State Capitols – Austin, Texas - Outside

Texas Capitol in Austin (19 June 2008) 

Constructed: 1882-1888 

Architect: Elijah E. Myers 

State Admitted to Union: December 29,1845 (28th) 

State Population (2010): 25,145,561 (2nd) 

Texas is the second largest state by area and population, after Alaska and California, respectively. On Super Tuesday, March 3, primary elections will occur in 14 states with a total of 1344 delegates at stake. Texas will contribute 228 to that number. The State House Odyssey takes us to the Lone Star State.

I visited Austin on the same 2008 trip that took me to Lyndon Johnson’s grave and the completion of the Dead Presidents Quest. I am pleased to note I have just returned from Texas where I visited College Station and the Texas A & M campus where # 41, George H. W. Bush is buried. The collection is again current.

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

Of all 50 states, Texas has a history like no other. The territory was originally claimed and explored by Spain in 1519, a century before the Pilgrims landed on the northeast coast. The territory was briefly ceded to France, then became part of the Republic of Mexico before the American settlers, led by Sam Houston, gained independence in 1836. It was the independent Republic of Texas before becoming the 28th state in 1845. Apart from its secession with the Confederacy (not counting former Governor Rick Perry’s threat to secede again in 2009), the state has been one of the United States ever since.

Old Texas Capitol 

The first capitol on the site was built in 1853 and it burned down in 1881. Plans were already under way for the current, larger structure at the time.

The capitol architect, Elijah Myers, was the master designer of government buildings at that time. He is the only architect with three state capitols to his credit, the others being the impressive state houses in Colorado and Michigan.

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008)

Here are more facts to support the unique Texas history. Since the state was land rich but otherwise poor after the Civil War, the capitol contractors were paid with three million acres of public land in the western panhandle. The land along the New Mexico border was about the size of Connecticut and became the XIT Ranch. By 1915, the failing ranch was parceled and sold off.

Texas Sunset Red granite was selected for the exterior after they realized the iron content in the local limestone would stain over time. The construction labor was largely convict and migrant workers, which saved the builders some money. I suspect we might find a surprising number of state houses that were built by either slaves or prisoners. In those years before labor and safety regulations, we could build things cheap. Plus, it gave the incarcerated an opportunity to get out of their cells for a while. Learn a trade. Get some fresh air.

Texas Pioneer Woman Monument [1998], 

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

As recently noted with the Iowa capitol, western states do revere their pioneer heritage. Unlike the Iowa version, this one refrains from including a man as well as any Native American guide (the policy of the original Texas nation was to rid the country of its native population). Just a proud, upright white woman with a baby. You go, Girl.

Confederate Soldiers Monument [1903], 

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

It’s fascinating to note when Confederate memorials were erected on capital grounds all across the country…not just the South. Their renaissance was decades after the end of the conflict. The turn of the 20th century was the time the South reasserted white supremacy with Jim Crow laws and monuments intended to intimidate minorities and anyone else who believed in equality.

The Dove of Peace, Terry’s Texas Rangers Monument [1907]

Texas Capitol, Austin (19 June 2008) 

Among the monuments on the capitol grounds is another dedicated to heroes of the Lost Cause. Benjamin Franklin Terry, a wealthy sugar planter, recruited a calvary regiment that fought for the Confederacy until the end of the war. In design, the statue is a typical, equestrian pose with a handsome rider atop his powerful steed…nostrils flaring with the intensity of the moment. I felt it appropriate that the picture was taken while a dove perched on the end of his rifle.

Austin is a fine capital city. Been there a couple of times and would like to return. It has a vibrant arts and music scene and an enormous state university with its learned and learning populations that together moderate the political energies of the city. Plus, you must not miss the huge bat colony that lives under the Congress Street Bridge and emerges at the appointed hour to consume tons of area mosquitoes. It’s an impressive dusk activity.

The next post will take us inside the capitol.