Tuesday, March 8, 2022 - 4:11pm
By Amy Borgens, State Marine Archeologist
During a violent storm in April 1554, four Spanish Plate Fleet vessels became separated en route from San Juan de Ulúa (Veracruz), Mexico on their way to Spain. Only San Andres would safely arrive at Havana, Cuba, though heavily damaged—the remainder of the fleet ran aground and sank off present-day Padre Island, Texas. Most of the passengers...
Monday, January 31, 2022 - 3:51pm
By Amy Borgens, State Marine Archeologist
On February 1, 1972, the THC hired its first state marine archeologist. This followed the 1969 enactment of the Antiquities Code of Texas, a law protecting the state’s cultural and archeological resources, including shipwrecks. Formed at that time, the Marine Archeology Program (MAP), originally known as the Underwater Archeological...
Tuesday, June 26, 2018 - 8:00am
By Amy Borgens and Sarah Linden, THC Marine Archeology Program staff
In a prior blog, Marine Archeology Program (MAP) staff described the types of archeological sites located in coastal public areas and waterways. These amazing finds are often vulnerable to man-made impacts, vandalism, and looting despite the protections specified in the Antiquities...
Wednesday, October 4, 2017 - 7:00am
By Sarah Linden, THC Marine Archeologist
Most Texans know the best way to cool down from the heat is to grab some sunscreen and hit the beach or float down one of our beautiful rivers. Texas boasts 367 linear miles of coastline and 1,500 square miles of river bottoms. These waters have been historically utilized to transport people, goods, and culture for hundreds of years. There are...
Monday, May 29, 2017 - 10:09pm
By Amy Borgens, State Marine Archeologist
The 600-foot Northampton-class cruiser USS Houston was sunk by the Japanese Navy during World War II on March 1, 1942 during the Battle of Sunda Strait off Indonesia. The sunken ship served as an unintentional grave for many of the more than 700 sailors and marines that perished in the tragedy. Of the 1,061 crew on board, only 368 survived,...
Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - 7:30am
By Amy Borgens and Sarah Linden, THC Marine Archeology Program staff
Earlier this spring, we traveled to Galveston to team up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) for the 10th annual family-centered event “Ocean Discovery Day.” The event is designed to introduce visitors to the variety of marine...
Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - 8:00am
By Becky Shelton, THC Regional Archeologist
On a clear, cool day in early December 2015, months of research and planning came together at the 19th century Cleng Peerson Farm-Colwick Farmstead in Bosque County. What had started as a seemingly simple inquiry to the THC's History Programs Division turned into an amazing journey of discovery that united two communities from across the...
Thursday, November 19, 2015 - 8:00am
By Pat Mercado-Allinger, THC Archeology Division Director and State Archeologist
This season, THC staff is expressing our gratitude to the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission, a nonprofit organization that assists our agency with our mission to identify, preserve, and protect Texas history. By raising private funds, the Friends of the THC has enabled many projects that could not...
Thursday, January 22, 2015 - 7:19pm
By Rebecca Shelton, THC Regional Archeologist, and Lisa Worley, THC Education Specialist
On January 4, we teamed with the Bullock Texas State History Museum for its Free First Sundays event. The focus of that day’s exhibit and activities were on the La Belle shipwreck and associated archeology. We were joined by Texas Archeological Stewardship Network members May and Jim Schmidt for...
Tuesday, October 14, 2014 - 9:08am
By Jeff Durst, THC Regional Archeologist
A Historic Texas Lands Plaque was presented on Tuesday, September 16 for the Smoky Creek Site in Refugio County. The plaque was presented to Dallas Ford, son-in-law of Betty Jo Landgraf, the property owner of the site. I made the presentation along with five members of the THC’s Texas Archeological Stewardship Network (TASN) who helped map the...
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