Thanks to the plethora of files in Wikimedia Commons and images preserved in the Library of Congress, there's quite an archive of images documenting the history of the Lone Star State. We've compiled some of the most amazing historic Texas photos that we could find, depicting scenes from old drugstores to telephone operators and everything in between. Take a look!
1. San Antonio, 1860s. People in covered wagons arrive at Alamo Plaza.
2. Huntsville, 1870s. Men, wagons, and livestock are on a downtown street. Business pictured include T & S Gibbs, Eastman Pace & Parish, and James R. Cox.
3. Huntsville, ca. 1873-1875. Inmates line up in the yard of the Texas State Penitentiary.
4. Huntsville, 1870s. The corner of Twelfth St. and University Ave. The building pictured houses Poe and Wright's Photograph Gallery upstairs and the city's first bankers, Smith and Wynne, downstairs.
5. El Paso, ca. 1882-1895. A Mexican Carreta travels down a street.
6. El Paso, ca. 1885. Army men line up outside Fort Bliss.
7. Beaumont, 1911. A boat is docked at Riverfront Park.
8. Richardson, ca. 1900. A young woman works as a Telephone Exchange operator.
9. Richardson, ca. 1900. Employees work at a drugstore, anxiously awaiting the arrival of customers.
10. Galveston, ca. 1918-1928. Tourists and residents line the seawall, enjoying the sunny day.
11. Panhandle, 1920s. A dust storm rolls in on a lonely highway. One car is pictured on the road.
12. Houston, 1943. An old house is pictured with an apple stand in the front yard and a horse-and-buggy in the street.
13. San Augustine, 1943. Three schoolchildren stand around a globe. A WWII propaganda poster is pictured in the background.
What did you think of these old Texas photos? Does anything look familiar?
For more historic Texas photos, check out these pictures taken during the Great Depression. Looking at these old photos and considering our state's history really makes you think about your Texas roots, doesn't it?
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