Center for Texas Studies

Eating Up Route 66: Foodways on America's Mother Road
2024-01-06 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
US Route 66, called “America’s Mother Road” by John Steinbeck, carried countless travelers from Chicago to Los Angeles, through its midway point in Texas, during its fifty-year history. Join us as T. Lindsay Baker discusses the various food options people found along the route, including roadside eateries, prepared food brought from home, and grocery stores. Food along the Mother Road continues to connect tourists past and present, and the meals eaten along the way often form a long-lasting memory for travelers. The story of eating up Route 66 reveals the changing of not only American cuisine but also its culture and landscape.
T. Lindsay Baker is the former W. K. Gordon Chair of Texas History at Tarleton State University. He is a native son born in Cleburne, a writer of non-fiction works, professor, and grandfather of five. Baker received his BA, MA, and PhD from Texas Tech University. He holds professional memberships in the Texas Institute of Letters, the Western Writers of America, and Texas State Historical Association among other organizations. He has written two dozen books on a variety of topics from Texas lighthouses to organized crime in the Lone Star State. Also, he is known internationally as an expert on American wind power history. Baker lives on his family’s historic farm in Hill County.
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TCU Literary Legend Rediscovered: Philip Atlee and The Inheritors
2023-12-02 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Did you know that a novel published in late 1940 rocked the movers and shakers of Cowtown? The Inheritors by Philip Atlee (a pseudonym) was a thinly-veiled work of fiction that included salacious details of Fort Worth high society. Join us for E.R. Bills’s presentation on the book, its author, the contemporary reaction, and the rediscovery of the book decades later.
E. R. Bills is an award-winning, bestselling author and freelance journalist. His works include Texas Obscurities: Stories of the Peculiar, Exceptional and Nefarious (2013), The 1910 Slocum Massacre: An Act of Genocide in East Texas (2014), Black Holocaust: The Paris Horror and a Legacy of Texas Terror (2015), Texas Far and Wide: The Tornado with Eyes, Gettysburg’s Last Casualty, the Celestial Skipping Stone and Other Tales (History Press 2017), The San Marcos 10: An Anti-War Protest in Texas (2019), Texas Oblivion: Mysterious Disappearances, Escapes and Cover-Ups (2021),100 Things to Do in Texas Before You Die (2022), and Tell-Tale Texas: Investigations into Infamous History (2023). Bills has also written for Fort Worth Magazine, the Austin American-Statesman, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Co-Op Power magazine and Fort Worth Weekly. He currently lives in the Fort Worth area with his wife, Stacie.
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“Aztec Pottery Reported Missing”: The 2001 Antiquities Heist at TCU
2023-11-04 10:30 - 22:30 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Did you know that TCU houses over one hundred pre-Columbian artifacts? And that a former university employee stole over 100 of them? Join us as Dr. Alex Hidalgo and students from his graduate-level class provide the in-depth story of the theft, including which artifacts were never recovered and what could have happened to them. They will also discuss how institutions such as TCU come to own pre-Columbian artifacts in the first place. True crime fans won’t want to miss this one!
Alex Hidalgo is a social and cultural historian of colonialism in Latin America. He is Associate Professor of History at TCU and the author of Trail of Footprints: A History of Indigenous Mapmaking from Viceregal Mexico. His articles have appeared in academic journals and media outlets, including the American Historical Review, Ethnohistory, Hispanic American Historical Review, and the Washington Post. Hidalgo’s research has received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, and the Library of Congress and he is currently a member of the Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography.
* NOTE: This program will be held at TCU’s Betsy & Steve Palko Hall, located at 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Lecture Room 130, due to the library serving as a voting location for the November elections.

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Images and Stories from TCU’s First 100 Years, 1873-1973
2023-10-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
In honor of TCU’s sesquicentennial this year, TCU’s own Dr. Gene Allen Smith and PhD Candidate Jackson W. Pearson will discuss the first 100 years of the university’s history. Many interesting tidbits can be found throughout its past, including an on-campus plane crash during a football game, and the enrolment of African American soldiers as part of a federal contract. Join us to learn all that and more!
