Rick Stryker

Nacogdoches bills itself as the “oldest town in Texas,” having received its designation as a “pueblo” in 1779. It’s a vibrant and beautiful 21st-century city showing community pride with an active Texas Main Street Program since 1998. Its Spanish roots…

There is a huge struggle underway to create a space in the urban landscape of San Antonio to give the Alamo its due as the most famous and heroic battle site of the Texas-Mexican War. Although the battle was a…

Beginning in the 1840s, the proliferation of faith-based colleges and universities in Texas — and the seemingly random decisions to locate them in communities across the state — was actually part of a national trend. These institutions provided a cultural…

Much has happened since Beaumont was established on the Neches River in the nineteenth century. An economy that once focused on the intermodal connection of railroads and ocean-going ships transporting rice, lumber and cotton was transformed with the 1901 Spindletop…

Tyler and roses are permanently linked in the minds of Texans. According to The Handbook of Texas (TSHA), the first recorded sale of rose plants in Tyler was in 1879. By the mid-20th century — at its peak — between…

Precision dance teams are a thing in Texas. They enhance sporting events and represent schools in parades and performing arts halls. They make it look easy … but it’s not. These young ladies must perform at a high physical and…

She may notbe a native Texan, but Amy Simmons got here as fast as she could — and the founder of Amy’s Ice Creams has no plans of leaving. “We want to be a strong regional company,” Simmons says, “not…