Name: Prescott Valley
Brand: Jean Cross
SKU: 9780738570709
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Prescott Valley

9780738570709

$24.99

When gold was discovered along Lynx Creek in 1863, the area that would later become Prescott Valley began to attract attention from the outside world. Miners came and so did the military, which established Fort Whipple in nearby Prescott but made use of Glassford Hill as part of a communication system. By the early 1900s, homesteaders, merchants, freighters, and ranchers had also arrived. As the 20th century progressed, what had been a peaceful stretch of grazing land known as Lonesome Valley gave way to a budding town finally incorporated in 1978 with 1,520 citizens. On the land where a volcano erupted long ago, mammoths once roamed, prehistoric people hunted, miners sought their fortunes, and ranchers herded cattle, Prescott Valley is today a thriving--and rapidly growing--town of more than 35,000 residents that has retained much of its small-town character and charm.

Haskell County

9780738578873

$24.99

Though the story of the land runs far back in time, Haskell County was first platted on the map of Texas on February 1, 1858. Its name honors Texas revolutionary soldier Charles Ready Haskell, who was martyred at Goliad. Cradled by two forks of the Brazos River, the county's open prairies were a favorite American Indian hunting ground. Stories of Spanish treasure buried along the river still linger. Gold seekers following Capt. Randolph Marcy's 1849 expeditionary trail camped on what came to be called California Creek, and Col. Ranald Mackenzie's trail through southern Haskell County was a key supply route for cavalry engaged in the Red River War. By the late 1870s, cattle replaced herds of buffalo, and ranching became the cornerstone of the economy. As news of this promising country traveled east, settlers arrived and established farms. In the words of historian R. E. Sherrill, "There was something about this country fresh from the hand of the Creator . . . a kind of drawing power that was irresistible." Today, as a modern agricultural region, Haskell County continues to capture the heart of its people.

Seabrook

9780738579405

$24.99

Seabrook enjoys a prime location on Galveston Bay at the outflow of Clear Creek. Formerly a Spanish land grant known as Morris Cove, the town began to assume its modern shape in 1895 when Seabrook Sydnor purchased part of the Morris league and platted the town site. Brothers Albert and Ernest Fay founded the Seabrook Shipyard in 1938, which went on to build submarine chasers and rescue boats during World War II. The year 1961 was a landmark moment for Seabrook: Hurricane Carla hit on September 11, and a week later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that its Manned Spaceflight Center would be built in nearby Clear Lake, launching a period of accelerated growth. Fearing annexation by Houston or La Porte, Seabrook leaders took steps toward incorporation that same year. Today Seabrook is listed on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail and is part of the third-largest boating community in the United States.

Taylor

9780738585024

$24.99

El Camino Real de los Tejas, a National Historic Trail, connected the Rio Grande to the Red River Valley through the middle of Taylor on Highway 95. Moses Austin used this trail to establish a colony in Spanish Texas, and he was followed by Kit Carson, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Sam Houston, Santa Anna, and many more. The Spanish and the French were the groups who marked the trail. Today, Taylor is restoring historical sites and preserving local history by encouraging quality growth as it protects the unique features of the community that make it an outstanding place to live, work, shop, and play. Over the years, Taylor has continued to prosper and grow, making the town truly blessed with people that made its history and await many future opportunities.

Legendary Locals of the Big Bend and Davis Mountains

9781467100540

$24.99

"Home of the Last Frontier" is how the local radio station aptly describes the Big Bend and Davis Mountains region of West Texas, the sparsely populated area of desert and mountain close to the Mexican border. After 1848, the first settlers started to move in. They came to make a living, and a few made a fortune. Mysterious cattle baron Milton Faver ran 10,000 cattle in the 1870s. Others came for their health, like J.O. Langford, his wife, and young daughters who, seeking a dry climate, came to homestead on the Rio Grande. Today's newcomers are equally pioneering in their own way. Donald Judd was the catalyst that changed Marfa from a moribund cow town to an internationally recognized art center. Edie Elfring, an immigrant from a small island in the Baltic Sea, has picked up trash and tended Alpine's public gardens--unasked and unpaid--for years. They were drawn to what their predecessors found: a boundless landscape peopled by a few hardy, independent souls.