Gene Allen Smith is a Professor of History at Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, and recently served as the Class of 1957 Distinguished Chair in Naval Heritage at the U.S. Naval Academy; he served in that position in 2013-14 and is the only professor invited to serve twice. He is author or editor of fourteen books as well as numerous articles and reviews on the War of 1812, naval and maritime history, and territorial expansion along the Gulf of Mexico. Among his most recent books is TCU’s First 100 Years: Images and Stories, (written with with Jackson W. Pearson, published in the spring 2023), and In Harm’s Way: The American Military Experience (Oxford, 2019). He is also a prize-winning teacher, having received awards at TCU and at Montana State University-Billings. He has served as the Director of the Center for Texas Studies at TCU since 2002, and from 2007-14 was also a curator of history at a major Fort Worth museum.
Jackson Pearson is a PhD Candidate at TCU where he works in the Center for Texas Studies. Jackson’s research examines the Neutral Ground Agreement and the Louisiana-Texas Borderland from 1803 to 1821. He has published book chapters related to his research in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Ingenieros para la paz. Militares para la guerra: Del Caribe y Sudeste Asiático (1748-1825), and the forthcoming Republic of Scoundrels. He has also received grants from the American Philosophical Society, the Texas General Land Office, the Louisiana Historical Association, the Dolph Briscoe Center of American History, and the TCU History Department to support his research.
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Preserving a Texas-Czech Family Legacy
2023-09-09 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Interested in preserving your family history for both your own kin and researchers? Then this program is for you! Dawn Orsak will join us to discuss the history of her ancestors, the Morkovsky family, and self-publishing A.J. Morkovsky’s autobiography. Orsak will review how she acquired the family papers and other items, as well as the process of finding an archive to serve as permanent home that would make the materials available to future scholars.
Dawn Orsak is a 4th-generation Texas Czech. She is the Executive Director of the Philosophical Society of Texas, but her working background is with Texas history, culture, and food organizations. She is the author of a forthcoming cookbook about Texas Czech cuisine for University of Texas Press.
Program is free! Click here to register for Zoom!

Bringing Back a Texas icon: A Conservation Story about the Texas Horned Lizard from the Fort Worth Zoo
2023-05-06 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of TCU, it seems appropriate to recognize the real-life comeback story of our beloved mascot, the horned frog. The Fort Worth Zoo (FWZ) is working with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to evaluate the methods used to reintroduce captive-hatched Texas horned lizards into formerly occupied habitats of North Texas. Data from this study is used to facilitate state-wide recovery efforts for the species. Diane Barber will discuss the reintroduction program in Mason, Texas, that will include outcomes and future research. The Fort Worth Zoo is a leader in horned lizard conservation and has reintroduced 808 captive hatched horned lizards since 2011. That gives even more meaning to “Go Frogs!”
Diane Barber is the Senior Curator of Ectotherms at the Fort Worth Zoo. She has worked in the zoo field for 38 years and spearheads many conservation programs at the Zoo including those for native species such as the Texas kangaroo rat, Louisiana pine snake, Houston toad, and Texas horned lizard. She strongly believes that conservation should start in one’s own backyard and endeavors to work with local landowners and governing agencies to find practical means of coexisting and managing resources for wildlife long-term.
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Fort Worth Architecture Through 1945 (Extended Education Course) - SOLD OUT
2023-04-13 18:00 - 20:00 | TX
This class is sold out! Check our website for future extended education course.
Back by popular demand, this spring Quentin McGown reprises his sweeping tour of Fort Worth architectural history from the founding of the city through the World War II. The course begins with a two-hour Thursday evening classroom discussion on campus from 6pm – 8pm followed by a six-hour Saturday bus tour from 9am – 3pm focusing on both existing and lost structures and sites associated with the city’s first century of growth. Along the way, McGown will highlight the clients, architects, and builders whose design decisions continue to shape our community identity. The bus tour includes lunch and visits to some of Fort Worth’s most remarkable landmark buildings. Discounts available for seniors and TCU faculty, staff, and students.
