https://www.haysfreepress.com/author/6,bartee-haile en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:10:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26259,did-booth-find-a-hiding-place-in-texasOn Apr. 14, 1865, five days after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, a 26 year old member of the “first family of the American stage” murdered Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C...]]> Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:10:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26259,did-booth-find-a-hiding-place-in-texas https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26247,texans-tell-track-tyrant-to-get-lostOn Apr. 7, 1890, the proud governor gave a guided tour of the new capitol to Jay Gould, who just happened to be in town at the same time Texans were considering regulation of the railroads.The infamou...]]> Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:10:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26247,texans-tell-track-tyrant-to-get-lost https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26216,angel-of-mercy-saved-lives-at-goliadThe moment Francita Alavez heard the nightmarish news on the evening of Mar. 26, 1836, she sprang into swift but secret action.  The brave wife of a Mexican officer would not stand idly by while...]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:10:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26216,angel-of-mercy-saved-lives-at-goliad https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26194,carolina-casanova-casualty-of-texas-feudMidshipman Robert Potter resigned from the U.S. Navy on Mar. 20, 1821 and headed home to North Carolina to raise a little hell.When the ex-sailor was not studying the law, he was raking the Tar Heel e...]]> Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:10:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26194,carolina-casanova-casualty-of-texas-feud https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26150,aggies-muster-before-the-end-on-corregidorBefore he boarded the PT boat on Mar. 10, 1942 that would carry him to Australia, Gen. Douglas MacArthur told the highest ranking Texas Aggie on Corregidor to “keep the flag flying.”Col. George F. Moo...]]> Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26150,aggies-muster-before-the-end-on-corregidor https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26121,the-last-message-from-the-alamoBefore the messenger disappeared in the pre-dawn darkness of Mar. 3, 1836, the hollow-eyed colonel whispered, “Every morning at daybreak, I will fire a cannon as a sign that we still hold the fort, bu...]]> Wed, 25 Feb 2026 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/26121,the-last-message-from-the-alamo https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25999,mexican-plot-to-take-back-texasThe nine signers of the “Plan of San Diego,” a blueprint for a borderland bloodbath, were charged on Jan. 24, 1915 with conspiracy against the United States government.As revolution raged in their hom...]]> Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25999,mexican-plot-to-take-back-texas https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25957,great-writer-a-miserable-human-beingThe search for George Sessions Perry, missing from his riverside home in Connecticut, entered its second month on Jan. 14, 1957 with no sign of the famous writer.The future novelist and magazine contr...]]> Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25957,great-writer-a-miserable-human-being https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25933,pancho-villa-plays-himself-in-a-movieIn an El Paso hotel room on the seventh day of January 1914, Pancho Villa came to terms with a Hollywood studio to make a silent movie about the role of the bandit-turned-rebel in the Mexican Revoluti...]]> Wed, 07 Jan 2026 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25933,pancho-villa-plays-himself-in-a-movie https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25895,gray-eagle-faced-baseball-banJudge Kenesaw Mountain Landis announced on Dec. 21, 1926 that Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker stood accused of betting on a fixed baseball game.With the lifetime banishment of the “Black Sox” by the stern co...]]> Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25895,gray-eagle-faced-baseball-ban https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25856,the-secret-behind-sabine-river-boundaryA career diplomat told President Andrew Jackson on Dec. 16, 1829 the inside story of how the Sabine River became the dividing line between Louisiana and Spanish territory -- a political bombshell Old...]]> Wed, 10 Dec 2025 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25856,the-secret-behind-sabine-river-boundary https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25826,houston-made-as-many-enemies-as-friendsInfuriated by the General’s defense of the Cherokees, Col. Sam Jordan grabbed an ax handle and took a swing at Sam Houston on Dec. 9, 1840. Adolphus Sterne alertly blocked the blow saving the intended...]]> Wed, 03 Dec 2025 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25826,houston-made-as-many-enemies-as-friends https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25788,texan-s-anti-nazi-warning-fell-on-deaf-earsGlobe-trotting newspaper reporter Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker spoke in Dallas at Southern Methodist University on Nov. 20, 1941, but as usual his pro-war message fell on deaf and hostile ears.For year...]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2025 12:10:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25788,texan-s-anti-nazi-warning-fell-on-deaf-ears https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25765,twin-sisters-a-gift-from-cincinnatiAt the largest mass meeting in living memory, the citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio expressed their enthusiastic support for the Texas Revolution on Nov. 17, 1835.Their sincere statement of solidarity did...]]> Wed, 12 Nov 2025 12:20:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25765,twin-sisters-a-gift-from-cincinnati https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25700,secret-plan-to-save-the-south-hinged-on-texasAn obscure Confederate major with a famous last name presented a secret proposal to the governor of Texas on Oct. 27, 1863.  Next came the hard part -- convincing Francis Lubbock that he alone co...]]> Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25700,secret-plan-to-save-the-south-hinged-on-texas https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25662,governor-breaks-ranks-to-like-ikeAllen Shivers joined Dwight Eisenhower on Oct. 14, 1952, for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Alamo.  This unprecedented show of support by the Democratic governor for the Republican presidential...]]> Wed, 08 Oct 2025 12:10:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25662,governor-breaks-ranks-to-like-ike https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25635,wrestler-a-friend-to-underprivileged-kidsOn Oct. 1, 1932, Dutch Mantell’s Labor Day rescue of two stranded hikers from the bottom of Palo Duro Canyon was still the talk of Amarillo.But that was not unusual. The colorful wrestler with a soft...]]