Legendary Locals of the Big Bend and Davis Mountains

Winnsboro

9780738599670

$24.99

From its meager beginnings as "The Crossroads," Winnsboro has become a bustling small town situated in the heart of the beautiful Piney Woods of East Texas. Settled in 1854, when the railroad came in 1876, Winnsboro became a major shipping center for goods going west to the frontier. At one time, the area was one of the top producers of fruit for Bama Pies; one local grower referred to his business as "My Slice of the Pie." From 1932 to 1934, Winnsboro was a destination stop for Bonnie and Clyde when they traveled from central Texas to Louisiana. Because of their friendship with a local resident, the couple promised never to rob anyone in Winnsboro. Home to the Bowery, the town had as many as eight saloons from 1893 to 1910, and people still talk about the shoot-out at Massel's Saloon. With a thriving community arts center as well as galleries and venues for live theater and music, Winnsboro has been named a State of Texas Cultural Arts District.

The Elks Opera House

9780738585420

$24.99

For over 100 years, the Elks Opera House has been a landmark of the cultural scene in Prescott, Arizona, and the western United States. In 1904, the people of Prescott raised $15,000 toward a performance hall to be included in the Elks Building. The original structure featured opera boxes that were later removed to adapt to the demands of motion pictures, and the entire proscenium arch was covered with wood paneling. In 2010, the Elks Opera House Foundation completed major renovations to restore the original 1905 grandeur of the theater and the 1928 marquee, which was paid for by grants from local charitable foundations, Arizona historic preservation funds, and generous participation by businesses and individuals. The Elks Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Baylor County

9780738579665

$24.99

Baylor County was separated from Fanin County in February 1858 out of the Young Territory. Its name honors Henry W. Baylor, an Indian fighter and surgeon in a regiment of Texas Rangers during the Mexican War. The county was not organized, however, until 1879. The depletion of the buffalo herds in the mid-1870s and the defeat of the Comanche in 1874 by the US Army opened the county for settlement. It became a major supply area for the Western Trail, and the population and economy boomed. The legacy of the Western Trail was historic ranches and a cattle industry that became the cornerstone of the county's economic system. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the ranchers were joined by farmers and their families, and together they set the stage for a modern agricultural economy. Over 130 years after the county was founded, farming and ranching still form the commercial base. Today, the Western heritage in Baylor County lingers, reflecting the past and shaping the future.

Texas Sesquicentennial Wagon Train

9780738584881

$24.99

In 1986, the Texas Sesquicentennial Wagon Train joined the 150th birthday celebration that commemorated the state's independence from Mexico. The wagon train followed a jagged 3,000-mile circle around the state to bring it within approximately 100 miles of every town or city in Texas. The six-month schedule began January 2, 1986, in Sulphur Springs and was followed so closely that each town or city knew the exact day the wagon train would arrive and could make plans for welcoming it with local events. Some folks traveled the entire route; others joined for a day or a week. A total of 10,000 riders from 27 states traveled at least a part of the way during the six months. While people and wagons came and went, a core group of participants and support staff completed the entire trip, arriving at the Fort Worth Stockyards on July 3, 1986, for a final celebration.

Early Santa Fe

9781467125901

$24.99

The history of Santa Fe is encapsulated in imagery. Remnants of unearthed Native American artifacts from eons ago shed light on its first inhabitants. By the 17th century, Spanish settlers were capturing everyday life with brushstrokes on canvas. In the 1850s, the epic of this ancient land was brought to life through the camera's lens. These early images, which tell the story of the convergence of humanity, are as varied as the people themselves. They arrived at different times on the four major arteries that connect in the heart of the city: the Camino Real (from Mexico City), the Santa Fe Trail (from Independence, Missouri), the Old Spanish Trail (from Los Angeles), and the Mother Road, Route 66, which began in Chicago.