Date: April 13, 2023 (discussion); April 15, 2023 (bus tour)
Time: 6pm-8pm (discussion); 9am – 3pm (bus tour)
Course fee: $146.00
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Growing Up in the Lone Star State
2023-04-01 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Gaylon Finklea Hecker and Marianne Odom began interviewing famous native Texans in 1981 to find out what, if anything, about growing up on Texas soil gave them the courage to follow their dreams. In Growing Up in the Lone Star State: Notable Texans Remember Their Childhoods, the recollections of almost 50 legends in stage and screen, music, sports, politics and business capture the spirit of Texas in the early 20th century. The authors will share their experiences in gathering and publishing oral histories and the importance of documenting childhoods. They will highlight recollections of Fort Worth notables, such as TV news anchor Bob Schieffer, Miss America Phyllis George, Grammy Award winning bluesman Delbert McClinton, sportswriter Dan Jenkins, and romance thriller author Sandra Brown.
Hecker was a reporter for the San Antonio Light and San Antonio Express-News and associate editor of SA: The Magazine of San Antonio. She also was editor of the Jewish Journal in San Antonio and The Jewish Outlook in Austin and worked in corporate communications. She is the author of five recent books concerning Texas history. She is a journalism graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. Marianne Odom was the fashion editor of the San Antonio Express-News and a reporter for the Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. She is a contributing editor for Edible San Antonio magazine. The longtime educator taught journalism and advised student publications at Tyler Junior College and San Antonio College.
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The Lady Makes Boots
2023-03-04 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
In recognition of Women’s History Month, join us to learn about entrepreneur Enid Justin and her legendary boot-making family. Daughter of Justin Boots founder, H. J. Justin, “Miss Enid” decided in 1925 to start her own boot company in Nocona, Texas. Though discouraged by her family, this Texas original was determined to succeed. Through sheer tenacity and hard work, the Nocona Boot Company grew into a multi-million dollar corporation. Biographer Carol Lipscomb will share the risks and rewards that characterized Enid’s business career alongside the trials and tribulations of her personal life. You won’t want to miss this fascinating, funny, and sometimes infuriating story.
Dr. Carol Lipscomb is an independent historian. Having resided in Nocona for 20 years, she was introduced to Enid Justin’s life and legacy through local history and exhaustively researched her background for The Lady Makes Boots. She serves as secretary of the board of the Texas Historical Foundation and currently lives in Fort Worth.
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Who Eats Cornbread? Who Eats Biscuits? Baking and Texas Identity
2023-02-04 10:30 - 12:00 | TX
Attention foodies! As we celebrate African American History Month, join us as TCU history professor Rebecca Sharpless will discuss the history of baking in Texas and the American South. Speaking from research conducted for her latest book, she will weave together the story of how three global food traditions–Indigenous American, European, and African–collided with and merged in the economies, cultures, and foodways of the South to create what we know as the southern baking tradition. As her title implies, who used white cornmeal and who used yellow, who put sugar in their cornbread and who did not held meaning for southerners, as did the proportions of flour, fat, and liquid in biscuits. Food speaks volumes. Come hear what it has to say!
Rebecca Sharpless is professor of history at Texas Christian University where she specializes in women’s history, food, and labor. She previously served as director of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History. Sharpless is the award-winning author of Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers in the South, 1865–1960 and Fertile Ground, Narrow Choices: Women on Texas Cotton Farms, 1900-1940 and is a contributor to many additional publications. Her most recent book is Grain and Fire: A History of Baking in the American South.
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Longhorns, Legends, and Life on the Trail
2023-01-07 10:30 - 12:00 | TX
Thanks to western books and movies, we all have a good idea of how nineteenth-century cowboys lived and origins of the cattle they drove. Right? Maybe not. Historian and author Wayne Ludwig joins us this month to set us straight about the risks and rewards of life on the trail. We’ll also consider whether the cattle they moved north were really Texas Longhorns or just bovines with long horns? Don’t miss this chance to dig into the facts and explore the evolution of the legends surround the Texas cowboy.
