The 254 - How Texas Counties Got Their Names

Texas History Hidden in Every Map

You can read the history of Texas just by looking at a map of our state...if you know what to look for.

It's all in the counties...and how they got their names.

Think of the Land as a Giant Canvas

The names of the counties are history filled brushstrokes painted across it.

There are the broad strokes of the Spanish era and the vivid strokes of colonization.

There are the bold, impromptu strokes of the Texas Revolution and the heavy, bleeding strokes of the pioneers.

The eager strokes of annexation and the Mexican War and the defiant strokes of the Confederacy.

Exploring the Names Upon the Land

Zachary Taylor Fulmore assigned himself the job of reconnoitering those brushstrokes for you.

He was a founding member of the Texas State Historical Association and served as its president from 1913 to 1915. It was during his tenure as president that he penned this volume

Once you've read it, you won't be able to look at a map of Texas without seeing dukes and generals, soldiers and statesmen, priests and rangers.

You will be able to point out the Greek myth hidden in one name, the ancient structure named in another.

You'll know all the pioneers, lawyers, journalists, historians, ranchers, ministers and others honored on the Texas map.

It will fill gaps in your knowledge of our different regions and historical periods.