Texas Far and Wide

9781625859181

$21.99

The sheer volume of remarkable Texan exploits creates a dizzying tally for the proudest of its citizens. So it happens that inexplicable marvels slip past an entire state of storytellers and world-famous legends live as anonymous neighbors. Ever hear the story about the escaped ape in the Big Thicket? Or the "Interplanetary Capital of the Universe" that sat on the Gulf Coast? Does the cowboy hat that warmed U.S.-China relations ring a bell? From the Staked Plain Quakers to the Kaiser Burnout, E.R. Bills delves into some of the most fascinating chapters of overlooked Texas lore.

Old Sylvan Beach and the Pavilions

9781467132077

$24.99

Sylvan Beach is synonymous with bathing beauties, moonlit pavilions, the jitterbug, the Charleston, and a train called the Moonlight Express, as well as picnics, carnivals, music, romance, love, and legend. The unlikely truth is that familiarity and age can make our most beautiful treasures banal if we do not pause to remember and observe and venerate the events and moments when we first saw, or most appreciated, a place like Sylvan Beach. For this reason, we ask you to come back with us to Sylvan Beach, where, for over 100 years, Houston and much of Texas has come to play, dance, pray, fall in love, relax, or simply swim in the bay. Today, the park and its pavilion are enjoying renewed popularity.

Ada

9780738584362

$24.99

Ada, named after the eldest daughter of Jeff Reed, a founder of the town, is located in the east central part of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Pontotoc County and was called the worst town for criminal activity in the Indian Territory for the lack of justice. The west end block of Main Street was called the "Bucket of Blood" and harbored many murderers and outlaws until, in 1909, the hanging of four men in a stable advised all who would hide in Ada to leave or suffer the same fate. The murder of former U.S. marshal Gus Bobbitt was the catalyst for this desperate action. The hanging is one of the most talked about tales of the early West. Growing from the oil, cotton, and cement industries, Ada is known as the city of clear spring water. The Chickasaw Nation has its headquarters in Ada and has been a fount of industry and beauty in the town.

Albuquerque Beer

9781625858498

$21.99

Albuquerque's commercial brewing scene dates back to 1888, when the Southwestern Brewery & Ice Company was launched. It later churned out thirty thousand barrels of beer per year and distributed throughout the region. Nearly thirty years later, Prohibition halted brewing save for a brief comeback in the late 1930s. In 1993, the modern era emerged with a handful of breweries opening across the city. However, Marble Brewery's 2008 opening revived Albuquerque's dormant craft beer scene. Since its opening, the city has welcomed dozens of breweries, brewpubs and taprooms. Writer Chris Jackson recounts the hoppy history of brewing in the Duke City.

Street Railways of El Paso

9780738571140

$24.99

Spanish explorers traveling north from Mexico in 1581 crossed the Rio Grande at present-day El Paso and called the area El Paso Del Norte, or "the pass of the north." Two cities were linked together: Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. In 1881, the railroad brought even more people to El Paso. What had been a sleepy adobe town became a vibrant, bustling city. Public transportation was established with a mule-car system in 1882 and ran for 20 years. The first electric cars were introduced in 1902 and were also very successful, serving all parts of the city and establishing neighborhoods. At the zenith of the system, there were 63 miles of track, 17 routes, and over 100 streetcars. In those days, everyone used the electric cars.