Wayne Ludwig is a Fort Worth native, cattle trails historian, and author of The Old Chisholm Trail: From Cow Path to Tourist Stop. He created the Texas Cattle Trails History Group on Facebook, and is a member of Western Writers of America and the Academy of Western Artists. The Old Chisholm Trail was awarded the Elmer Kelton Book of the Year award by the Academy of Western Artists, and was named a finalist for the 2018 Most Significant Scholarly Book by the Texas Institute of Letters. Ludwig has been a guest speaker at various symposiums and historical association events and instructor for TCU Silver Frogs extended education.
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Fort Worth Horror: The Great South Side Fire of 1909
2022-12-03 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
Many of the great cities of the world, including Rome, London, Lisbon, Chicago, and San Francisco, have endured devastating peacetime fires. Fort Worth joined that tragic company on April 3, 1909, when two boys experimenting with cigarettes on a windy spring day led to a barn catching fire. By the time the conflagration was under control with the help of companies from Dallas, Weatherford and elsewhere, more than twenty blocks of businesses, homes, and churches just south of downtown were destroyed. Join us as historian Carol Roark explains how the fire not only changed the landscape of Fort Worth, but also how it prepared for disasters.
Carol Roark has spent many years researching and writing about historic buildings. After twenty years as the Archivist and Manager of the Special Collections Division at the Dallas Public Library, she is now working on a number of freelance history and historic preservation projects. She has published four books related to those topics, served as editor for the Tarrant County Historic Resources Survey volumes, and contributed to works on African American and women’s history. She and her husband live in a 1919 Arts & Crafts bungalow in Fort Worth’s Fairmount/South Side National Register Historic District.
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Trinity River Groove: The Story of the Cowtown Sound
2022-11-05 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
What’s your favorite? Jazz, western swing, big band, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, all of the above? Gene Fowler and William Williams explore the contributions of musicians in these genres and more in their story of music in Fort Worth and Dallas from the 19th century to the 1960s. This program, drawn from their book, Metro Music, will take you back to the groovy sounds and the legendary venues including the Crystal Springs Dance Pavilion, the Longhorn Ballroom, the Blue Bird, and so many more. Don’t miss it!
GENE FOWLER is a writer and performer. His work has been published in Oxford American, San Francisco Chronicle, True West, Journal of Texas Music History, and more. His books include Border Radio, Crazy Water, and Mavericks. WILLIAM WILLIAMS is a songwriter, guitarist, and music historian. In 2003 he cofounded an internet group to “research and archive the history of North Texas Music, especially the ’60s,” which has provided material for this publication.
This program will be in person and over Zoom. Register for Zoom here!

At the Edge of Space and Time: The Last Kiowa Raid in Tarrant County (Extended Education Course)
2022-10-04 18:30 - 20:30 | TX
Using the last Kiowa Raid as a touchstone, students will be immersed in the lives and history of the Kiowa, learn how they differed from the Comanche, and discover the secret life of a Kiowa captive taken as a baby girl from the family farm on the West Fork of the Trinity River in 1867 and honored by the Kiowa for her bravery and tenacity to this day.
Course instructor: Dawn Youngblood
Course dates
October 4 & October 11, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Course fee
$74
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Exploring Two Iconic DFW-Founded Food Companies: Fletcher’s Original State Fair Corny Dogs and Mrs. Renfro's Salsa
2022-10-01 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
It’s State Fair time, folks! There couldn’t be a better time to talk about Texas food. This month we welcome two speakers whose roots run deep in the DFW food scene, Fletcher’s Corny Dogs and Mrs. Renfro’s Salsa. They will discuss the history behind their family businesses and give us some insights into the production of their famous foods
Amber Fletcher is the head of marketing for the multi-million dollar Texas staple, Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs. The granddaughter of Dallas’ famous corn dog inventor Neil Fletcher, and daughter of the late Skip “The Corny Dog King” Fletcher, Amber is the third generation of Fletcher’s at the helm of the iconic brand, along with her brother, Aaron, and cousin, W.C. From a young age Amber could be found behind the counter at the State Fair of Texas getting to know customers as well as keenly observing her father as he built the empire. Amber assumes a dual focus: preserving her family’s deep legacy in the state, while also expanding Fletcher’s reach nationally through events operations, a strong digital footprint and most importantly, top-notch quality control. Amber is a born and raised Texan who spent her life working in the family business at State Fair of Texas. She is passionate about her family, her dogs, and public speaking.
