This Day In Texas History - May 11

[joe817]

1675 - The BOSQUE-LARIOS EXPEDITION reached the Rio Grande, probably a little below the present site of Eagle Pass. Bosque took formal possession of the river, erected a wooden cross, and renamed the river the San Buenaventura del Norte. In all, the Spaniards traveled forty leagues past the Rio Grande and made six halts in south central Texas.

1752 - In a notorious example of bad civil-military relations, carpenter Juan Ceballos and Father Juan José de Ganzabal were murdered at Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Mission, near the site of modern Rockdale, Texas. Suspicion fell on the post commander, Felipe de Rábago y Terán. Assigned to establish a presidio to protect several nearby missions in March of 1750, Rábago fell out with the Franciscans over where to build the fort. He further alienated the padres by chasing after both Indian and Hispanic women, and by carrying on an affair with the carpenter's wife. After spending eight years in prison awaiting trial for the double murder, Rábago was exonerated of all charges in 1760.

1846 - The Austin, a sloop-of-war and flagship of the Texas Navy was transferred to the United States Navy. She was thereupon towed to Pensacola, where she served for a while as a receiving ship, the only vessel of the Texas Navy to be commissioned into United States service. The ship leaked so badly, however, that after two years she was run aground and broken up

1846 - James K Polk addressed Congress responding to the April 25th battle in Brownsville where Mexican troops overpowered 62 Texas dragoons, killing 16. With American blood shed on American Soil, Polk asked Congress for a formal declaration of war against Mexico.

1846 - The schooner San Bernard, a warship of the Navy of the Republic of Texas, was transferred to the United States Navy. But when the United States fleet found no place for her she was sold for $150.

1865 - In light of recently disclosed intelligence, Union Colonel Barrett ordered 250 men of the Sixty-second United States Colored Infantry and fifty men of the Second Texas United States Cavalry (dismounted) to cross to the mainland from Brazos Island at Boca Chica Pass to occupy Brownsville. Carrying five days' rations and 100 rounds of ammunition per man, the Union troops crossed over to the coast at 9:30 P.M. on May 11, 1865. The Battle of Palmito Ranch was at hand.

1890 - On this date in 1890, Dallas Mayor James Woodall Rodgers was born in New Market, Ala. Rodgers served as mayor of Dallas from 1939 to 1947 after working as a lawyer specializing in oil and gas law and serving in the military during WWI.
Some of his major accomplishments as mayor were putting the city on a cash operating basis and planning for growth. Improvements during his tenure included the expansion of Love Field and construction of Central Expressway, Memorial Auditorium and the Dallas Public Library.

1949 - Signed into law on this date in 1949, was a law prohibiting any Communist Party member from running for office in Texas.

1953 - Shortly after 4:30 pm, on this date in 1953, the deadliest tornado in Texas history struck downtown Waco. The tornado touched down north of Lorena and began moving on a path directly for Waco. The massive F5 tornado was not visible to most residents due to the heavy rains in the area. The tornado totally destroyed 600 homes and other buildings and damaged 1000 others. 2000 vehicles were damaged or destroed. Soldiers from Fort Hood, the National Guard, James Connally AFB and other nearby military installations were called in to help with the rescue. Some of the survivors had to wait up to 14 hours before rescuers could get to them. Had the tornado occurs just a few minutes later at 5 o'clock, citizens would have poured onto the street after a days work, easily doubling the casulties. People were carted to area hospitals in every kind of vehicle that could assist in the rescue include several hearses. In total, 900 homes, 185 other buildings destroyed. 114 people lost their lives in the tornado, and another 597 were injured making the Waco tornado of 1953, the deadliest tornado in Texas history.

1964 - The University of Texas hired its first black faculty member, Ervin Sewell Perry, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering.

1964 - Construction began on the Toledo Bend Reservoir. The reservoir is the largest lake in Texas and is formed by the Toledo Bend Dam eighty miles northeast of Beaumont on the Sabine River. The reservoir occupies parts of Newton, Sabine, Panola, and Shelby counties in Texas and Sabine and De Soto parishes in Louisiana. The area is rich in Native American history, and by 1967 more than 100 archeological sites had been found at the Toledo Bend project. The dam was completed in 1969.

1970 - A tornado touched down near downtown Lubbock damaging fifteen square miles (1/4) of the city. 25 people were killed and damage estimates reach $135 million. The tornado destroyed over 1000 homes and apartment units, 10,000 vehicles and over 100 aircraft, killing 26 and injuring over 500. Studies of the aftermath of this tornado led to the development of the Fujita Scale, which rates tornadoes. The Lubbock tornado of 1970, was an F5 on the Fujita Scale.