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Texas State Symbols, Songs, and Emblems

For the latest symbols information, visit the NETSTATE CHRONICLE.

Designation Symbol / Emblem AdoptedList by adoption year

Sources...

"Legislation." Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Legislative Reference Library of Texas, 2012. Web. 3 Mar 2012. <http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legis/billsearch/lrlhome.cfm>.
"Texas Constitution and Statutes." Texas Legislature Online. Texas State Legislature, 2012. Web. 3 Mar 2012. <http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/>.
"State Symbols." Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Texas State Library and Archives Commission, 09 Jan 2012. Web. 3 Mar 2012. <https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/symbols.html>.
Shankle, George Earlie. State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols. Irvine, Calif.: Reprint Services Corp, Revised edition, 1971.
Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 3 Sub edition, 2001.

Flag Find out more... 1839
State seal Find out more... 1845
Flower Bluebonnet (Lupinus subcarnosus) 1901
Tree Pecan tree (Carya illinoinensis) 1919
Bird Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 1927
Song "Texas, Our Texas," words by William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright, music by William J. Marsh. 1929
Flower song "Bluebonnets," by Julia D. Booth and Lora C. Crockett. 1933
Pledge to the flag Find out more... 1933
Epic poem "The Legend of Old Stone Ranch" 1969
Gem Texas blue topaz 1969
Longhorn herd Texas Parks and Wildlife's foundation herd 1969
Stone Petrified palmwood 1969
Grass Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) (Michx.) Torr. 1971
Dish Chili 1977
Gemstone cut Lone Star Cut 1977
Plays "The Lone Star," presented in Galveston Island State Park until 1990.
"Texas," presented in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
"Beyond the Sundown," presented at the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation.
"Fandangle," presented in Shackelford County.
1979
Hero Earl Campbell 1981
Aquarium Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi 1985
Hero Carl Lewis 1985
Maritime museum Texas Maritime Museum, Rockport, Aransas County 1987
Shell Lightning whelk (Busycon contrarium) 1987
Air force Confederate Air Force 1989
Fish Guadalupe bass (Micropterus treculi) 1989
Tartan Find out more... 1989
Folk dance Square dance 1991
Fruit Texas red grapefruit (Citrus X paradisi) 1993
Reptile Horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) 1993
Flying mammal Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) 1995
Insect Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) 1995
Large state mammal Longhorn (Bos taurus) 1995
Pepper Jalapeno (Capsicum annuum) 1995
Plant Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) 1995
Ship Battleship Texas 1995
Small mammal Armadillo (Family: Dasypodidae) 1995
Bluebonnet trail Ennis Bluebonnet Trail 1997
Bluebonnet city Ennis 1997
Bluebonnet festival The Chappell Hill Bluebonnet Festival 1997
Fiber and fabric Cotton (Genus Gossypium) 1997
Musical instrument Guitar 1997
Native pepper Chiltepin (Capsicum annuum) 1997
Shrub Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia) 1997
Sport Rodeo 1997
Vegetable Sweet onion 1997
Health nut Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) 2001
Home of "Old Rip--The Most Famous Horned Toad in Texas." Eastland 2001
Horned lizard capital of Texas Kenedy 2001
Tejano music hall of fame Tejano Music Hall of Fame, Alice 2001
Pastries Sopaipilla and Strudel (Until January 31, 2005) 2003
Railroad Texas State Railroad 2003
Snack Tortilla chips and salsa 2003
10K Texas Round-Up 0K 2005
Cooking implement Cast iron Dutch oven 2005
Bread Pan de campo, also called cowboy bread 2005
Dog breed Blue Lacy (Canis lupus familiaris) 2005
Native shrub Texas purple sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) 2005
Tall ship Elissa 2005
Vehicle Chuck wagon 2005
Footwear Cowboy boot 2007
Precious metal Silver 2007
Rodeo drill team Ghostriders 2007
Tie Bolo tie 2007
Amphibian Texas toad (Bufo speciosus) 2009
Cotton gin museum Burton Cotton Gin & Museum, Burton 2009
Dinosaur Paluxysaurus jonesi 2009
Horse American quarter horse (Equus caballus) 2009
Bison herd Texas bison herd ad Caprock State Park 2011
Domino game 42 2011
Music Western swing 2011
Saltwater fish Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) 2011
Waterlily Nymphaea Texas Dawn 2011
Cobbler Peach cobbler 2013
Pie Pecan pie 2013
Sea turtle Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) 2013
Hat Cowboy hat 2015
Butterfly Capital Jasper 2015
Pollinator Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) 2015
Vaquero Capital Jim Hogg County 2015
Hashtag of the State of Texas #Texas 2015
Hashtag of the Texas Legislature #texlege 2015
Hashtag of Texas Tourism #TexasToDo 2015

Making laws in Texas

The Texas legislature offers information about itself on two distinct levels.

Each house of the Legislature maintains a section devoted to "kids." The House of Representatives' interactive "Kid's House, Where Texas Kids Meet Texas State Government," breaks down a general presentation into three level, grades 1-3, grades 4-6, and grades 7-8. The Texas Senate also maintains an interactive section called Senate Kids. It breaks down its presentation into sections for grades 4+ and grades 3-.

The 2007 Citizen Handbook: How the Legislature Worksadobe document is a comprehensive guide and is obviously intended for adults. You may find the Legislative Lexicon--January 2011adobe document, published by the Texas Senate Research Center, a useful companion to the Citizen Handbook.

Additional Information

Texas State Symbols: List of adopted symbols - Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

TPWD Kids: Texas Symbols: Texas animal symbols and coloring book - Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Flags & Other Symbols: Texas State Historical Association: Texas Almanac.

Texas Facts and Symbols
Texas
Facts and Symbols

Emily McAuliffe

Texas Facts and Symbols, by Emily McAuliffe. 24 pages. Publisher: Capstone Press; Rev Upd edition (August 2003) Reading level: Grades 3-4. Interest level: Grades 3-9. Perfect for report writing! Easy-to-read text covers major Texas symbols such as the state flag, seal, bird, tree, flower, animal, and more. A "Fast Facts" section highlights the state's capital city, largest city, physical size, population, natural resources, farm products, and primary manufactured goods. Also included are full-page maps that introduce the concept of the map key, which is great for teaching map-reading skills.

State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols
State Names, Seals
Flags and Symbols

Benjamin F. Shearer
Barbara S. Shearer

State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols, by Benjamin F. Shearer, Barbara S. Shearer. 544 pages. Greenwood Press; 3 Sub edition (October 30, 2001) This is one of the best, and most comprehensive, books we could find about the official state names and nicknames, mottoes, seals, flags, capitols, flowers, trees, birds, songs, and miscellaneous designations of each state. This, coupled with the 1938 Shankle book, formed the basis of our symbol library. If you're serious about your states symbols, you'll want to have this book and the one below. This book also contains information about state holidays, license plates, sports teams, universities and other trivia.

State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers, and Other Symbols, by George Earlie Shankle. 522 pages. Reprint Services Corp; Revised edition (June 1971) Reprint of the 1938 revised edition. The first comprehensive book about our state symbols! From the preface: "This book grew out of the desire of its author to know, about his native state, a great many facts which he found exceedingly difficult to obtain. After three years of research in the Library of Congress, he is able to give to the public this storehouse of information, which could have been gathered from not library less fertile in source material..."

Visit the NETSTATE Texas State Book Store for additional Texas related books, including Texas Reference Books, History, Biographies and Cookbooks.

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