Center for Texas Studies

TCU Literary Legend Rediscovered: Philip Atlee and The Inheritors
2023-12-02 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | 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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Eating Up Route 66: Foodways on America's Mother Road
2024-01-06 10:30 - 12:00 | 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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A History to Remember: TCU in Purple, White, and Black
2024-02-03 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
In honor of Black History Month, Dr. Frederick Gooding, Jr., will give a talk on his book, A History to Remember: TCU in Purple, White, and Black, which he co-authored with Sylviane Ngandu-Kalenga Greensword and Marcellis Perkins. The book explores Black Americans’ experience at TCU through the perspectives of students, staff, faculty, administrators, and alumni, establishing how the Black presence at TCU has steadily grown in both significance and size. Covering the institution’s first 150 years, Gooding and his co-authors investigate the academic, athletic, artistic, and cultural impact of Black students, employees, and alumni from its beginnings, through segregation and integration, and the continued work of reconciliation. TCU’s progression in diversity has local, regional, and national implications due to its overall growth and position as one of the top 100 universities in the nation.
Dr. Frederick W. Gooding, Jr., is an Associate Professor with the Honors College and the inaugural holder of the Dr. Ronald E. Moore Endowed Professor of the Humanities at Texas Christian University. His work critically analyzes race within mainstream media. He is the author of numerous books, including You Mean, There’s RACE in My Movie? The Complete Guide to Understanding Race in Mainstream Hollywood, and Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Tells Us about African Americans. In 2022, he also served as the curator for the Green Book exhibit at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.
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History of the Chicken Ranch
2024-03-02 10:30 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Perhaps the most infamous brothel in the nation was located right here in Texas – just outside of La Grange. Join Nancy McVean as she discusses the history of the Chicken Ranch in its entirety. She will describe the beginning of the ranch and how it evolved into an asset to the community of La Grange who petitioned for its continued existence, as well as its eventual demise. The brothel continues to live on in American culture as the basis for the 1978 Broadway musical (and its 1982 film adaptation) The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; it also inspired the 1973 ZZ Top song “La Grange.”
Nancy McVean is a Fort Worth native who received her BA in Speech and Theatre from Baylor and an MA in Communications from TCU. She has worked as the Director of Theatre at Weatherford College for over thirty years. In her spare time, she enjoys running, bicycling, and traveling.
** This event will take place on the TCU Campus in Palko Hall, room 130 **
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Texas Sized Thrills: A Legacy of Excitement
2024-04-06 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
When it comes to having fun, North Texas has been at the forefront of innovation for over a century! Join attractions professional and history aficionado, Kris Rowberry as he takes us through the unique history of amusement and theme parks here in North Texas. Discover lost parks and rides from a bygone era and see how the attractions industry is still feeling the influence of Texas parks to this day.
Kris Rowberry, a former newscaster at KLIV in San Jose, California, created, along with Nicholas Laschkewitsch, the award-winning Lost Parks of Northern California, a series of TV programs that highlighted bygone amusement parks in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. He also helped produce the documentary film The Legacy of Arrow Development with American Coaster Enthusiasts. The documentary follows the history of one of the amusement industry’s most prolific companies, and it has amassed over 1.5 million views on YouTube. To date, Rowberry has conquered over 475 different roller coasters all around the world. When he’s not chasing down the next thrill, he enjoys photography, bowling and cruising the metroplex on his bicycle. He is also passionate about volunteering his time for American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) and the National Roller Coaster Museum & Archives (NRCMA).
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Extended Education Course: Fort Worth Parks and Open Spaces
2024-04-25 18:30 - 20:30 | TX
Our annual spring Extended Education course with local historian and Tarrant County Probate Judge Quentin McGown! The class will explore the history and development of Fort Worth’s world-class park system as well as citizen efforts to preserve and protect urban greenspaces leading to the City’s new Open Space Conservation Program. A two-hour interactive lecture on Thursday evening will precede a Saturday (4/27) six-hour bus tour from 9am – 3pm, with included picnic lunch, and stops at both familiar and lesser known parks and natural areas.

