THE BATTALION Page 3
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1980
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Four claim to be state's oldest
Chemicals
Texas cities argue over their age blamed in
By ROBERT R. GREEN
Battalion Reporter
Quick, now, think back to that Texas history
course you had in high school. What’s the oldest
town in Texas?
San Augustine, you say?
Right, say the people of San Augustine.
Wrong, say their neighbors down Highway 21
in Nacogdoches.
Not at all, say the West Texans in Ysleta.
To the contrary, maintain the folks in San
Antonio.
In fact, all four cities claim to be the state’s
oldest settlement. And which one of them is right
depends on how “the oldest” is defined, said Dr.
J. Milton Nance, professor emeritus of history at
Texas A&M University.
To decide which city is oldest, one has to decide
what area is included in Texas — the state’s bor
ders have changed over the years — and what
kind of settlement is eligible, Nance said.
For instance, a mission on the present site of
Nacogdoches in East Texas was founded in June
1716. But it is not considered a continuous settle
ment because it was abandoned during two
periods in the 18th century.
Nearby San Augustine grew out of another mis
sion, this one founded a few months after the
Nacogdoches mission but shown on official maps
with a date of 1717.
The oldest continuous Spanish settlement in
... four cities claim to be
the state's oldest
settlement. And which one
of them is right depends on
how “the oldest”is defined
Spanish Texas as defined by decrees of 1805 was
the Villa de Bexar, now San Antonio, Nance said.
It was founded May 1, 1718.
Ysleta, in El Paso County, is the oldest town
within the present boundary of the state as set by
the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Nance said.
Ysleta grew out of a mission dating from 1682,
and was founded by Spaniards who fled from a
revolt of Pueblo Indians in northern New Mexico,
said Dr. Tom Cutrer, a research associate at the
Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio.
The problem with Ysleta, though, is that while
the town is now on the Texas side of the Rio
Grande, the river changed course in 1829. Ori
ginally, Ysleta was on the opposite side of the
river, Nance said.
If one wants to go far afield and consider the
area claimed by the Republic of Texas from 1836
to 1846, Nance said, the oldest city is Santa Fe,
founded in 1609. Santa Fe is now part of New
Mexico.
“If you want an oldest city, San Antonio is my
favorite candidate,” Cutrer said. However, he
also acknowledged that there’s probably no way to
say definitively which Texas town is oldest.
Nance, who doesn’t consider the question
especially important, said that “this chamber of
commerce rivalry” between the towns explains
the arguments over age.
He said the question is only one of many which
historians are unable to resolve with scientific
accuracy.
“It’s not a science,” Nance said of history, “be
cause it doesn’t use ... a test-tube method. You’re
dealing with the past, you’re trying to find out
what people thought and did, and yet you have to
rely on the records they left behind. ”
Errors can creep into accepted history, he said,
and this adds to the uncertainty.
“Once something is put down in black and
white, pen and ink, or in a newspaper or book,”
Nance said, “others quote it or accept it without
knowing it is wrong, and so it gets repeated and
repeated.”
lab fire
Fire burst out Saturday at 5 p.m.
in a fourth-floor Biological Sciences
Building research laboratory.
No one was in the lab at the time.
Damage to equipment and the
building is roughly in the $75,000 to
$100,000 range, said Robert Stiteler,
Texas A&M University safety and
health officer.
Stiteler said there was some minor
smoke damage to other labs, but no
thing serious.
Douglas Landua, College Station
fire chief, said the fire was probably
caused by “flammable liquids stored
in a non-explosive container.”
“When the refrigerator kicked on,
it caught a spark and exploded,”
Landua said.
Although the report on the fire is
incomplete, Landua said vapors had
probably leaked into the refrigerator
and exploded.
Staff photo by Greg Gammon
Sawed-off horn
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•ing their I
Junior Accounting major (and Aggie) Ronnie Hilliard sports a
broken t.u. “longhorn” cap that seems to match the football
team. The Aggies “sawed varsity’s horns off’ to the tune of a
24-14 win over the Longhorns in Austin Saturday.
^AMU opens house
JCAMU-TV will hold a live Open
Hmise’’from 8 to 10 tonight in Studio
If the Hiram Moore Communica-
i Center.
flie presentation is scheduled to
Iture the music of Texas A&M Uni-
Bsity’s four choral groups — Sing
ing Cadets, Century Singers,
Women’s Chorus and Reveliers — in
addition to choirs from local chur
ches and schools.
Other activities will include holi
day food ideas presented by Blocker
Trant and gift ideas by a selected
group of area merchants.
The festivities are part of KAMU’s
festival week.
Santa posing for pics
ianta Claus and his elves will
ame to the main hallway in the
fmorial Student Center this week
pose for pictures^
iihe photo sessions are sponsored
| the Student Chapter of the Amer-
Veterinary Medicine Associa-
and will be today and Thursday
Om3 to 5 p.m., Wednesday from 2
to 5 p.m. and Friday from noon to 5
p.m.
The Polaroid pictures of Santa
Claus will be put into a Christmas
card for $3 each and can include as
many persons as desired, Melissa
Hill, chapter member, said.
SCAVMA is sponsoring the event
to raise money for an April trip to a
convention in Ithaca, New York, Hill
said.
oncert on before Taps
lountry singer Lacy J. Dalton and
lie Dalton Gang will appear tonight
It 8 as planned, Michael Parkman,
MSC Town Hall chairman, said.
■What we are going to do is ask her
Dend the show by 10:15,” Parkman
fid. This is to avoid a possible con
flict with Silver Taps, which will be
gin at 10:30.
Many tickets are still available for
the concert at $6.50, $5.75 and
$5.00, Parkman said. The show will
be in Rudder Auditorium.
Firearms
instruction
this week
For those who want to learn the
proper use of guns, a “Firearms for
Defense” course will be conducted
Wednesday through Friday at the
Bryan Research and Extension
Center.
Classes will be from 7 to 10 p.m.
and shooting practice will be from 8
a.m. to noon on Saturday, the $40
fee includes ammunition.
The course will be conducted by
the Law Enforcement and Security
Training Division of the Texas En
gineering Extension Service, a part
of the Texas A&M University
System.
For more information, contact Bill
C. Cooksey at 779-3880, ext. 391.
Symphonic
band to play
Thursday
The Texas A&M University Sym
phonic Band will present a concert at
8 p.m. Thursday in Rudder Auditor
ium with featured guest Arturo Ser-
gi, Metropolitan Opera tenor.
The band will play marches, over
tures and Cole Porter tunes. Indi
vidual numbers include a flute trio
and a baritone solo.
Admission is $1 for students and $3
for non-students. Tickets may be
purchased at the Rudder Box Office,
at the door or from any Bryan-
College Station Rotary Club mem
ber, whose organization is sponsor
ing the event.
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^ Texas A&M University Press
BOOK SALE
Up to 80% off
Over 90 titles to choose from
Fantastic Christmas Buys
THREE DAYS ONLY
Thursday and Friday, December 4, 5
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 6
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
s rub
•CENTlUt, TEXAS
at the TAMU Press Warehouse
Asbury Street
(between University Drive and
the blue water tower)
'% HI 11 ^
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| Cash paid or will swap for Aggie Ring
| Diamonds.
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| 693-1647
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Also available:
Winter Park
Steamboat
Aspen
PI
MICHELOB.
6 days/5 nights in a condo with
kitchen and fireplace
□ 3 days lift tickets
□ 3 days ski rental
□ Discounted additional ski days
□ Ski party
□ Optional air, bus or train
transportation
$169 per person
Charter bus option $99
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL:
or Bill @ 693-8067