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Texans love the idea of wide-open spaces and, before World War II, the majority of the state’s people did live and work on the land. Between 1940 and 1950, however, the balance shifted from rural to urban, and today 88 percent of Texans live in cities and embrace the amenities of urban culture. The rise of Texas cities is a fascinating story that has not been previously told. Yet it is essential for understanding both the state’s history and its contemporary character.

In The City in Texas, acclaimed historian David G. McComb chronicles the evolution of urban Texas from the Spanish Conquest to the present. Writing in lively, sometimes humorous and provocative prose, he describes how commerce and politics were the early engines of city growth, followed by post–Civil War cattle shipping, oil discovery, lumbering, and military needs. McComb emphasizes that the most transformative agent in city development was the railroad. This technology—accompanied by telegraphs that accelerated the spread of information and mechanical clocks that altered concepts of time—revolutionized transportation, enforced corporate organization, dictated town location, organized space and architecture, and influenced thought. McComb also thoroughly explores the post–World War II growth of San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston as incubators for businesses, educational and cultural institutions, and health care centers.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Theories, Definitions, Historians

Part One: First Things

1. The Lay of the Land

2. The Influence of the Native Americans

3. The Towns of the Spanish Empire in Texas

4. The Coming of the Americans

5. The Towns of the Texas Revolution

Part Two: The Dirt Road Frontier, 1836–1900

6. Major Events

7. The Dirt Road

8. Migration: Gone to Texas

9. The Evolution of San Antonio

10. The German Towns of Texas

11. The Coastal Ports

12. The River Ports

13. The Political Towns

14. The Military Towns

15. The Railroad Towns

16. The Lumber Towns

17. The End of the Dirt Road Frontier

Part Three: The Amenities of City Life, 1900–1950

18. The Rural to Urban Shift

19. The Great Galveston Storm

20. Spindletop and Beaumont

21. The Oil Towns

22. The Elite Rule of the Cities

23. The World War I Era

24. The Entrancement of the City

25. The Great Depression

26. World War II

27. The Immediate Postwar Years

Part Four: Great Texas Cities, 1950–2012

28. Population and Urban Expansion

29. Suburbs and Subdivisions

30. Segregation and Integration

31. The Hispanic Identity

32. John F. Kennedy and Dallas

33. The Voting Rights Act and the Cities

34. Land Transportation

35. Airlines and Airports

36. Urban Excellence in Texas

37. Houston, a Renaissance City

38. The Infrastructure for Excellence

39. The City and the State: A Conundrum

Notes

Suggestions for Further Reading

Index