Local History
Texas Political History Markers: Governors, Parties, and the Long Fight for the State
The capital bounced between towns, a governor got removed, and a radio salesman beat LBJ. Five Texas historical markers trace the state's political story.
Photo: Tarik Caramanico / Unsplash. Texas State Capitol, Austin.
Texas has more than 16,000 historical markers, and some of the liveliest ones are about politics. The capital bounced from town to town. The Legislature threw out a sitting governor. A flour salesman with a radio band beat Lyndon B. Johnson. RoadHistorical is a Texas historical preservation platform that puts those plaques on your map. This guide covers five markers where Texas government took shape, from a clapboard capitol in West Columbia to a pink granite statehouse in Austin.
Where the Republic First Met
Near Site of the First Capitol of the Republic of Texas
Around 1833, Leman Kelsey built a story-and-a-half clapboard building in Columbia. Three years later, it became one of two buildings that housed a brand-new national government. The first Congress of the Republic of Texas convened here.
Sam Houston took office as president in Columbia. Stephen F. Austin became secretary of state. It didn't last. The government moved to Houston in 1837. The 1900 storm destroyed the original building, and the replica you'll see went up in 1976 and 1977.
Columbia wasn't the only stopgap. Between 1836 and 1837, five towns served as temporary capitals, including Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, and Velasco. Columbia was the first to host an elected government.
142 N. 14th St., West Columbia, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
The Capitol That Out-Tops Washington
Texas State Capitol
Austin's first limestone statehouse went up in the 1850s and soon developed structural flaws. It burned on November 9, 1881. The state already had a plan. The Constitutional Convention of 1876 set aside 3,000,000 acres of public land to pay for a new building.
Detroit architect E. E. Myers won the design competition. Crews hoisted the Goddess of Liberty to the top of the dome in February 1888. That made the Texas Capitol more than 14 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol. State senator Temple Houston, Sam Houston's son, accepted the building that May.
Austin had to fight to stay the capital. In 1842, President Sam Houston tried to move the government archives out of town. Austin residents refused to give them up, and the standoff became known as the Archives War. Austin became the capital again in 1844.
1100 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
Granite for the State Capitol
The Capitol's pink granite came from Granite Mountain in Burnet County. Its owners donated the stone. The Austin and Northwestern Railroad reached the quarry in 1885. More than 4,000 flatcars rolled through what's now Cedar Park in 1886 and 1887, hauling blocks to Austin.
Some blocks tumbled off the tracks. The marker says three dozen were simply left in the creekbed. The stone was free, after all.
2310 Brushy Creek Road, Cedar Park, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
Two Governors for the Price of One
Governor James Edward Ferguson and Governor Miriam A. Ferguson
James Ferguson ran as "Farmer Jim" and won the governorship in 1914. His first term improved rural schools and the prison system. He started a second term in 1917. Within months, the Legislature impeached him, convicted him, and removed him from office.
In 1924, the Texas Supreme Court upheld a law barring him from state office. So his wife, Miriam, ran instead. The press called her "Ma." Her slogan was "Two Governors for the Price of One." She beat the Ku Klux Klan candidate and backed an anti-mask bill that broke Klan power.
Miriam came back for a second term in 1933, after defeating Governor Ross S. Sterling in the middle of the Depression. The Fergusons retired from politics after losing the 1940 Democratic primary.
Texas Capitol grounds, 11th St., Austin, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
Pappy O'Daniel and the Radio Campaign
Governor W. Lee O'Daniel
Wilbert Lee O'Daniel moved to Fort Worth in 1925 to sell flour. He became a radio personality and promoted a western band, the Light Crust Doughboys. In 1938, his listeners pushed him into the governor's race. He had no political experience.
He campaigned with another band, the Hillbilly Boys. He beat 12 Democratic opponents without a runoff. His inaugural picnic on January 17, 1939, set the tone for a colorful administration.
In 1941, O'Daniel won a special election to the U.S. Senate. One of the men he beat was future President Lyndon B. Johnson. After leaving the Senate in 1949, he settled in Dallas and opened an insurance company.
7405 W. Northwest Hwy., Dallas, TX. Find it in RoadHistorical before your visit.
How RoadHistorical Finds These Markers
Discovery Mode notifies you as you drive past a marker, so you won't miss the granite plaque on Brushy Creek Road. The AI Tour Guide answers the questions a plaque can't, like why the capital kept moving or how an impeached governor stayed in power through his wife.
Offline mode keeps every marker available when your signal drops between towns. Each stop you make is a small act of preservation. You're keeping these stories in circulation.
Start Discovering Texas History Today
RoadHistorical is free to download on iPhone and Android. Download it here and turn on Discovery Mode before your next drive. Android users can download RoadHistorical from Google Play.
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