Along The Texas Forts Trail
by B.W. Aston and Donathan Taylor
University of North Texas Press, 1997
ISBN 1-57441-035-0
A valuable historical resource as well as a travel guide to the forts and surrounding towns.
The task of providing military defense for the Texas Frontier was never an easy one because the territory was claimed by some of the greatest guerrilla fighters of all times – the Comanches, Kiowas, Apaches, and Lipans. Following the Mexican War the federal government established a line of forts, which were abandoned during the Civil War and restored following the war. Guardians of a raw young land and focal points of high adventure, the old forts were indispensable in their day of service and it is fitting that they be preserved. In and around the forts and along the route of the Texas Forts Trail, history is abundant and enduring.
An Illustrated History of Texas Forts
by Rod Timanus
2001 - Republic of Texas Press, Plano, Texas
ISBN 1-55622-795-7
The word "fort" is defined as "a strong or fortified place." The inhabitants of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Texas often depended on such places of protection from their enemies for survival. This guide presents over one hundred Texas forts and camps in the order that they came into being, and illustrates their history with period drawings, plans and maps.
The Texas Post Office Murals – Art for the People
By Philip Parisi
2004 – Texas A&M University Press, College Station
ISBN 1-58544-231-3
In post offices and federalbuildings scattered around the state of Texas you may be greeted by a surprising sight: magnificent mural art on the lobby walls.
In the midst of the Great Depression, a program was born that would not only give work to artists but also bring beauty and optimism to a people worn down by hardship and discouragement. The New Deal program commissioned competing artists to create post office murals – the people’s art – to celebrate the lives, history, hopes and dreams of ordinary Americans.
In Texas alone, artists produced 106 artworks (several now lost) for sixty-nine post offices and federal buildings around the state. Created by some of the most promising (and now famous) artists of the day, these murals sparkeled with scenes of Texas history, folklore,heroes, common people,wildlife and landscapes.
- Anson – Post Office, 1002 Eleventh Street - "Cowboy Dance" by Jenne Magafan, 1941
- Brady – Post Office, 2295 Blackburn Street - "Texas Immigrants" by Gordon K. Grant, 1939
- Eastland – Post Office, 411 West Main Street - "Indian Buffalo Hunt" by Suzanne Scheuer, 1938
- Graham – Former Post Office now the Old Post Office Museum & Art Center, 510 Third Street - "Oil Fields of Graham" by Alexandre Hogue, 1939
- Ranger- Post Office, 202 North Austin Street - "The Crossroads Town" by Emil Bisttram, 1939