Quentin McGown is a sixth generation Texan and fourth generation Fort Worthian with a lifelong interest in history. In addition to practicing law, he is a planning committee member for the annual Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering and a board member of both the Tarrant County Historical Society and the Outriders, the support organization for the Fort Worth Herd.
Class: Thursday, April 25th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Bus Tour: Saturday, April 27th, 9:00am – 3:00pm
Cost: $115.00
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History's First Draft: My Life as a Newspaper Photojournalist
2024-05-04 10:30 - 12:00 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Working as a Star-Telegram photographer for almost forty-two years, Rodger Mallison always put himself on the front line to capture, in a fraction of a second, the significance of an event. Mallison’s work exemplifies the Irving Penn quote that “a good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. Join us as Mallison shares his most captivating images, the story behind them, and how they moved him.
Rodger Mallison is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in journalism. He joined the photo staff of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram shortly after graduating and worked there for almost forty-two years covering every type of story that appears in newspapers. Assignments took him to every part of Fort Worth, most places in Texas, and around the country and world. Since 2018 he has freelanced for a variety of clients. He lives in Fort Worth with his wife Carol. They have two grown children who attended Paschal High School and Texas A&M, of their own free will.
** This event will take place on the TCU Campus in Palko Hall, room 130 **
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Texas State Parks: The First 100 Years, 1923-2023
2024-09-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Planning your summer vacation? Check out one of our state parks! George Bristol will discuss his book, Texas State Parks: The First 100 Years, 1923–2023, which examines the history of one of Texas’s most treasured assets: our state parks. From the legislative establishment of the original Texas State Parks Board to the present, the development of our state and national parks over the last one hundred years has depended upon an evolving concept of public lands for public use and enjoyment.
George Bristol’s love of national and state parks began more than forty years ago. In 1984, Governor Mark White named him chairman of the Texas Conservation Foundation, a role he served in until 1988. Ten years later, in 1994, President Bill Clinton and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt appointed him to the National Park Foundation Board of Directors to a six-year term. Once his term ended, Bristol created the Texas Coalition for Conservation to advocate better funding for Texas state parks. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Cornelius Pugsley Award from the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and the National Park Foundation in 2009. Bristol is also the author of several books, such as Glacier National Park: A Culmination of Giants, Visual Voices, and his autobiography, On Politics and Parks.
Masks are welcomed but not required.
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Fort Worth to 1895
2024-09-17 18:30 - 2024-10-08 20:00 | TX
Description: Join Quentin McGown for the first of a three part series on Fort Worth history, focusing 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. The sessions begin September 17th and conclude October 8th. For more information, please visit TCU Center for Texas Studies (campusce.net)