The son of second-generation owner John “Jack” Renfro, Doug learned the family business from the bottom up, starting on the factory floor as a teenager and weighing spices through college. After graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas, Doug proved his salt outside the company, working seven years for Electronic Data Systems (later purchased by General Motors), where he was promoted to divisional finance manager. At the same time, he earned his master’s degree from Southern Methodist University and qualified for his Certified Management Accountant designation. Doug returned to Renfro Foods in 1992.
This program will be in person and over Zoom. Register for Zoom here!

Fort Worth 1895-1945 (Extended Education Course)
2022-09-20 18:30 - 20:30 | TX
This second in a three-part survey course of Fort Worth history explores the city’s transition from frontier town to 20th century industrial center, and includes discussion of the development of the Stockyards, labor and social challenges, the Depression, Frontier Centennial, and the World War Two years The class is divided into two evenings of lecture and discussion and two field study walking tour sessions led by course instructor Quentin McGown.
Course dates
Lecture: September 20 & September 27, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Walking tours: October 4 & October 11, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Course fee
$126
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The People's Revolt: Texas Populists and the Roots of American Liberalism
2022-09-10 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
Who were the original Populists and how did they shape American politics? Gregg Cantrell, author of The People’s Revolt and the Roots of American Liberalism, will explore the historical roots of Texas populism and the hallmarks of the movement. He will contrast historic populists’ contribution to the development of American liberalism with the identity of populists in politics today.
Gregg Cantrell holds the Erma and Ralph Lowe Chair in Texas History at Texas Christian University. He received his B.B.A., M.B.A., and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. Cantrell received the Summerlee Research Fellowship from the William H. Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University. In addition to his recent book, The People’s Revolt: Texas Populists and the Roots of American Liberalism, he is the author of Stephen F. Austin, Empresario of Texas; Feeding the Wolf: John B. Rayner and the Politics of Race, 1850-1918; and Kenneth and John B. Rayner and the Limits of Southern Dissent. He also co-edited Lone Star Pasts: Memory and History in Texas.
This program will be in-person and over Zoom. Register for Zoom here!

Hidden Gardens of BRIT: A Showcase of the Herbaria & Library Collections
2022-05-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
Want to learn about the Botanic Research Institute of Texas (BRIT)? It’s more than just a beautiful garden! Barney L. Lipscomb, Director of the BRIT Press and Library and the Leonhardt Chair of Texas Botany joins us to discuss the Herbarium and Library, two research collections at BRIT that are the cornerstones of the BRIT mission to Explore, Discover, and Engage. The researchers at the institute explore the critically important world of plants, collaborate to discover the roles they play in our cultural and natural environments, and engage people to conserve nature and improve the human experience. BRIT shares knowledge about the plant world to enhance life for people and all living things through research, education, and publishing. This talk will discuss the history of these foundational resources and how they are used today, including by members of the public.
Barney L. Lipscomb is the Director of the BRIT Press and Library and the Leonhardt Chair of Texas Botany. He received his Bachelor’s of Science Degree from Cameron University and his Master’s from the University of Arkansas. In addition to the publications program, Barney is one of the authors of Shinners and Mahler’s Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas, Illustrated Flora of East Texas, and Ferns and Lycophytes of Texas. Barney serves on the Board of Consultants for the North Texas Poison Center in Dallas and has research interests in the application of botany to forensic science. As Editor-in-Chief of Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (formerly Sida, Contributions to Botany) as well as the Sida, Botanical Miscellany Series, Barney plays an integral role in disseminating some of the results of the BRIT research staff in our internationally distributed, peer-refereed journals. Barney’s personal taxonomic specialty is the family Cyperaceae, and he has carried out fieldwork in various parts of the U.S., Mexico, and Central America. Barney is an active member of the Council of Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Flora of North America Association, as well as serving as their Treasurer.
