On exhibit through May 15, 2023.
Texas Governors and their Times, 1846-1946 displays materials from the official work and daily business of the chief executive. As Texas transitioned in 1845 from an independent republic to the 28th state in the Union, the new leader became governor instead of president. Beginning in 1846, Texas governors oversaw the growth and development of what would become the second most populous state in the country.
Documents from governors’ records at the State Archives tell the story of conflicts and wars, victories and defeats, oil booms and disasters, ranches and railroads, and so much more that has built the Texas of today. Through governors’ files, we encounter Texans requesting military exemptions from Francis R. Lubbock, pardons from Miriam “Ma” Ferguson, and pensions from W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel. Governors had requests of their own, such as for volunteers to fight in war and the arrest of outlaws.
This exhibit complements our longstanding and popular Portraits of Texas Governors website, which profiles governors from early statehood through 1991. Much more information about individual governors not included in this exhibit is available on that site.
Keep clicking through the sections below to explore the first century of the governorship through photos, documents, artifacts, and publications. Texas Governors and their Times provides glimpses of their daily work as they handled issues of their eras.
Photo Credits:
Pease, Elisha Marshall, undated. Hartford, Connecticut: Isaac White. Mrs. William C. Varney Collection, 1964/275-1. Prints and Photographs.
Governor’s Mansion, Luck Bros., about 1919. Places Collection, 1/103-80. Prints and Photographs.
James Stephen Hogg (seated at right) with John Reagan and others, 1905. Image 1982/380-1, Prints and Photographs.