Oasis in Fort Worth: The History of Fort Worth’s Water Gardens
2024-10-05 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, the Fort Worth Water Gardens are one of the most popular attractions in downtown Fort Worth. Having opened on October 19, 1974, the Water Gardens will turn 50 later this month. From the beginning, the Water Gardens have been a source of both calm repose and turbulence. Join us as we learn about this downtown gem, from its origins to its legacy!
Linda Barrett is the manager of the Fort Worth History Center and the City’s Municipal Archivist. Linda became fascinated with urban planning while working with the records of the City’s Planning Department. She is particularly interested in the various plans created for the City of Fort Worth by nationally acclaimed urban planners and landscape architects. This interest led her to the succession of plans that have been made for the Central Business District over the years and how downtown has been molded by them.
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Texas Secessionists Standoff; the 1997 Republic of Texas "War"
2024-11-02 10:30 - 12:00 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
The quiet community of Fort Davis in Far West Texas isn’t accustomed to receiving national attention. But in the spring of 1997, a sea of satellite news trucks sprang up just outside of town when Richard McLaren and members of his separatist “Republic of Texas” militia took his neighbors Joe and Margaret Rowe hostage in their own home in the nearby Davis Mountain Resort. Join us this month as author Donna Marie Miller, shares this dramatic true crime story based on archival research and oral interviews she conducted with persons involved—including McLaren, who has been incarcerated since 1998. Don’t miss it!
Donna Marie Miller is the author of two nonfiction books, Texas Secessionists Standoff; the 1997 Republic of Texas “War,” and The Broken Spoke; Austin’s Legendary Honky-Tonk. Her freelance articles have appeared in Americana Rhythm, Austin Monthly, Cowgirl, Creative Screenwriting, Texas Highways, and former Third Coast magazines. Early in her career, she worked nine years as a newspaper reporter covering general assignment, entertainment, and crime beats at three Texas daily newspapers, including The El Paso Herald-Post, The El Paso Times, and The Amarillo Globe-News. Miller also taught secondary-level journalism courses for 24 years in several school districts before retiring from teaching in 2013. Currently, she is collaborating with film producer Cynthia Uhrich to write a television series adaptation of Texas Secessionists Standoff. A book signing will follow the talk.
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Hometown Hero: Remembering the Life and Service of Major Horace S. Carswell, Jr.
2024-12-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Major Horace Seaver Carswell, Jr., a Fort Worth native serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces, posthumously received the Medal of Honor in 1946. Yet, the significance of his service has not been widely commemorated in Fort Worth or even on the campus of his alma mater, Texas Christian University. This presentation highlights the outlines of his upbringing, education, and character growing up in Fort Worth and details the record of his heroic service as a command bomber pilot in the USAAF’s 14th Air Force during World War II. Through biographical publications, photographs, and contemporary records, the talk traces his meteoric rise in rank, his impressive achievements as an airman, and the engagement that ended in his ultimate sacrifice, as well as his legacy. Major Carswell’s story, at the same time, draws attention to the important role played by airpower in the often-overlooked China-Burma-Indian theater of operations.
Miguel Leatham holds a Doctorate in anthropology. He is a senior instructor in Anthropology and director of the Anthropology Program at Texas Christian University. He enjoys researching the culture and history of the United States Air Force and its heritage organizations, with a special focus on the Strategic Air Command. In recent years, he has made efforts to help to raise public awareness about the significance of Medal of Honor recipient, Major Horace S. Carswell, Jr. at TCU and in Fort Worth community settings. Dr. Leatham is active in the Air and Space Forces Association and a member of the B-36 Museum in Fort Worth.
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The Mexican Traveler: Philip Nolan and the Southwestern Horse Trade
2025-01-11 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Hidden off Highway 174 near Blum, about an hour south of Fort Worth, is a historical marker honoring Philip Nolan as an “early-day explorer, horse wrangler, and accused spy” whose “death aroused a wave of indignation that led to the Independence of Texas.” The marker, with its romanticized memory of Nolan as a precursor to an Anglo-American and independent Texas, has clouded his legacy. By examining the documents Nolan left behind, historian Jackson Pearson tells a dynamic story of how the American, Spanish, and Native American commercial markets collided in early America. Join us for this fascinating talk!
