Texas Statehood Day

Texas Statehood Day is February 19, an important date in Texas history. On this day 
in 1846, the formal transfer of sovereignty from The Republic of Texas to The State of 
Texas took place in Austin. While the legal entry date of Texas into the United States was 
December 29, 1845, authority to the new State of Texas was not given until February 19, 
1846. For almost ten years, Texas had stood as an independent nation. Now, at the end of 
a formal ceremony on the steps of the old log Capitol building, the Stars and Stripes were  
raised, and Texas became the 28th state of the United States of America.

In his farewell speech of February 19, 1846, Anson Jones, the last president of Texas 
remarked: "With such a population as Texas possesses, characterized as it is with great 
intelligence and enterprise, and with such elements of prosperity as she now possesses, a 
genial climate and a fertile soil, it will be her own fault if she does not reach an importance 
and a social elevation, not surpassed by any community on earth." In the 167 years since 
President Jones made his remarks, Texans have answered the challenge, and today the 
Lone Star State is admired both nationally and internationally.