A picture of the mural gracing the lobby of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, home of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in Austin, Texas

Details in the Mural Tell Texas' Story

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Close-up slices of the mural image (opens in new window/tab): Left | Center | Right

Download print files of the mural (opens in a new window/tab).

1. A ship brings some of the first settlers and missionaries.

2. The conquistador figure symbolizes the influence French and Spanish explorers have on early settlement in the area that will become Texas.

3. A group of Indians sitting in front of their tipis. The blue design around the front tipi indicates the chief's residence and what appear to be tassels on top of the poles extending from the top are actually scalps.

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4. Stephen F. Austin 

5. The figures behind Austin represent different types of people that came to Texas.

6. A small group of Native Americans on the warpath travel in the opposite direction of the flow of the mural representing their opposition to Anglo settlement.

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7. Texas’ fight for independence from Mexico and eventual statehood is symbolized by the man carrying the flag of the Republic, which later became the state flag.

8. The fallen figure symbolizes all the casualties in Texas’ struggle for independence.

9. As victor at the Battle of San Jacinto and first president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston takes center stage.

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10. William Travis

11. David Crockett  

12. Jim Bowie

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13. The sky over the Alamo is shown as it looked at the actual time of the battle: Santa Anna attacked at 4 a.m. in pre-dawn darkness — Mr. Rogers even researched what phase the moon was in that morning. The flames behind the Alamo represent the fires of revolution.

14. Texas develops its resources and becomes a state. The cowboy evokes trail-driving days, the rope around the longhorn represents control over the land with the windmill serving as a trademark for its development.

15. The small steam engine indicates more people and industry coming to Texas.

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16. Mirabeau B. Lamar, second president of the Republic.  

17. Anson Jones, the Republic’s last president.

18. The woman and child represent the U.S. bringing Texas into the Union as a young state. Behind the woman is the U.S. flag, on which Texas is the 28th star.

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19. The state flower, the bluebonnet, sits next to other iconic Texas flora: the yucca and century plant.

20. Bales of cotton represent the ever-important cotton industry; two confederate soldiers in front of the white building symbolize Texas' involvement in the Civil War.

21. Sheep and oil wells show Texas moving into an even greater industrial era.

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Page last modified: May 20, 2016