Golden Hurricane Basketball at The University of Tulsa

9780738533469

$24.99

When Kendall College fielded its first basketball team in 1907, no one could predict what great sports moments were in store for the city of Tulsa. All-American caliber athletes such as Bob Patterson, Jim King, Bobby "Bingo" Smith and Willie Biles laid the foundation under the direction of groundbreaking coaches like Clarence Iba, Joe Swank and Ken Hayes. The past 25 years have arguably seen some of the best court action in The University of Tulsa's history. Paul Pressey, Steve Harris, Tracy Moore, Shea Seals, Michael Ruffin and Kevin Johnson are just a few of the marquis players that have donned the Blue and Gold. They have been led into battle by a "who's who" of big time coaches including Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith and Bill Self.

Golden Hurricane Basketball at The University of Tulsa

El Paso's Manhattan Heights

9780738584805

$24.99

Manhattan Heights Historic District can trace its beginnings to June 9, 1899, when paperwork was filed by El Paso and New York investors to begin the process of opening the Federal Copper Company. By 1912, however, the smelter was closed and demolished. Shortly thereafter, four of the five parcels of land originally owned by the smelter were purchased to build what many considered to be El Paso's first suburban neighborhood. The first house was built in 1914, with many more to follow, representing Spanish, Georgian, and Moderne architectural styling of the times. With the construction of Manhattan Heights School and Veterans Memorial Park, the small district covering 1,910 acres attracted many of El Paso's prominent citizens.

Gila Bend

9780738584751

$24.99

Named for its location on the bend of the Gila River, Gila Bend is an unusual community. It lies along a travel corridor used for centuries by American Indians, Catholic missionaries, American and French trappers, Spanish and Mexican settlers, military expeditions, and forty-niners. Beginning in the 1870s as a stage station, the town soon evolved into an important railroad changeover point in the 1880s. When the national highway system developed in the 1920s, the town was perfectly situated to provide automobile services. But when the technology in these two travel industries changed, Gila Bend suffered an economic downturn, restricting its population to around 2,000 people, while the nearby Phoenix metropolitan area grew by millions.In the 21st century, Gila Bend is on the cusp of a new era, as it is now the home to one of the world's largest solar power projects.

Around Yavapai County

9780738579627

$24.99

On February 23, 1863, Pres. Abraham Lincoln signed the bill creating the Territory of Arizona. The first Arizona Territorial Legislature established the capital at Prescott and met in September 1864. They divided the territory into four counties: Mohave, Pima, Yavapai, and Yuma. Yavapai County, the "mother county," consisted of approximately 65,000 square miles and was believed to be the largest county in the United States. By the time Arizona attained statehood on February 14, 1912, there were 14 counties, and Yavapai County had been reduced in size to 8,125 square miles. Yavapai County has a rich history in mining, ranching, farming, military, and business. Today, Yavapai County is a thriving, growing county with nine incorporated cities and towns and numerous unincorporated communities, such as Ash Fork, Black Canyon City, Cornville, Mayer, and Skull Valley. Historic sites include Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, the town of Jerome, Fort Verde, Montezuma's Castle and Well, and Tuzigoot.

Medina Lake

9780738585475

$24.99

Surrounded by the beautiful Texas Hill Country, Medina Lake has a rich history of fortunes rising and falling as rapidly and unpredictably as the level of the lake. Completed in 1912, Medina Dam was, at the time, the largest concrete dam in Texas. The lake was initially constructed to irrigate farmlands, but its rising waters forever altered a way of life for the ranchers and farmers who lived on the land above the dam. When ranchers and farmers were faced with condemnation of their lands, the first cries of "whiskey's for drinking and water's for fighting" were heard. As a testament to the resiliency of these original families, they turned their losses into a new way of life catering to the tourists, hunters, and fishermen who flocked to the newly formed lake. As continual droughts plague the semiarid desert that surrounds the lake, a never-ending tug-of-war over water resources continues. Meanwhile, the lake's pristine blue-green waters continue to attract boaters, swimmers, fishermen, revelers, and those who have made their homes on the limestone bluffs that encircle Medina Lake.