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Wall Street of the West: How Fort Worth Became the Livestock Center of the Southwest (Extended Education Course)
2022-04-28 18:30 - 20:30 | TX
Through an evening lecture and accompanying a six-hour bus tour led by Quentin McGown, the class will explore the roots of the livestock industry in Cowtown along with some of the places and personalities associated with the rise and eventual decline of the massive local market that came to define the city for much of its history. Delicious Central Market box lunch included on the Saturday bus tour.
Course dates
Lecture: April 28th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Bus Tour: April 30th, 9:00am – 3:00pm (lunch included!)
Course fee
$158. Discounts available for seniors and TCU faculty, staff, and students.
Your participation helps support future TCU Extended Education/Center for Texas Studies programming.
** Click here to register! **

Finding Smeltertown: Uncovering Family and Community History
2022-04-02 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
Dr. Monica Perales will join us to discuss the challenges and strategies she used to uncover the history of a vibrant community from the early 20th century that had all but disappeared from the historical record but lived in the memories of its former residents. Using the example of her paternal grandmother, she will share how her journey started in family archives — photographs, recipes, oral histories, ephemera — and show how her grandmother’s story helped Perales to understand larger historical processes. Using family history in this way, history isn’t just the story of famous and powerful people, but it something that lives in our families and communities.
Dr. Monica Perales is an associate professor of history and Director of the Center for Public History at UH. Her research and teaching interests include US-Mexico borderlands, Mexican American, Texas, labor, foodways, and public history. Her first book, Smeltertown: Making and Remembering a Southwest Border Community received the 2010 Kenneth Jackson Award for Best Book from the Urban History Association, and her current research examines Mexican women, labor, and food in the US Southwest in the 20th century. She has been the recipient of numerous fellowships, grants, and awards, including the University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award for her community engaged teaching, and the Ruth A. Allen Pioneer in Working Class Studies Award. Dr. Perales has served on the boards of Humanities Texas (the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities), Foodways Texas, the Texas State Historical Association, the Urban History Association, and the Labor and Working Class History Association. She received a B.A. in Journalism and M.A. in History from the University of Texas at El Paso, and her Ph.D. in history from Stanford University.
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Prostitution and Power: The Madams of San Antonio’s Red-Light District, 1877-1920
2022-03-05 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
Join us for the sequel to our most popular program of all time! Dr. Jessica Webb will examine San Antonio’s red-light district, one of the largest west of the Mississippi, and the women who lived and worked there from the 1870s to the 1920s. Specifically, it will focus on the madams, the women who ran the brothels, and the influence they wielded in the city of San Antonio. Webb will also detail the power they had in the political sphere, the economic sphere, and in their own social sphere.
Jessica Webb works as a Program Coordinator for semester study abroad programs in the Center for International Studies at Texas Christian University. She received her Master’s and PhD in History from Texas Christian University. She wrote her dissertation on the red-light districts of Fort Worth and San Antonio at the turn-of-the-century. Her interest in Texas history stems from being born and raised here, and she hopes to continue researching and telling the stories of the Lone Star State.
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Black Seminoles and the Seminole Indian Scouts
2022-02-05 10:30 - 12:00 | TX
Join us this month to learn about a distinct ethnic group in Texas—the Black Seminoles. Windy Goodloe, a member of the Black Seminole community, will explain the group’s migration to Oklahoma, Mexico, and Texas after a long history in Florida. She will focus particularly on those who the US Army recruited to become Indian scouts and fighters in West Texas who became known as Seminole Negro Indian Scouts. First based at Fort Duncan at Eagle Pass, the unit was stationed at Fort Clark when disbanded. As a result, many scouts and their descendants found a permanent home in nearby Brackettville where the Seminole Indian Scouts Cemetery is located today.
Windy Goodloe is a native of Brackettville, Texas. She has owned Nzadi Amistad Editing and Writing Services since 2017, but worked as an independent contractor since 2007. While Goodloe’s day job is copyediting and writing, her passion is Black Seminole history. Acknowledging her own special connection to her family heritage, she strives to preserve her ancestors’ legacy—including their rapidly disappearing Afro-Seminole Creole language—and to educate others about this little-known American story. Goodloe is currently secretary of the Seminole Indian Scouts Cemetery Association.
Due to inclement weather, this program will be Zoom only.
