Texas Historical Commission

The story of the Johnson family in Brazoria County reveals how the legacy of slavery is not distant in history, but how it lives in the descendants who continue to shape Texas.

Samuel Collins III, Levi Jordan Plantation State Historic Site Advisory Committee Co-Chair, tells a story of a family rooted in the Mims Community since the 1830s. Their land, first purchased after emancipation by Solomon Johnson and passed down through generations, stands as a powerful symbol of pride and progress.

Just two generations removed from slavery, living descendants like 105-year-old Carrie Thomas and her relatives carry forward that legacy through lives of service, hard work, and community leadership. From military service and careers in industry to active roles in local churches and Juneteenth celebrations, their story offers a vivid reminder that Texas history is still unfolding in communities today.

This Juneteenth, we invite you to reflect and honor the resilience carried forward by families like the Johnsons, whose lives and legacies embody what it means to be Texan.

Read more about the Johnson family on our blog: https://thc.texas.gov/blog/grandchildren-enslaved

The Magnolia Petroleum Company’s Pegasus, a forty-foot long and thirty-foot high red neon horse, was placed atop a 50-foot tower anchored to the roof of the Magnolia Building in 1934. At the time, the Pegasus and its 1,000 feet of neon tubing rotated every minute and a half.

It was the city’s tallest point for almost a decade and remains one of its most famous landmarks. Soon after its installation, Dallas citizens could claim that the city, still considered a provincial outpost of cowboys and cattle by the rest of the nation, was no longer a one-horse town.

The Magnolia Building was completed in 1922, at the time the 16th-tallest building in the country, and housed the offices of the Magnolia Petroleum Company.

The building’s architect, Sir Alfred Charles Bossom, British royal baron and member of Parliament, created a blend of Beaux-Arts classicism and modern 20th-century high rise in his design for the building.

Today, the building serves guests as the Magnolia Hotel in the heart of downtown Dallas. The building and its red Pegasus are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is considered a Texas Historic Landmark.

📸: Dallas Public Library

In 1877, while most homes along the Texas Gulf Coast lacked indoor plumbing, Fulton Mansion featured running water in every room.

Rainwater was collected from the roof and directed into underground cisterns constructed of shellcrete, a durable material made from oyster shells and concrete. This locally sourced solution supported sustainability and helped keep the water cool in the coastal climate. A pump then carried the water to a rooftop cistern, where gravity distributed it throughout the home.

This system reflects both ingenuity and a deep understanding of the local environment. Fulton Mansion State Historic Site was an innovation well beyond the time.

See it for yourself! Plan your own visit at visitfultonmansion.com