Roswell

9780738558547

$24.99

Best known as the site of an alleged flying saucer crash in 1947 and the "Roswell Incident," Roswell began as a humble trading post in the late 1860s along the Goodnight-Loving Cattle Trail and eventually grew into a metropolis of southeastern New Mexico. Once a cow town and home to famous Western figures such as John Chisum, Pat Garrett, and Capt. Joseph C. Lea, Roswell is also the birthplace of the New Mexico Military Institute, the testing grounds for Robert H. Goddard's rockets in the 1930s, and the site of the Roswell Army Airfield and a German POW camp in the 1940s. Today Roswell is a popular tourist destination and home to more than 50,000 residents.

Hearne

9780738585406

$24.99

H earne earned the title "the Crossroads of Texas" by virtue of two rail lines and two highways crisscrossing within its boundaries. A small town with an inordinate amount of heavy traffic, Hearne has always been a place where a lot of moving and shaking occurs. Indeed, "moving and shaking" characterized Hearne from its beginnings when namesake Christopher Columbus Hearne convinced the Houston & Texas Central Railroad to make a tiny, unincorporated village its terminus. Some years after, a visitor referred to Hearne as "19 saloons surrounding an artesian well." Ninety-year resident Bill Palmos described Hearne as a rough town of good-hearted people with a matching reputation. He added that when people traveled by rail, "Houston, Hempstead, and Hell" was the conductor's call. Even after saloons gave way to churches, schools, and service clubs, Hearne's reputation for roughness stuck.

Temple in Vintage Postcards

9780738529394

$24.99

Founded in 1881 by the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company, Temple, Texas became a railroad town overnight. The company purchased 181 acres and then auctioned off parcels to prospective buyers interested in providing services for railroad equipment and passengers. Though early on Temple had several unfortunate nicknames--"Mudville," "Tanglefoot," and "Ratsville"--it soon shed its image as a muddy, rat-infested land, became a major junction for four railway lines, and offered a land of opportunity for commerce. The railway would bring flattering new nicknames like "Progressive Temple" and "Prairie Queen" as well as a chance to be part of the American Dream.

Vail and Colossal Cave Mountain Park

9780738548821

$24.99

Just 22 miles southeast of Tucson in the Sonoran Desert sits the town of Vail, colloquially known as "The Town between the Tracks," which refers to the two train tracks running through its tiny business center. The area is named for Walter L. Vail, who, with his partners, formed the sprawling Empire Ranch in 1876. Vail is also the home of Colossal Cave, a "dry cave" where visitors can view stunning formations and hear stories of Native Americans, bandits, and moviemakers. The cave served as the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the mid-1930s, when workers installed trails and lighting in the cave, constructed administration buildings, and built roads and picnic spots in the surrounding area. Colossal Cave is now united with the La Posta Quemada Ranch, a working cattle ranch since the 1870s, to form the 2,400-acre Colossal Cave Mountain Park.

Stephen F. Austin State University Jacks

9780738571805

$24.99

Stephen F. Austin State University opened its doors in 1923, and its administrators instituted intercollegiate athletics almost immediately. Over the next eight decades, the Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks--team names derived from the area's predominant forest products industries--participated successfully in the Lone Star, Gulf Star, and Southland Conferences. Such outstanding Lumberjacks as James Silas, Mark Moseley, and Jeremiah Trotter have even gone on to successful careers in the NBA and NFL. This book offers readers a retrospective look at the success of SFA's athletic programs, as well as the players, coaches, and fans that led them to victory.

Stephen F. Austin State University Jacks

Buckhorn Mineral Baths & Wildlife Museum

9781467126960

$24.99

From fire to empire, the story of the Buckhorn baths is a rags-to-riches tale. After a disastrous 1935 Christmas Eve fire destroyed their small country gas station/taxidermy business, a new, unimagined door opened for Ted and Alice Sliger. In 1936, the Sligers began turning tragedy into triumph, transforming a dusty patch of scrub-covered desert eight miles east of Mesa into a legendary roadside oasis. Their chance discovery of mineral-laden hot springs led to the valley's first therapeutic spa. With the New York Giants' initial attraction to Buckhorn's mineral baths, a decades-long association with Major League Baseball helped pave the way to Cactus League baseball. By the time it closed in 1999, the Sligers had built the Buckhorn into an iconic, quintessential roadside business along the route of four federal highways. It was renowned for its celebrity guests, eclectic architecture, colorful neon, mineral spa, retreat for baseball players, wildlife museum, and wide-ranging collection of memorabilia.