Click here to register for Zoom!

Texas Rangers, Ranchers, and Realtors: James Hughes Callahan and the Day Family in the Guadalupe River Basin
2022-01-08 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
Does your family’s history tell a larger story about Texas history? Join us for Thomas McDonald’s talk on his book, Texas Rangers, Ranchers, and Realtors: James Hughes Callahan and the Day Family in the Guadalupe River Basin. McDonald’s book is the product of research into his ancestors James Callahan and Sarah Day. The Callahan and Day stories reflect Texas’s immigration history, its revolution and later statehood, ranching, and land development in the Guadalupe River Basin. This program is a must for anyone who wants to provide larger historical context to their own family history.
Thomas O. McDonald is a retired R&D pharmaceutical executive, an independent scholar of Texas history, and a seventh generation Texan. He retired from Alcon Laboratories, an American Pharmaceutical company specializing in eye care products, in 2004. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science, as well as a Master of Science in Biology from Texas Christian University. He also earned his PhD in Cell Biology from Tulane University and completed the International Senior Managers Program at Harvard Business School. His family, community, teachers, and Alcon experience shaped Thomas’s firm commitment to education.
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Untapped: Another Round of Fort Worth Beer History
2021-12-04 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
Although Fort Worth brewing history is a tale that’s been told well by others, join us as we venture off the beaten path. Librarian Gaby Kienitz explores stories of how hardships, handshake deals, and backstabbing–along with a whole lot of gumption and good luck shaped the ups and downs of more than 150 years of beer brewing and drinking in Fort Worth.
Gaby Kienitz is a librarian in the Genealogy, Local History, and Archives Unit at the Fort Worth Public Library. She has been a librarian specializing in genealogy, history, and archives for the past 6 years, but not all of them in Fort Worth. Previously, she was a museum conservator for 20 years for a variety of history museums across Canada and the US, with brief stints at an archaeological museum in Bodrum, Turkey, conserving items recovered from a Bronze Age shipwreck. In short, she has spent her entire working life in public institutions preserving history and striving to make it accessible.
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The Grape Man of Texas: Thomas Volney Munson
2021-11-06 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
If you take a winery tour in France today, you are likely to hear about Denison resident Thomas Volney Munson (1843 – 1913). Sherrie McLeRoy, co-author of Grape Man of Texas: Thomas Volney Munson and the Origins of American Viticulture, joins us this month to discuss Munson’s contribution to our body of knowledge about Texas and American grapes in general, and specifically how his work enabled him to help save the European grape and wine industry from devastating blights in the late 19th century. Though he received numerous awards from both French and American institutions for his work, his achievements were largely lost or ignored by the mid-20th century. Don’t miss this opportunity to brush up on the history of Texas wine and the man who may have saved the entire industry worldwide.
Sherrie McLeRoy is currently the archivist at the Woman’s Club of Fort Worth and is writing a new history of the Club for its 2023 Centennial. Having spent much of her career in museums, McLeRoy has since written, contributed to, or co-authored twenty-four books and numerous magazine and newspaper articles. Her latest publications are Texas Adoption Activist Edna Gladney: A Life and Legacy of Love and Texas Women First: Leading Ladies of Lone Star History, both from The History Press.
This program will be offered both in person and over Zoom. Click here to register for Zoom!

The French Presence in Texas: 1878 to Today (Extended Education Course)
2021-10-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Texas Christian University, 3015 Merida Ave., Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
From the ranches of West Texas at the turn of the 20th century to today’s aerospace industry, the French in Texas have contributed and continue to impact the economic, diplomatic, educational, and cultural landscape of the Lone Star State. This two-part course explores the enduring Franco-Texan relations of then and now and reveals unexpected connections. Taught by Dr. Marie Schein.
This class meets on Thursday, October 21 and 28, 2021, from 6:00pm – 8:00pm.
