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Texas America250: Bluebonnets and Big Bend
The beauty and variety of the Lone Star State’s expansive landscape are points of pride for Texans and a draw for visitors from all over the world. Our state park system holds historical significance, serving as a monument to the hard work of the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Texas also boasts two national parks and many other officially designated national historical and recreational sites to explore. Perhaps most awe-inspiring is Big Bend National Park, with mountains and vistas unlike anywhere else in the state. Efforts from the Highway Department (now the Texas Department of Transportation) to beautify roadsides helped spread the growth of wildflowers. Fields of bluebonnets, the state flower, continue to create a picturesque backdrop for family photos—a cherished Texas tradition.
Big Bend, 1970s. Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials, 1991/077-207-005. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Sotol, undated. Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials, 2012/193-02-02-148.
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Bluebonnets in fields, undated. Texas Department of Agriculture photograph collection, 2001/078-006-70-083-2.
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“Adopting a State Flower”
Senate Concurrent Resolution 10, 27th Legislature, Regular Session (1901), Texas Secretary of State legislative bills and resolutions filed. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Whereas, the State of Texas at present has no State flower, and
Whereas, the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Texas have requested of the Legislature that it adopt the lupinus subcarnosus (generally known as buffalo clover or blue bonnet) as the State flower, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Texas, the House of Representatives concurring, that the lupinus subcarnosus (generally known as buffalo clover or blue bonnet) be and the same is hereby declared to be the State flower of Texas.
Approved March 7, 1901.
“Bluebonnet Seeds for You to Help Beautify Texas,” undated. Bluebonnet seed packets addressed to Mrs. F. T. Baldwin from Governor John Connally.
John Connally Campaign Material, Texas Governor's Mansion Collection, 1987/173-14-39.
Link to “Bluebonnet Seeds for You to Help Beautify Texas” front.
Link to “Bluebonnet Seeds for You to Help Beautify Texas” back.
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In the 1930s, the Texas Highway Department started planting wildflowers along major highways. In the 1960s, Governor John Connally joined Lady Bird Johnson's efforts to beautify Texas by distributing bluebonnet seeds to campaign donors by mail.
Record, Kay L. Gale presents, When the Bluebonnets Begin to Grow, words and music by Kay L. Gale, sung by Kay L. Gale, 1983-1987. Side one 45 RPM. Artifact collection, ATF0297. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Note on the record:
To Governor Mark White of Texas and to his lovely wife, two wonderful people who love this great state of Texas.
Listen to the When the Bluebonnets Begin to Grow recording at this link to our Texas Digital Archive site 
Bluebonnets, the Texas State Flower, Photoengraved postcard with color added, undated. Chicago: Curt Teich & Co., Inc. Photographs, Graham (R. Niles) collection,1964/306-1256. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Bluebonnets, Photoengraved postcard with color added (undated). The National Color Press, San Francisco. Photographs, Graham (R. Niles) collection, 1964/306-1257. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
“Texas Bluebonnet Song,” words and music by Julia D. Owen, 1922, “To the schools and clubs of Texas.” Texas State Archives Texas sheet music collection, 2015/083-1.
Link to “Texas Bluebonnet Song” cover.
Link to “Texas Bluebonnet Song” two pages.
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Julia D. Owen was a native of Navasota, Texas, and died there in 1964 at 96 years of age. Campaigns to save the bluebonnets in the 1920s inspired many musicians, poets, and authors to share their love of this iconic Texas symbol.
Big Bend, 1970s. Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials, 1991/077-207-014. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Big Bend, 1970s. Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials, 1991/077-207-023. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Big Bend, 1980-1982. Texas Tourist Development Agency photographs and audiovisual materials, 2012/193-01-01-007. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
Surveyor’s chain, 1850–1900. Artifact collection, ATF0191. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
This metal chain was used to measure land. Surveyors used tools like this to mark property lines and create maps. It is linked to Charles Bellinger Tate Stewart, an important Republic era leader who helped shape the wild and rugged terrain of Texas. Tools like this were essential to settle towns and trace farms and roads across the state.
Big Bend deed given to United States, 1943. Executive correspondence files, 2005/147-2. Texas State Parks Board Big Bend National Park files. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
This press release announced that the State Texas gave land to the US government to help create Big Bend National Park. The article, printed in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on September 6, 1943, shows how Texas worked to preserve its wild spaces for future generations.
Bridge construction, Chisos Mountains, 1934. Don R. Brice Collection, 1989/006-197. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
This photo shows Don R. Brice (center) with his Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crew as they build a bridge in the Chisos Mountains. In 1934, Brice led CCC Company 896 in creating the Green Gulch Road using only basic tools and hard work. Even with tough conditions, Brice remembered his time in Big Bend as one of the best experiences of his life.
At the Gravel Pit, Chisos Mountains, 1934. Don R. Brice Collection, 1989/006-172. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
In this photo, Don R. Brice kneels with members of his Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crew at a gravel pit in the Chisos Mountains.
Governor Pat Neff Speech, 1925. Administrative files, 2006/376-4, Texas State Parks Board records. Page 1. Click or tap on image to view larger version of Page 1.
Governor Pat Neff Speech, 1925. Administrative files, 2006/376-4, Texas State Parks Board records. Page 2. Click or tap on image to view larger version of Page 2.
Click or tap on links to view large versions of the Governor Pat Neff Speech, 1925 pages - Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10.
This speech by Governor Pat Neff comes from his 1925 book The Battles of Peace. Neff believed parks should give people a place to "forget the anxiety and strife... of life's daily grind." In 1923, he helped create the State Parks Board—his proudest achievement. He and the board drove more than 8,000 miles across Texas and secured 52 pieces of land for parks.
Big Bend National Park Survey Map – East Boundary, 1940. Big Bend National Park, Civilian Conservation Corps files, 2008/038-2, Texas State Parks Board records. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
This map shows the eastern edge of what would become Big Bend National Park. It was made on October 18, 1940, as part of early planning for the park. Survey maps like this helped mark the land and guide park development. The Civilian Conservation Corps, a government work program, helped with these efforts during the Great Depression.
Women Overlooking the Rio Grande. Big Bend National Park, Texas State Parks Board Big Bend National Park files, 2005/147-2. Click or tap on image to view larger version.
In this powerful photo, three women stand together looking out over the Rio Grand River in Big Bend National Park. The picture, though undated, shows the timeless beauty and vastness of the park's landscape.