their involvement at Spindletop, including Texaco, Gulf Oil Corporation, Magnolia Petroleum Company, and Exxon Company, U.S.A.
1/10/1964: Houston honors philanthropist
On this date in 1964, groundbreaking for the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts took place in Houston. Construction of the building was underwritten by the Houston Endowment, a charitable foundation endowed by Jesse H. Jones and his wife, Mary Gibbs Jones. With its luxurious decor and excellent acoustics, Jones Hall won the American Institute of Architects’ Honor Award in 1967 and today is the home performance venue for the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Society for the Performing Arts.
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