Jackson Pearson earned his Ph.D. in American History from Texas Christian University in 2024. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington. His dissertation examines the Neutral Ground Agreement of 1806 that defined the Louisiana-Texas border. He has authored four book chapters on his research, including “The Mexican Traveler’: Philip Nolan and the Southwestern Horse Trade” published in A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers, & Adventurers who Created a New American Nation.
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Civil Rights in Black and Brown
2025-02-01 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
In honor of African American History Month, join us as we welcome Dr. Todd Moye, co-author of Civil Rights in Black and Brown: Histories of Resistance and Struggle in Texas. In this talk based upon the book, Moye will delve into the rich history of the two civil rights movements that flourished in mid-twentieth-century Texas, and especially Fort Worth. While African American and Mexican American activists worked chiefly within their own racial groups, they also looked to each other for guidance and, occasionally came together in solidarity. Moye will draw on more than 500 oral history interviews to reveal hidden histories of resistance and revolution and the connection between them. Book signing will follow.
J. Todd Moye is the Fenton Wayne Robnett Professor of U.S. History and a Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of North Texas. He also directs the UNT Oral History Program and is a past president of the Oral History Association. Moye is the author, editor, or co-creator of several articles, books, and digital projects on the history of the modern African American freedom struggle, the most recent of which is Civil Rights in Black and Brown: Histories of Resistance and Struggle in Texas. A graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of Texas-Austin, Moye directed the National Park Service’s Tuskegee Airmen Oral History Project before coming to UNT.
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Oral History of Fort Worth and the Kennedy Assassination
2025-04-05 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Do you have memories of JFK’s 1963 visit to Fort Worth? Maybe just curious about his final days in Texas? If so, then join us this month when Stephen Fagin, Curator of the Sixth Floor Museum, brings us the story of the assassination from the Kennedy’s arrival at Carswell AFB to the burial of Lee Harvey Oswald at Rose Hill Cemetery. Based on the remembrances of those who were there and supported by remarkable historic photographs from the museum collection, Fagin’s narrative will highlight Fort Worth in the broader context of the assassination. The Museum’s ongoing Oral History Project, which includes 2,500 interviews, adds about 80 new contributions each year. If you remember the Kennedy’s trip to Fort Worth, then come prepared. Your story could be the next addition to the collection.
Stephen Fagin is Curator at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Since joining the staff in 2000, he has managed the institution’s ongoing Oral History Project and contributed to collections, exhibitions, education and programming initiatives. The author of Assassination and Commemoration, Fagin is associate editor of Legacies Dallas History Journal. As a content expert on the Kennedy assassination, he has appeared in numerous documentaries and television programs and given hundreds of media interviews, including appearances on the Today Show and Good Morning America. Fagin holds degrees from SMU and the University of Oklahoma.
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The Alamo: More Than You Remember
2025-04-30 18:30 - 19:30 | TX
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the latest on all things Alamo! Join us when we host Kate Rogers, Executive Director of the Alamo Trust, on Wednesday, April 30, at 6:30 pm. Rogers will share the latest news on preservation and archaeology going on in San Antonio in relation to The Alamo. Plus, she’ll provide an update on future plans, including the new visitor center and museum opening in 2027.
Dr. Kate Rogers currently serves as the Executive Director of The Alamo Trust, the non-profit organization responsible for the daily operations of the Alamo historic site and the implementation of the $550 million Alamo Plan. Prior to her time at The Alamo, she served as the Vice President of Community Outreach and Engagement at the Charles Butt Charitable Foundation. Kate graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Texas Christian University and received her Master of Public Affairs degree from the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She recently earned her Doctor of Education degree from the University of Southern California.

