While people were exercising their right to vote Tuesday, many may not have known that it was also Texas Independence Day. For those of you who don’t know the meaning of this, it’s when Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836. March 2 is picked because it was the day the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed.

   Test your knowledge on these questions from The Great Texas Quiz, Part II which can be found at the Handbook of Texas Online. Answers are upside down at the bottom.

Question 1:

Great Texas Explorers

The first known explorers of Texas were actually the Clovis people of the Paleo-Indian Stage. They were followed many years later by the early European explorers, including five listed below. One of these explorers was shipwrecked on Galveston Island in 1528. He traveled inland and encountered three of his lost shipmates near what is thought to be the Guadalupe River. They traveled onward through present-day Mexico to the Pacific. His Relación was composed shortly after the journey ended in 1536, nearly 500 years ago, and effectively became the first literature of Texas. The surname of this prominent explorer literally means “the head of a cow.” Which explorer is it?

Question 2:

Great Texas Missions

The Spanish explorations led to the founding of a series of missions which were an important part of the early settlement of Texas. Texas has focused recently on restoring many of the great missions, including the Alamo, otherwise known as the San Antonio de Valero mission. The following missions have also been restored. Which of these are located in the San Antonio area?

Question 3:

Great Texas Empresarios

Stephen F. Austin is certainly the best-known of the Texas empresarios, but he was by no means the only one. The word “empresario” in Spanish means “agent” or “entrepreneur.” Under the Mexican Colonization Law of 1823, the empresarios generally received a set amount of acreage in return for settling an agreed number of families. Their role in Texas history is measured not just by the number of families that they attracted to the state, but also by the quality of leadership they provided.

The following five empresarios were active in the settlement of Texas. One of the five served initially as a translator and clerk to Stephen F. Austin. For the next thirteen years he was Austin's lieutenant, writing deeds, keeping records, and directing colonial activities during Austin’s absences. For his various services he received eleven leagues (49,000 acres) of land, including lands on Oyster Creek and Buffalo Bayou. He was active in raising significant capital for the Texas revolution in 1835 and 1836. Which empresario is it?

Question 4:

Great Texas Counties

The origin of the Texas county is found in the municipality, the unit of local government under Spanish and Mexican rule. Municipalities were rather large districts embracing one or more settlements and the surrounding rural territory. There were twenty-three of them by 1836, when Texas won her independence from Mexico. Texas has had 254 counties since the organization of Loving County in 1931. The largest county in square miles is located in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, and is also the site of Big Bend National Park. Which county is it?

Question 5:

Great Texas Lakes

The largest lakes in Texas do not rival Lake Michigan or the other Great Lakes of the north, which were generally formed as an aftermath of the last Ice Age. This did not deter some Texans, however, who for a combination of economic, flood control, and water supply reasons set out to build new lakes and reservoirs. In fact, the largest lake or reservoir in Texas is man-made. Construction began in 1964 and was completed in 1969. It is located on the Sabine River and covers about 180,000 acres. Which body of water is it?

Bonus Question:

When was Ozona chosen as the county seat of Crockett County?

MELISSA PERNER is the editor and publisher of The Ozona Stockman. 

 Answers to quiz:
1. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca;
2. San José y San Miguel de Aguayo,  Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción, San Juan Capistrano and San Francisco de la Espada;
3. Samuel May Williams;
4. Brewster County;
5. Toledo Bend Reservoir and
Bonus: July 7, 1891