Course fee: $74.00
Register here! (Second class listed)

The History of Baseball in Fort Worth
2021-10-02 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Library, 500 W. Third St., Fort Worth, TX, 76102-7305, United States
With baseball season coming to a close, let’s look back on the history of the game in Fort Worth. Author Mark Presswood will discuss the trajectory of baseball in the city from its beginnings in the 1870s through the formation of the more recent Fort Worth Cats team and all the fun and drama in between. As part of the Texas League of Professional Baseball Clubs, the Fort Worth Panthers became one of the most famous minor league teams in history winning six straight championships in the 1920s. After World War II, the Brooklyn Dodgers purchased the Panthers which meant that many star Dodgers of the 1950s had once passed through the city. Join us to learn all about how the game has been played in Fort Worth.
Mark Presswood is President of Panther Real Estate Solutions. His community involvement includes service on the Fort Worth Housing Solutions Board, the Near Southside Board, and as past Chairman of Fort Worth’s Development Advisory Council in addition to other Fort Worth Committees. His passion, however, is baseball and in particular the history of the Fort Worth Cats. Presswood co-authored two books on the Fort Worth and Dallas minor league baseball teams and was instrumental in producing When Panthers Roared, a history of the Fort Worth Cats.
This program will be offered both in person and over Zoom. Click here to register for Zoom.

Fort Worth to 1895 (Extended Education Course)
2021-09-21 18:30 - 20:30 | Texas Christian University, 3015 Merida Ave., Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
The first of a three part series on Fort Worth history given by Quentin McGown, the course focuses on the city’s growth and development to 1895, including a discussion of the area’s prehistory and the events leading to the establishment of the 1849 military post. Highlights of the covered time period include the development of the livestock industry, the arrival of the railroad and the challenges of a frontier town growing into a major city. The class meets on campus for two evening lectures supplemented by two evenings of walking tours to significant locations identified with Fort Worth’s early years.
Meets every Tuesday from 6:30pm – 8:30pm, September 21, 2021 to October 12, 2021.
Course fee: $126.00
Register here!

George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas
2021-09-11 10:30 - 12:00 | TX
We’re kicking off the new season with a discussion of an early civil rights leader in Texas, George T. Ruby. While his name may not be familiar now, Ruby was the most widely known of the first generation of Black politicians in the state during the Reconstruction era. In this talk based on his recent contribution to the Center’s Texas Biography Series, author Carl Moneyhon explores Ruby’s journey from his childhood in New York and Maine to his work in Haiti and Louisiana, before coming Texas in 1867. While teaching school and working for the freedman’s bureau, he became active in politics by organizing African Americans to vote, assisting with campaigns, and successfully running for state senate himself. Anyone with an interest in political history, civil rights, or Reconstruction in Texas won’t want to miss this one!
CARL H. MONEYHON is professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. A scholar of Civil War and Reconstruction history, his publications on Texas include Edmund J. Davis: Civil War General, Republican Leader, Reconstruction Governor; Texas after the Civil War: The Struggle of Reconstruction; and Republicanism in Reconstruction Texas. He holds BA and MA degrees from the University of Texas and a PhD from the University of Chicago.
Due to COVID concerns, this program will be over Zoom. All future programming will be decided on a case by case basis.
Click here to register!

TCU Explores Its Past to Expand Its Future
2021-06-05 10:30 - 12:00 | TX
Starting in August 2020, TCU began its multi-year Race and Reconciliation Initiative (RRI). This effort seeks to understand TCU’s past in regard to racism and people of color through research revealing important untold stories. The first year of the initiative focused on Black Americans and TCU’s relationship with racism, slavery, and the Confederacy. Dr. Frederick Gooding, Jr., chair of the Race and Reconciliation Initiative, will join us to discuss the results of the first year of the RRI and share key facts that have recently been uncovered. Gooding will also outline both the recommendations for the future submitted to the TCU Board of Trustees and changes already made.
Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. (PhD, Georgetown University) is an Associate Professor within the Honors College at Texas Christian University. Gooding critically analyzes race within mainstream media. Gooding’s best-known work is You Mean, There’s RACE in My Movie? The Complete Guide to Understanding Race in Mainstream Hollywood, which has been utilized in high schools and universities nationwide. His latest book, Black Oscar, expands his reach into cultural studies by analyzing African American Academy Award winners and how their narratives reflect and reinforce larger American history.
Click here to register for this free virtual program!