Get to Know the Fort Worth Preservation Program
2025-05-03 10:30 - 12:00 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Did you know that there are fourteen designated historic districts in the City of Fort Worth? Lorelei Willett, Historic Preservation Officer, will join us this month in recognition of National Historic Preservation Month to tell us about those districts and much more. She will give an overview of her department and the tools that are available to preservationists. If you have a preservation project in mind, know of a property or district in need of a designation, or are just curious about what the city can do to help protect our historic buildings and neighborhoods, then don’t miss this chance to learn from the expert.
Lorelei Willett is the Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Fort Worth and has over 10 years of experience in preservation planning and education. She has worked at the state and local level to increase capacity for and support community preservation efforts and currently oversees the city’s preservation program. She also serves as the President of the Texas Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology and is passionate about applying preservation principles to broader systems and supporting historically neglected communities and their histories. She earned a B.A. in History from Texas A&M University and a M.Sc. in Architectural Conservation from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK.
***There will be no Zoom option! This event is in-person only!***

Dandy Don Meredith: The First Dallas Cowboy
2025-09-06 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Do you remember “Dandy Don” Meredith? We do! So does newspaper columnist Dave Lieber, who has written the first comprehensive biography of this legendary quarterback and broadcaster, capturing the vibrant life of a man who helped shape the Dallas Cowboys’ identity. From his small-town roots in Mount Vernon, Texas, to his charismatic presence on the field and in the broadcast booth alongside Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football, Meredith’s story is one of talent, humor, and trailblazing spirit. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Lieber share more about Meredith’s enduring legacy as a beloved icon whose influence extended far beyond the world of football. Following the talk, books will be available for purchase, and Dave will be happy to sign them.
Author Dave Lieber has worked as a national award-winning Texas newspaper columnist for more than 30 years, first at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and then at The Dallas Morning News, where he writes the widely read “Watchdog” column. Beyond his impactful journalism, Lieber is a distinguished playwright, credited with two highly successful productions, including “Amon! The Ultimate Texan.” Additionally, he is recognized as a certified professional speaker with expertise in leveraging the power of storytelling within the business realm. Dandy Don Meredith – The First Dallas Cowboy is his 10th book.

S1, E2: One History, Many Voices. A Sit Down with Fort Worth Mayor, Mattie Parker
2025-09-19 08:00 - 2025-10-19 17:00 | TX
The second episode of the One History, Many Voices: The Tarrant County Chronicles Podcast releases on September 19th! In this episode, we sit down with Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker for a discussion about her vision and future for the city. To listen and catch up on the first episode, hit this link!

Alcon Laboratories: A Vision Fulfilled, 1947-1997
2025-10-04 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Join us for a fascinating talk with Tom McDonald on how a small, Fort Worth-based two-man company developed into the world’s leading ophthalmic company! Alcon Laboratories, founded in 1947 by Bob Alexander and Bill Conner in Fort Worth, Texas, grew from a two-person operation into the world’s leading ophthalmic specialty company by 1997. Its success was driven by a strong company culture, innovative products, and visionary leadership. With a focus on quality and customer satisfaction, Alcon expanded globally, employing over 10,500 people and offering thousands of products. Key leaders like George Leone and Ed Schollmaier helped guide its growth, and by 1997—twenty years after Nestlé acquired it—Alcon contributed significantly to Nestlé’s profits. The company’s journey reflects its commitment to eye care professionals and adapting to a changing medical landscape.
Thomas O. “Tom” McDonald dedicated 39 years to Alcon Laboratories, beginning in 1965 and retiring as vice president in 2004. He played a pivotal role in Alcon’s R&D growth, starting in Toxicology, where he developed industry standards and later oversaw nearly every Development function. His teams launched over 50 products and conducted 1,500 clinical studies, contributing to Alcon’s explosive expansion—from 600 to 10,500 employees and $10 million to $4 billion in sales. After retirement, he consulted for Nestlé in Switzerland and became a published historian, authoring books on Texas history and Alcon’s legacy. A TCU alumnus and active supporter, Tom continues to mentor students and promote Texas studies alongside his wife, Shinko, a distinguished interpreter and fellow TCU graduate.

The Alamo: More Than You Remember
2025-10-14 18:00 - 20:00 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Rescheduled from April! Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the latest on all things Alamo! Join us when we host Kate Rogers, Executive Director of the Alamo Trust, on Tuesday, October 14, at 6 pm. Rogers will share the latest news on preservation and archaeology going on in San Antonio in relation to The Alamo. Plus, she’ll provide an update on future plans, including the new visitor center and museum opening in 2027.
Dr. Kate Rogers currently serves as the Executive Director of The Alamo Trust, the non-profit organization responsible for the daily operations of the Alamo historic site and the implementation of the $550 million Alamo Plan. Prior to her time at The Alamo, she served as the Vice President of Community Outreach and Engagement at the Charles Butt Charitable Foundation. Kate graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Texas Christian University and received her Master of Public Affairs degree from the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She recently earned her Doctor of Education degree from the University of Southern California.

