The Hidden History of Texas

“The Quiet Texan Behind the Oval Office: Colonel Edward Mandell House” Welcome to Episode 82 of the Hidden History of Texas, Yes, I took the holidays off and feel refreshed and ready to go here in 2026. I hope each and all of you had a wonderful holiday season. Now it’s time to get back into it.   If you pay attention to the world of political news, then you’ve probably heard the name Steven Miller. If you haven’t, he’s a primary advisor to President Trump. There are some who think that Mr. Miller is the most powerful person in Washington...

Welcome to Episode 81 - Texas Economy in the 1850s, Cotton, Tariffs, and Boomtowns. Today's show is a little shorter than most. I was really afraid I'd start to get political and lose my focus. TBH, I'm tremendously opposed to tariffs, especially when they affect agriculture and working folks. Anyway....Here's a partial transcript Today, we’re traveling back to the 1850s—a decade of cotton, cattle, and booming ports, but also one of economic tension and national panic. Imagine standing on the docks of Galveston in 1855. Sailors unload heavy bales of cotton destined for England, while merchants hustle to get impo...

Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. This is Episode 80 – Texas Politics as the 1850s Begin.   I’m your host and guide Hank Wilson. Texas politics is a contact sport, and actually today’s Texas politics and politicians often seem like they still are set in 200 years ago. In fact, if you think about some of the laws that are being passed today, if you didn’t know better, you’d think that you had somehow traveled back in time to the 1850s. Currently there are portions of the political world that are trying to roll back civil rights. Racial animosity is...

This is episode 79 of the Hidden History of Texas, Central Texas Floods of the 2000s. The Central Texas Floods of the 2000s damaged Lake Marble Falls 2002 Central Texas Floods The summer of 2002 brought storm after storm, pounding San Antonio and the Hill Country with relentless rain. By July, creeks had swollen into rivers, and the city’s flood-control systems groaned under the pressure. Cars floated down highways, neighborhoods were cut off, and families had to be rescued from rooftops in San Antonio’s South Side. San Antonio International Airport recorded a staggering 9.52 inches of rain on July 1 alone, setting a new...

Lake Buchanan, built to help prevent floods in Central Texas Central Texas – The Flash Flood Capital of the State - The Floods of 1957, 1981, and 1998 1957 - The Longest Drought In Texas History Ends With Massive Floods - Central Texas Flood (Hill Country) Texas climate changes can often be considered extreme. The State is so large that one portion of it can suffer from flooding rains to extreme drought. In fact, parts of Texas are currently experiencing a drought, (as is most of the Western United States, but this book is about Texas, so…) The worst drought in Texas history was the 1950s dr...

1935 -  A Very Wet Year in Texas and I don’t mean because prohibition had ended, but there were 3 major floods that ravaged the state. They say that April showers bring May flowers and while that is true, in Texas too many April showers can be an indication of floods to come and that was especially true in the year 1935. Central and South-Central Texas experienced heavy rains that Spring which greatly affected Austin, San Antonio and lesser cities like San Marcos, Junction, Uvalde and D'Hanis. In May, San Antonio received 14.07 inches of rain in May and over 8 inches in June. Tha...

This can turn into a raging river with enough rain Welcome to Episode 76 - When it floods it destroys – 1908 Trinity River - 1921 San Antonio. Today I'm looking at one of the more silent disasters that can hit a state and that is flash flooding and flooding in general. If you don't mind how about visiting my sponsor Ashby Navis & Tennyson Digital Publishers great audiobooks, mobile apps, and video games. Picture a dry creek bed or a street that looks calm and harmless. Then, suddenly, heavy rain falls—sometimes miles away—and all that water rushes downhill at once. In minutes, what w...

We’re talking about some of the Extreme Weather Events in Texas History. It's the 2000s and the Bad Boys are about to hit the Texas Coast, In the past few episodes, I’ve talked about some of our most devasting hurricanes. The one that wiped out the entire town of Indianola in the 1800s, how in 1900 a Hurricane devastated Galveston, and last episode in the 60s and 70s, we met hurricanes, Carla, Beaulah, and several others all of whom battered the Texas coast and brought forth death and destruction throughout the region. For a few decades it seemed like thin...

This is episode 74 of the Hidden History of Texas and it’s time to meet some of the Mean Girls of the 60s and 70s. The 1960s and 1970s saw Texas getting hit by several storms, all of which were given ladies names, but none of whom acted very lady like. Let's meet Hurricane Carla in 1961, in1967 Hurricane Beulah's showed up, not to be outdone Hurricane Celia hit in 1970, and then in 1979 it was Hurricane Claudette. All of which devastated parts of Texas. In September of 1961, the Texas coast faced one of the largest and most powerful hurricanes in recorded hi...

1900 – The Galveston Hurricane The city of Galveston sits on Galveston Island which is two miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The island is only about 50 miles from Houston, and it is a part of what are called the barrier islands. The islands sit between the mainland of Texas and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. As such, they often bear the brunt of any storm that arises in the Gulf.  Galveston has a natural harbor and in the early days of Texas was regarded as the best Gulf port site between New Orleans and Veracruz. Karankawa Indians lived on...