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Texas History

Here Are The Oldest Photos Ever Taken In Texas And They're Incredible

By Katie Lawrence | Published August 08, 2017

Thanks to the plethora of files in Wikimedia Commons, there’s quite an archive of images documenting the history of the Lone Star State. We’ve compiled some of the most amazing early photos taken in Texas, from old drugstores to telephone operators and everything in between. Take a look:

1. Brownsville, 1857. A survey of the US-Mexico border is about to take place.

2. El Paso, 1857. People go about their day in the plaza and church area of town.

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3. El Paso, 1857. Military personnel gather in the Military Plaza.

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4. Washington-on-the-Brazos, 1852. Townspeople gather at Independence Hall.

6. San Antonio, 1860s. People in covered wagons arrive at Alamo Plaza.

7. Huntsville, 1870s. Men, wagons, and livestock are on a downtown street. Business pictured include T & S Gibbs, Eastman Pace & Parish, and James R. Cox.

8. Huntsville, ca. 1873-1875. Inmates line up in the yard of the Texas State Penitentiary.

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9. Huntsville, 1870s. The corner of Twelfth St. and University Ave. The building pictured houses Poe and Wright's Photograph Gallery upstairs and the city's first bankers, Smith and Wynne, downstairs.

10. El Paso, ca. 1882-1895. A Mexican Carreta travels down a street.

11. El Paso, ca. 1885. Army men line up outside Fort Bliss.

12. Beaumont, 1911. A boat is docked at Riverfront Park.

13. Richardson, ca. 1900. A young woman works as a Telephone Exchange operator.

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14. Richardson, ca. 1900. Employees work at a drugstore, anxiously awaiting the arrival of customers.

15. Galveston, ca. 1918-1928. Tourists and residents line the seawall, enjoying the sunny day.

16. Panhandle, 1920s. A dust storm rolls in on a lonely highway. One car is pictured on the road.

17. Houston, 1943. An old house is pictured with an apple stand in the front yard and a horse-and-buggy in the street.

18. San Augustine, 1943. Three schoolchildren stand around a globe. A WWII propaganda poster is pictured in the background.

What did you think of these photos? Does anything look familiar?

For more old photos of Texas, check out these taken during the Great Depression.

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