Texas in Turmoil: Mapping Interethnic Violence, 1821-79
2025-12-06 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
By the early decades of the nineteenth century, Texas had become one of the most ethnically and racially diverse regions in North America. With this diversity came a wide range of ethnic violence committed against people of all types of backgrounds. Join us for a discussion with Dr. Sam Haynes of the University of Texas Arlington. This project seeks to map incidents of fatal and near-fatal violence among the region’s many ethnic and racial groups over the course of more than half a century, from the birth of the Mexican republic in the early 1820s to the end of Reconstruction and the so-called “Indian Wars.” While some conflicts, such as the Texas struggle for independence, are well known, the collision of cultures took many forms. Clashes involving state actors–the formally recognized military forces of Mexico, Texas, and the United States— were only a small part of the broader pattern of violence in which the region’s inhabitants competed for economic resources, land, and political control.
Sam W. Haynes is a professor in the UTA Department of History and has served as director of the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies since 2009. Specializing in 19th-century US and Texas, he is the author of four books. His most recent work, Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, The Struggle for Texas (Basic Books, 2022) has won four book prizes and was listed as one of Foreign Affairs’ Best Books of 2022. As Center Director, Haynes also oversees “A Continent Divided: the U.S.-Mexico War,” a website that seeks to digitize the extensive Mexican War holdings in the UTA Library’s Special Collections. Haynes is an elected member of the Texas Institute of Letters and an elected fellow of the Texas State Historical Association.

Fort Worth from World War II to 1960
2026-01-03 10:30 - 12:00 | Fort Worth Public Library – Southwest Regional, 4001 Library Ln, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Harold Rich’s Fort Worth from World War II to 1960 traces the city’s transformation during World War II, the postwar years, and the early Cold War, highlighting both progress and persistent challenges. Fort Worth experienced rapid economic growth in the 1940s, fueled by Convair’s arrival, but momentum slowed in the 1950s as police struggled with corruption, traffic demands, and widespread gambling and prostitution. The era was marked by a powerful criminal underworld, daring robberies, and the spread of illegal drug use, even as internal conflicts eventually dismantled many gangs. Meanwhile, the city developed modern infrastructure—industrialization, freeways, and cultural institutions—yet race relations saw little improvement until the 1960s, leaving the overall transition from a nineteenth-century to a twentieth-century city incomplete. Join us for this fascinating talk!

Harold Rich, a Fort Worth resident for seventy years, earned his PhD from Texas Christian University. He is the author of Fort Worth: Outpost, Cowtown, Boomtown (winner of the Al Lowman Award from the Texas State Historical Association) and Fort Worth between the World Wars, as well as articles in the East Texas Historical Journal and the West Texas Historical Review. Dr. Rich also worked at General Dynamics and is a retired Captain of the Fort Worth Police Department. A book sale and signing will follow the talk.

Victim Impact: From Cold Case to Conviction in the William Reece Case
2026-02-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
Kelli Cox was, ironically, a criminal justice minor at the University of North Texas when she disappeared in 1997. In his new book, Victim Impact: From Cold Case to Conviction in the William Reece Case, author James Marquart delves into the gripping true story of her murder and the long journey toward resolution that ensued. His talk will cover the details of the crime but will also center the discussion on an in-depth exploration of a mother’s struggle for justice following the abduction and murder of her daughter at the hands of a serial predator. You will want to join us for this very human look at a terrible Texas true crime.

James Marquart graduated with a Ph.D. In Sociology from Texas A&M University while working as a prison guard. He taught and held administrative offices at UNT, Lamar University, and the University of Texas Dallas before joining the TCU Criminal Justice Department in 2023. He is former President on The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and has published many papers and books focused on the incarcerated and the experiences of victims. Most recently he’s woven that research into stories of true crime.

Behind the Seams: Preserving History at the Texas Fashion Collection
2026-03-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
The Texas Fashion Collection at the University of North Texas is a remarkable archive of designer garments and accessories, preserved through meticulous behind‑the‑scenes practices that range from climate‑controlled storage to specialized conservation techniques that protect delicate textiles for future study. Headed by Dr. Annette Becker, this program will highlight behind-the-scenes practices that enable the Texas Fashion Collection to preserve and present its nearly 20,000 historic and designer garments and accessories. While the collection contains materials from designers such as Balenciaga, Dior, and Givenchy, Dr. Becker will showcase uniquely Texan stories best represented by fashion history artifacts housed at the TFC, including an infamous Western-style party that featured bovine fashion show staged for a famous Parisian designer and Texan designers who have outfitted women ranging from First Lady Laura Bush to the character Fran Fine in the TV show The Nanny! Put on your best Texan wear and join us for this fascinating talk!