> Wed, 01 Oct 2025 12:10:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25635,wrestler-a-friend-to-underprivileged-kids https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25616,police-chief-goes-over-to-dark-sideAfter 13 months on the run, a former small-town police chief wanted for murder and armed robbery was captured in Tennessee on Sep. 27, 1929.Had Tom Shook always been a crooked cop concealing his crime...]]> Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25616,police-chief-goes-over-to-dark-side https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25589,texans-fight-and-die-in-central-americaTwo hundred Texans itching for a fight answered the call of Gen. William Walker and sailed for Nicaragua on Sep. 17, 1856.By the mid-1800’s, the South was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard...]]> Wed, 17 Sep 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25589,texans-fight-and-die-in-central-america https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25571,texans-suffer-record-casualties-at-antietamOn Sep. 16, 1862 Texans fought and died in a blood-soaked cornfield at the Battle of Antietam.Never one to rest on his laurels, Gen. Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland six days after winning the rematch a...]]> Wed, 10 Sep 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25571,texans-suffer-record-casualties-at-antietam https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25552,texas-tomboy-crowned-queen-of-the-speakeasiesWith the repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Texas Guinan bid farewell to New York City on Sep. 8, 1931 and took her “Too Hot for Paris” revue on the road.Born Mary Louise Cecilia Guinan in...]]> Wed, 03 Sep 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25552,texas-tomboy-crowned-queen-of-the-speakeasies https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25539,the-jules-verne-of-dallasJean Lafitte’s last rival WRR, the first licensed radio station in Texas and the second in the entire nation, began broadcasting in August 1921 thanks to a genius inventor named Henry Garrett that eve...]]> Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25539,the-jules-verne-of-dallas https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25493,the-swashbuckling-bandit-kingThe unprecedented manhunt entered its fifth week on Aug. 19, 1934 with two of the six escapees from Texas’ Death Row still on the loose.Sentenced to two and a half centuries for his many crimes, Raymo...]]> Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25493,the-swashbuckling-bandit-king https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25470,young-texan-kills-for-mansonSharon Tate’s houseguest rubbed the sleep from his eyes on Aug. 9, 1969 and asked the tall intruder who he was and what he wanted.  “I’m the devil,” answered Charles “Tex” Watson, “and I’m here t...]]> Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25470,young-texan-kills-for-manson https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25463,texans-and-mexicans-gang-up-on-apachesVictorio was beaten in a Big Bend battle on Jul. 30, 1880, but the Chiricahua Apache still had plenty of fight left in him.Three months later, several companies of West Texas cavalry reinforced the in...]]> Wed, 30 Jul 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25463,texans-and-mexicans-gang-up-on-apaches https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25435,dallas-doctor-falls-for-it-girlClara Bow, the scandalous star of the silent screen, slipped into Dallas under the cover of darkness on Jul. 21, 1930 in search of an ex-lover and $30,000 in hush money.The femme fatale of silent film...]]> Wed, 23 Jul 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25435,dallas-doctor-falls-for-it-girl https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25411,fastest-human-broke-records-and-all-the-rulesMarine Capt. Charles William Paddock, the first native Texan to win Olympic gold and the fastest thing on two feet during the Roaring Twenties, perished in an Alaska plane crash on Jul. 21, 1943.Born...]]> Wed, 16 Jul 2025 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25411,fastest-human-broke-records-and-all-the-rules https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25376,what-happened-to-the-pirate-president-of-texasJean Lafitte’s last rival left Galveston on Jul. 8, 1817 leaving the self-proclaimed “President” of Texas in complete control of the island.Whether the famous pirate really made that outlandish claim...]]> Wed, 02 Jul 2025 12:10:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25376,what-happened-to-the-pirate-president-of-texas https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25337,panhandle-princess-partied-up-a-stormThe only daughter of one of Texas’ wealthiest cattle kings married a blueblood from Philadelphia on Jun. 18, 1902 in the family mansion at Decatur.Starting with a small herd of Longhorns in the 1850’s...]]> Wed, 18 Jun 2025 12:01:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25337,panhandle-princess-partied-up-a-storm https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25943,two-dozen-stand-trial-in-stockade-caseThe sensational murder trial of 24 Texans, denied bail and held for months in an open-air stockade, began at Jefferson on May 24, 1869.George Washington Smith was a veteran of the Union Army, whose ch...]]> Wed, 21 May 2025 13:00:00 -0500 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/25943,two-dozen-stand-trial-in-stockade-case https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/24880,fort-clark-stands-watch-on-border-badlandsAfter almost a century of standing watch on the border, Fort Clark was deactivated on Feb. 9, 1946 and turned into, of all things, a dude ranch.  Hellbent-for-leather horse soldiers must have tur...]]> Wed, 05 Feb 2025 06:00:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/24880,fort-clark-stands-watch-on-border-badlands https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/24867,dripping-springs-lady-tigers-and-austin-maroons-battle-fog-and-tie-1-1DRIPPING SPRINGS – The old saying, “you could cut it with a knife” seemed fitting as Tiger Stadium’s lights had a hard time penetrating a heavy, thick fog enveloping the playing field and much of Cent...]]> Wed, 05 Feb 2025 06:00:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/24867,dripping-springs-lady-tigers-and-austin-maroons-battle-fog-and-tie-1-1 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/24855,behind-the-walls-of-texas-first-mansionOn Feb. 4, 1896, three days after her drunk of a husband threatened her with a butcher knife, Matilda Brown Sweeney moved back home to Ashton Villa where she spent the rest of her life.The story of Te...]]> Wed, 29 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0600 https://www.haysfreepress.com/article/24855,behind-the-walls-of-texas-first-mansion