Texas

Texas

Texas, the Lone Star State, is a giant of a state. And Texans are known for
their large, welcoming hearts. "Friendship" is the state's motto, and the people
of Texas live by that motto.

Texas comes from the word "teysha" meaning "hello friend" in the language of
the Caddo Indian tribes. Spanish explorers and settlers used this word to refer
to the friendly tribes throughout Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

The Lone Star State: Perhaps one of the most recognized nicknames of any
state, "The Lone Star State" comes from the symbolism of the star on the 1836
flag of the republic, the "National Standard of Texas." The single golden star on
a blue background signified Texas as an independent republic and was a
reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone
Star" can be found on the Texas State Flag and on the Texas State Seal today.

And no state has a greater variety of reptiles, or a more diverse selection of
flowers, than the great state of Texas. Among them the Horned Lizard (toad),
the official state reptile and Bluebonnets, the official state flower.

Quick Texas Facts
• Capital: Austin
• 28th state to enter the Union: Dec. 29, 1845
• Present constitution adopted: 1876
• State motto: Friendship (1930)

State symbols:
• Flower: Bluebonnet (1901)
• Bird: Mockingbird (1927)
• Tree: Pecan (1919)
• Song: "Texas, Our Texas" (1929)

"Texas, Our Texas"

Texas, Our Texas! all hail the mighty State!
Texas, Our Texas! so wonderful so great!
Boldest and grandest, withstanding ev'ry test
O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.
(chorus)

Texas, O Texas! your freeborn single star,
Sends out its radiance to nations near and far,
Emblem of Freedom! it set our hearts aglow,
With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo.
(chorus)

Texas, dear Texas! from tyrant grip now free,
Shines forth in splendor, your star of destiny!
Mother of heroes, we come your children true,
Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love for you.
Chorus

God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.
God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,
That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.

The Texas State Flag

On December 10, 1836, President Sam Houston approved the first national flag of the
Republic of Texas. This flag, known as the "National Standard of Texas" displayed a large
golden five pointed star centered on an azure ground. This flag flew over the Rebuplic of
Texas until January 25, 1839.

A bill describing the "Lone Star Flag", a flag that would become the second official flag of
the Republic of Texas, was introduced on December 28, 1838 by Senator William H.
Wharton. The bill was, of course, referred to committee and this committee proposed a
substitute bill including the same flag design proposed by Senator Wharton. This bill was
passed by the Texas Congress on January 21, 1839 and approved by Texas President
Mirabeau B. Lamar on January 25, 1839. This was almost six years before Texas became
a member of the United States of America.

Early designs of the flag are attributed to many including Joanna Troutman, Sara Dodson,
Charles Bellinger Stewart, Peter Krag and William Wharton, but it was long held that the
actual designer of the Lone Star Flag was not known. The Texas House "may" have put an
end to the mystery in 1997. House Resolution 1123, Commemorating Montgomery County
as the birthplace of the Lone Star Flag, declares, in part, that:

...WHEREAS, At the request of President Mirabeau B. Lamar, Dr. Charles B. Stewart of Montgomery
County created this inspirational banner, and the elegant simplicity of his design truly exemplified the
united will of the citizens of the new Republic of Texas; and...

Official artwork created for the Lone Star Flag approved by President Lamar was drawn by
Peter Krag.

[T]he national flag of Texas shall consist of a blue perpendicular stripe of the width of one
third of the whole length of the flag, with a white star of five points in the centre thereof,
and two horizontal stripes of equal breadth, the upper stripe white, the lower red, of the
length of two thirds of the whole length of the flag.

When Texas was admitted to the Union in 1845, the Lone Star Flag came along. And so it
was until 1879 when the Sixteenth Legislature approved the "Revised Civil Statues of
1879." These revised statutes provided that "all civil statutes of a general nature, in force
when the Revised Statutes take effect, and which are not included herein, or which are not
hereby expressly continued in force, are hearby repealed." Since the revised statutes
included no legislation concerning the flag and did not "expressly" continue in force the
1839 law, the 1839 flag law was repealed.

From the date of the repeal, September 1, 1879 until the 1933 Flag Act, Texas was without
an official state flag.

The legislation adopted in 1933, was quite particular about the design and location of the
lone star and the colors of the flag: blood red, azure blue and white. The colors were said
to impart the "lessons of the Flag: bravery, loyalty and purity." However, no standard for
"blood red" or "azure blue" existed and flags manufactured within the state varied in color
and dimension.

In 1993, the statutes concerning the flag were revisited and the official description of the
state flag was revised.

The state flag consists of a rectangle with a width to length ratio of two to three containing: (1) a blue
vertical stripe one-third the entire length of the flag wide, and two equal horizontal stripes, the upper stripe
white, the lower red, each two-thirds the entire length of the flag long; and (2) a white, regular five-pointed
star in the center of the blue stripe, oriented so that one point faces upward, and of such a size that the
diameter of a circle passing through the five points of the star is equal to three-fourths the width of the blue
stripe.

The colors of the flag were also stipulated as being "Old Glory Red" and "Old Glory Blue",
the same colors found in the flag of the United States. These colors are defined in the
Standard Color Reference of America.