Dr. Annette Becker is an educator and historian whose research focuses on fashion history. She serves as the director of the Texas Fashion Collection, an archive of nearly 20,000 historic and designer garments and accessories housed within the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design. There, she engages in academic programming, curatorial activity, and collection advocacy informed by her graduate training in art history, art education, and American history.

A French Enclave in the Texas Panhandle, 1878-1898
2026-04-04 10:30 - 12:00 | TX
The history of the French in Texas since the 1700s has been chronicled and well documented by Texas historians, who have written at length about the establishment of French explorers in Texas. Yet far less is known about the many families who left France behind and all that was familiar to them, immigrated to the United States in the late 1880s, and answered the call to seek a brighter future in the American West. This presentation will tell the story of a few of those families, who, driven by determination, courage, and hope, established themselves in the Texas Panhandle to work the land and tend cattle. For them, West Texas was a promised land. But did their new reality fulfil their dreams? Join us for this fascinating talk!

Marie Schein, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Instructor of French in TCU’s Department of Modern Language Studies, where she teaches a wide range of courses spanning introductory language study to advanced seminars on French and Francophone culture. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of North Texas, with a dissertation on contemporary Native American literature, as well as master’s degrees in French and English from the University of Colorado Boulder and Université Paul Valéry–Montpellier. Her teaching and curriculum development reflect broad expertise in French and Francophone studies, including Quebec and Louisiana literature, multiculturalism, immigration, and national identity. Schein has led study‑abroad and service‑learning programs in France, contributed to the creation of innovative courses, and earned distinctions such as the Knight in the Order of the French Academic Palms and the Helen Lorenz Excellence in Teaching Award.

The Architecture of Charles Stevens Dilbeck in Fort Worth
2026-04-22 18:30 - 2026-04-25 16:00 | TX
Quirky. Eclectic. Whimsical. Delightful. All of these words have been used to describe the man and the work of Dilbeck who designed some of the region’s most interesting and important homes from the mid 1920s until the late 1960s. The program will explore the architectural legacy of Charles Dilbeck in Fort Worth. This two-part program includes:
Wednesday, April 22 from 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM: An interactive Zoom lecture
Saturday, April 25 from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM: Bus Tour at multiple Dilbeck properties in Fort Worth and box lunch. Tour departs from TCU’s Dee J. Kelly Alumni & Visitors Center.
You can purchase tickets at: https://www.campusce.net/tcu/course/course.aspx?catId=503.

“The British and Comanches are Coming! The Problem of English Traders and Indian Diplomacy in Spanish Texas for Support of the American Revolution”
2026-05-02 10:30 - 12:00 | Palko Hall, 3000 Bellaire Drive North, Fort Worth, TX, 76109, United States
This talk focuses upon the Spanish imperial project during the late 1770’s in the far northeastern frontier of New Spain (colonial Mexico) that included the province of Texas. With the appearance of English traders along the Gulf Coast of Texas, the Spanish attempted to exert control over Indigenous nations and trade through the establishment of Bucareli along the lower Trinity River under the leadership of Captain Antonio Gil Ybarbo, a criollo native from Los Adaes. Whereas his superiors feared contraband trade, indios bárbaros, and foreigners, Ybarbo and other frontiersmen sought comercio libre (free trade) along with the development of ranching and agricultural enterprises under Spain’s Bourbon Reforms that fueled dreams of empire and independence during the American Revolution.
Francis X. Galán holds a PhD in history from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. He is currently an Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University-San Antonio and a Research Fellow with the Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast at Lamar University. He is the author of the book, Los Adaes: The First Capital of Spanish Texas, published in 2020 by Texas A&M University Press through the Summerfield G. Roberts Texas History Series, and won the 2022 book award from the Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association as well as a 2023 book award from the San Antonio Conservation Society. On a personal note, Dr. Galán was born at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas, where his father was a Lieutenant Commander in the Medical Corps, and grew up in San Antonio, which he considers his hometown.
Click here to register on Zoom!
