T E X A S

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Mining

The mineral resources of Texas yield an annual value of about 45 billion dollars--more than that of any other state. Most of the income is derived from petroleum, in which Texas leads the nation. The East Texas field is one of the most productive in the world. Top producing counties in Texas are Pecos, Yoakum, Gaines, Ector, and Gregg. Gregg was the first county to produce more than 2 billion barrels of petroleum ever since records have been kept.

The second and third most valuable minerals are natural gas and coal. Pipelines carry natural gas, as well as petroleum, from Texas to all sections of the country. Texas is one of the nation ' s chief sources of helium, with much of the production centered at Amarillo, Exell, and Dumas.

Cement is fourth in importance. Texas ranks among the leading cement-producing states. The Gulf Coastal Plain is one of the nation 's richest sources of sulfur. Magnesium is processed from seawater at Freeport's electrolytic plant. Among other minerals produced in the state are stone, sand and gravel, lime, salt, and gypsum.

Transportation

Because of its huge size, Texas has had to develop a vast network of transportation routes by road, rail, water, and air. The Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation, established in 1917, maintains about 71,000 miles (114,260 kilometers) of state roads.

In addition to the state roads and dozens of federal routes, a number of highways in the Interstate system cross Texas. Interstates 10, 20, and 40 are major east-west routes. Crossing parts of Texas from north to south are Interstates 35, 45, and 27. Interstate 30 runs northeastward from Dallas.

The first railroad in Texas was a 20-mile (32-kilometer) line in the Houston area that was completed in 1853. Transcontinental service became a reality in 1881, when the Southern Pacific linked the state with California. Today Texas is served by a statewide network of railroads and by a number of major airlines. The Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport is the nation's largest in terms of land area and one of the busiest.

Thirteen deepwater ports handle shipments of petroleum products, cotton, and wheat. Routes of travel are the Intracoastal Waterway (extending eastward from Brownsville) and the Gulf of Mexico. The Houston Ship Channel, which opened in 1915, has helped make that city one of the great United States ports. The other major ports are Port Arthur, Beaumont, Texas City, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, and Galveston.

Recreation

In an average year Texas is visited by more than 40 million tourists. One of the chief attractions is the rugged land of mountains and canyons in the Trans-Pecos. This region includes Big Bend National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Palo Duro Canyon cuts a 1,000-foot- (300-meter-) deep slash through the high plains of the Texas Panhandle. The Gulf coast has many fine beaches and resorts. Near Kingsville in south Texas is King Ranch, one of the largest in the world. East Texas boasts more than 11 million acres (4.5 million hectares) of woodlands, including four national forests.

San Antonio is famous for the Alamo and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Dallas hosts the state fair each October and the Cotton Bowl football game on New Year's Day. In Arlington are Six Flags Over Texas, an amusement park styled after the American West, and the home stadium of the Texas Rangers professional baseball team. In professional football, the Dallas Cowboys play in Texas Stadium, in Irving, and the Houston Oilers play in the famous Astrodome, also home of baseball's Houston Astros. There are three Texas basketball teams: the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets, and the San Antonio Spurs.

Education

The first schools in the Texas region were informal classes for Native Americans held at the missions of Spanish priests. There were only a few private schools in the area at the time of the Texas declaration of independence in 1836. One of the republic's charges against Mexico was that it had "failed to establish any public system of education."

In 1839 the Republic of Texas began setting aside public land for education. An act establishing a state school system was passed in 1854. A permanent school fund was established with a grant of 2 million dollars, and provision was made for setting up school districts. In 1949 the Gilmer-Aikin laws reorganized the public school system to equalize educational opportunities. Common school districts were consolidated from more than 3,000 to fewer than 1,000.

The largest of the state schools is the University of Texas, located in Austin, with branches at Arlington, Dallas, El Paso, Odessa, San Antonio, and Tyler; health science centers at Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio; cancer centers at Houston and Bastrop County; a health center at Tyler; and a medical branch at Galveston. The divisions of the Texas A&M University System are located at College Station, Prairie View, Stephenville, and Galveston.

Some of the other state-supported institutions are Lamar University, at Beaumont; Midwestern State University, at Wichita Falls; Pan American University, at Edinburg; Texas Southern University, at Houston; the University of Houston, also at Houston, with branches at Houston (Clear Lake City, Downtown College branches) and Victoria; Texas Tech University, at Lubbock; and Texas Woman's University, at Denton. Other large institutions include Southern Methodist University, at Dallas; Texas Christian University, at Fort Worth; Baylor University, at Waco; St. Mary's University of San Antonio, at San Antonio; Abilene Christian University, at Abilene; Trinity University, at San Antonio; Rice University, at Houston; and Texas Wesleyan College, at Fort Worth.

Government and Politics

Under Mexican rule Texas was governed first from Saltillo and then from Monclova (both in Mexico). In 1835-36 one or more governmental functions were carried on at San Felipe de Austin, Washington on the Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco, and Columbia. Houston served as the capital in 1837-39; Austin, in 1839-42; and Washington on the Brazos, in 1842-45. Austin has remained the state capital since 1845. Texas is governed under its fifth constitution, which was adopted in 1876.

The chief executive officer of the state is the governor, who is elected every four years. The legislative branch consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Heading the state judiciary is the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals.

The Democratic party dominated Texas politics from the beginning of statehood--with only occasional exceptions--until the 1970s. Sam Houston was elected governor as an independent in 1859, and Republicans were elected in 1870 and 1979. Likewise, in presidential elections Texas voted Democratic in every election after the American Civil War until 1928 and again until the 1950s. In recent years the Republican party has been gaining strength. A Dallas oil-drilling contractor, William Clements, was elected governor in 1978 and reelected in 1986--the first Republican to head the state since Reconstruction.

John N. Garner of Uvalde was the nation's first vice-president from Texas (1933-41). Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served from 1953 to 1961, was the first Texas-born president. Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson of Johnson City became the second president from Texas on Nov. 22, 1963, after the assassination of John F. Kennedy while riding in a Dallas motorcade. The governor of Texas, John B. Connally, who was riding in the same car as President Kennedy, was wounded. Johnson took the oath of office as president immediately after Kennedy' s death; he was elected president in 1964. George Bush was a resident of Texas when he was elected vice-president in 1980 and 1984 and when he was elected president in 1988.

Sam Rayburn of Bonham holds the record for length of service as speaker of the United States House of Representatives--17 years, beginning in 1940. One of the first African American women to serve in Congress, and the first from the Deep South, was Barbara Jordan of Houston, first elected in 1972.