Our Visit to the Stockyard Station

We went to the Stockyard Station in Fort Worth yesterday and learned a lot of things. We learned about the Old West and saw a light bulb that has been burning since 1908. The light bulb was placed on someone’s back porch and when they tore the house down, a guy asked if he could have it. The light bulb still worked, so he put it in a museum, which we visited. The light bulb is still there today.

The Stockyard Station is a fun place to go and learn about the Old West and a lot of other things. What I liked learning was about the wagons in the Cowboy Hall of Fame.  We also saw a cattle drive, which was cool. The cattle had long horns, and most of the cattle were Texas Long Horns, which were the result of cows from America that bred with the cows the Spaniards brought over from Spain. We watched the cattle go down the road herded by cowboys and then we went to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, which showed a lot of real wagons used in the 1800s and cowboy exhibits.

We watched a movie about Texas and I learned that Texas still has the right to secede from the nation. If they did, it would be hard because Texas is part of the United States but they still have the right to do it. Texas did secede from the USA during the Civil War.  When Texans wanted to be a part of the USA again, it took them another five years to be accepted as a state. Texas was ruled by six countries during its history and the names of the countries are 1: Spain, 2: France, 3: Mexico, 4: The Confederacy, 5: Texas (as its own country) and last of all, 6:  the U.S.A.  This is where the phrase "the six flags of Texas" comes from.

Texas is an independent state and won its independence from Mexico. Texas was its own nation for nine years until Mexico did not accept that. This led to the Mexican American War, which the US won. The US took Texas, California, Arizona, and New Mexico and Nevada away from Mexico and added them to the nation.

Editor's Note:  On the way to Austin, we had some mechanical trouble in Waco and that's where we are currently staying.  It's Austin or bust tomorrow!