The Firsts of Everything in the Early Days of East Texas by H. Gordon Pettey, Ph.D. - European East Texas is the oldest part of Texas. The first Spanish arrived in 1690 and brought livestock that remained in the forest and multiplied profusely, allowing the horse and cattle drives that would come later. They also laid the groundwork for the large entrada (entrance) that came in 1716 and brought more people and livestock. Both would be permanent. Intermarriage took place with the local Caddoan Indians and both races drastically changed. They built some infrastructure and their decendents are still there.

Mexico overturned the Spanish in 1821 and after a short time (1836) were themselves deposed by ambitious English speakers who brought innumerable things like water driven grist mills and saw mills. Stagecoaches were put into operation in an attempt to solve the transportation problems. Boats were built and put into the small rivers that enabled better shipping. Then the railroad came by the 1870’s and overtook river shipping and the stagecoaches. Strong law was begun in order to eliminate the frontier outlaws that lived throughout the raucous frontier of East Texas.

The first dairies that produced milk and cream were established, leading to the first ice cream production. And the first of everything continued, one after the other – the first electricity, first courthouse, first automobiles and on and on. This book tells the stories about these "FIRSTS" – it is fascinating reading to see how East Texas grew, followed by all of Texas because East Texas is where Texas began. This is a large book printed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper – illustrated.

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