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Infectious disease has always been a presence in Anglo-settled North America. Some of the earliest were dysentery and fevers in 17th-century colonial settlements. Then came about the smallpox and diphtheria of the early 18th century. And then there was the yellow fever and cholera of the late 18th and 19th centuries.[1] Emergency hospital during influenza epidemic, Camp Funston, Kansas. Emergency hospital during influenza epidemic (NCP 1603), National Museum of Health and Medicine. Public Domain. And by far one of the world's most serious natural catastrophes of the 20th century was the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. In the American [...]

The Lucas gusher at Spindletop, January 10, 1901, Original photo by John Trost On January 10, 1901, Spindletop, the famous oil field in Beaumont, Texas, “gushered” in an era of transformation for the state of Texas. The development of oil in Texas helped transform its once rural economy to one spearheaded by the petroleum industry and, likewise, steered its population from rural to urban. In 1900, only 17% of Texans lived in urban centers while 83% of the state’s population was rural. Flash forward to a little over a hundred years later in 2010, when we see those numbers flipped [...]

**Researched and written by independent scholar Deborah Reed** How did the seventh child of an East Texas peach farmer and saloon owner become America’s richest man and host to the President of the United States?  Like any good story involving Sid Richardson, one should settle down for a spell of swapping spit over the fence. The first time Sid Richardson hosted a president was in the summer of 1937.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt left Washington for a fishing trip on the Texas coast Friday, April 30.  However, Richardson’s part of the story starts much earlier with meeting the President’s second [...]

Memories of Carroll Smith, Chief Draftsman for the Richardson/Bass Companies – 2006, Oral History conducted by former museum staff, Debi Carl. Debi Carl:  Tell me about the island.  I’ve never had the opportunity to go there.  I think I know the story about how Sid acquired it.   What I’ve heard Clint Murchison owned the one adjacent to it and Sid spent so much time down there that Clint said, “The one next door’s for sale, why don’t you just buy it?”  (Laughter) And he did. Carroll Smith:  He got it for a song.  He didn’t have to pay very much [...]