Buckhorn Mineral Baths & Wildlife Museum

San Antonio's Historic Market Square -- Spanish Language Edition - La Histórica Plaza del Mercado en San Antonio

9781467127363

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

San Antonio fue fundada en 1718, para 1730 el virrey de Nueva EspaÃ±a emitiÃ³ Ã³rdenes de trazar mapas de plazas y parques para la llegada de los isleÃ±os de las Canarias en 1731. Las plazas con sus mercados se convirtieron en centros de negocios y entretenimiento. La primera fue Plaza de las Armas y cuando los isleÃ±os llegaron, marcaron Plaza de las Islas (Plaza Principal). Plaza del Ã lamo era el centro de comercio antes de la guerra civil; al ir creciendo San Antonio los mercados se tuvieron que relocalizar. La construcciÃ³n del Mercado Municipal empezÃ³ en 1899. Ã?ste fue construido en Plaza Paschal y demolido en los 1930s pero el anexo del Mercado Municipal, construido en los 1920s, sobreviviÃ³. Los anexos se convirtieron en El Mercado y Centro de Artes. En los 1970s, un edificio permanente para el mercado de agricultores fue construido en la Plaza de Zacate. Hoy Ã©stos, con los edificios histÃ³ricos en el Ã¡rea, son conocidos como El Mercado.

San Antonio's Historic Market Square -- Spanish Language Edition - La Histórica Plaza del Mercado en San Antonio

Around Columbus

9780738585444

$24.99

Welcome to Columbus! The county seat of Colorado County, Columbus is the oldest surveyed and platted Anglo American town in Texas. It was first platted in 1823 by Stephen F. Austin and Baron DeBastrop as a possible site for the Texas capital. It was platted again in 1837 by W.B. DeWees and J.W.E. Wallace. Many of Austin's "Old 300" settled in Columbus and the surrounding area, including Alleyton and Glidden, which were founded as railroad towns. The area played an important role in the history of Texas, including Santa Anna's pursuit of Sam Houston's Texas army that resulted in the burning of Columbus during the "Runaway Scrape." Columbus suffered other setbacks, such as the long-running Stafford-Townsend feud and lawlessness resulting in disincorporation in the early 1900s, and enjoyed the good fortune of its reincorporation in the 1920s. However, today, it is a town of people who greatly value their heritage and seek to preserve it.

Dumas

9780738570617

$24.99

In 1891, Louis P. Dumas heard about cheap land in the Texas Panhandle. He left his successful enterprises in Sherman and chose a section of grassland in Moore County to "build a town." He had not bargained for the harsh elements that came with the territory, though. Within five years he abandoned his town, as did most of the other residents. Dumas was a ghost town three times in its first 10 years, but gradually, a quiet village developed. Oil and gas discovered in the 1920s brought about growth and continues to support the economy. Phil Baxter, who wrote the song "Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas," spoke of the friendliness and spirit of the people he met there in 1927. Today those qualities endure in the people of Dumas.

Falcon Field

9780738571379

$24.99

Mesa's Falcon Field began during World War II when a small group of Hollywood celebrities financed pilot training facilities (Southwest Airways) in the United States for American Allied forces. Thousands of British Royal Air Force pilots, joined by pilots from Russia, China, and 24 other nations at neighboring airfields, earned their wings in the Arizona desert. In 1945, the City of Mesa purchased the facility for $1, and then for the next 20 years leased it to Rocket Power, Inc., which manufactured a solid fuel rocket propellant. Today Falcon Field is a bustling municipal airport and a growing business center, with companies like Boeing, Nammo Talley, and MD Helicopters. The airpark also features the Commemorative Air Force Museum, home of one of the last flying B-17 bombers.

