Texas Homeland Security and Emergency Services Resources

Beautiful murals from as far back as 10,000 B.C. can be found on cave walls in West Texas depicting religious ceremonies and human scenes. And, burial and temple mounds are found in East Texas dating back to between 500 A.D. and 1500 A.D. that were left by Indians during the Late Prehistoric Period.

Spanish explorer Pineda traveled the Texas coastline in 1519; it marked the beginning of Spanish rule. Several other explorers visited the region, but it wasn't until 1682 that two Spanish missions near El Paso was established and Mexican farmers started settling nearby. In 1718, Mission San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo, was established which led to the founding of San Antonio.

With permission from the Mexican government Stephen F. Austin established the first Anglo-American colony of 300 families in southeast Texas in 1821, now known as the "Old Three Hundred". Texas had five temporary capitals before Austin was chosen in 1839 and on December 29, 1845, it became the 28th state.

The first oil gusher in the U.S. occurred near Beaumont in 1901. Over 800,000 barrels of oil has sprayed into the air before the gusher could be controlled. Texas still remains the nation’s largest producer of oil. It is also the largest producer of sheep, cattle and cotton.

Along with enormous resources of oil, the state produces natural gas, clay, salt, sulfur and several other valuable natural resources. The state has many major manufacturing industries such as transportation equipment, chemicals and food processing. And, tourism generates over $44 billion annually.