Greeks in Houston

9781467130295

$24.99

This history of the Greeks in Houston is really the story of individuals who worked diligently to forge new lives for themselves even as they maintained their Greek identity and their Orthodox faith. The efforts of many of the founders are immortalized in the buildings that constitute the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral complex. Their names remind us of their hard work and commitment to establishing their koinonia (communion) in Houston. There are many other names that have gone unremarked over the decades but to whom we owe just as much for their tenacity and dedication. And there are the new generations who inherited this legacy and keep it vibrant through the stewardship of their faith and culture.

Yorktown and Nordheim

9780738579764

$24.99

Founded 7 miles apart in south central Texas, Yorktown and Nordheim were settled by German immigrants. These immigrants found the rolling hills and grassland full of oak trees suitable for settlement, and the rich soil helped to make farming a way of life. Yorktown was settled near the Coleto Creek as a rest stop along the Indianola Trail for teamsters delivering freight to New Braunfels. Nordheim was settled because it was a high point and beacon for settlers, and it continued to grow when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was built. As the towns grew, so did the businesses and churches. The settlers shared a love of music, and bands came together to perform at various functions. On Saturdays the farmers, their families, and hired help would come to buy supplies, visit friends, and enjoy a day away from work. Today the spirit of community is still strong, as citizens put together annual celebrations and activities that promote tourism and help to maintain local pride.

Andrews

9780738579801

$24.99

Andrews County was named for Richard Andrews, the first casualty in Texas's fight for independence from Mexico in 1835 at the battle of Concepción. Before the creation of the county in 1876 by the Texas legislature, the area had been largely ignored by state officials and avoided by ranchers and settlers because of its remoteness, scarcity of water, and attacks by local Native Americans. That all changed in 1875 after an expedition by U.S. cavalry troops led by Col. William R. Shafter opened the region up to settlers. The town of Andrews became the county seat in 1910 after a close election race with nearby Shafter Lake. Ranching was the first economic driver in the county, but the discovery of oil in 1929 changed everything. The oil boom created jobs, brought in revenue, and attracted new residents. Today Andrews is experiencing growth thanks to renewed demand for oil, nuclear-related industries, first-class sporting venues, and other amenities that have rejuvenated the community.

White Rock Lake

9780738578835

$24.99

In 1909, Dallas city leaders approved the damming of White Rock Creek to create a new water source for the increasing needs of a growing city. As a result, so much of the life and history of Dallas has echoed through the life and history of White Rock Lake. In the early decades, the lake was home to many private summer homes and boat houses, as well as hunting and fishing clubs. Soon thereafter, a bathing beach, sailing clubs, public boathouses, and picnic facilities were added. The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration transformed the lake with more recreational and leisure amenities. World War II brought increased military uses that included a POW camp for German officers. Those early city leaders could hardly know that the lake they were creating 10 miles outside of Dallas would become an urban oasis enjoyed by over two million visitors a year.

Azle

9780738595924

$24.99

Early Azle settlers began arriving in the mid-1850s and settled near Ash Creek. Azle had several names before settling down to one. An early name was Mooresville after the town's general store owner, Mr. Moore, who supplied the farmers of the community. Following several other name changes, citizens decided upon "Azle" in 1883 after Dr. James Azle Steward, who donated land for the townsite. The town remained small until the building of Eagle Mountain Lake in the 1930s spurred its growth. Further development occurred when World War II brought more people to the area. After nearly a century, the little community officially incorporated in 1957. Images of America: Azle tells the story of numerous pioneer families and their schools, churches, and early businesses. Today, Azle is a close-knit community with various social and civic organizations, as well as parades and jamborees.