A brief history of the Lone Star

Native Texans grow up knowing that the “Lone Star” symbolizes Texas and its rich and colorful heritage. For people from other states and countries, a brief elucidation of the significance of the Lone Star is in order. 

The territory that is now Texas was claimed by the governments of the Spanish and French colonial empires from the 1500s to the early 1800s, when the newly independent Mexican government took over the administration of the Texas territory.  

Groups of Texas settlers in the early 1800s who sought independence from the Mexican government identified themselves with various flags, each of which bore a single star.  During the mid-1830s, these new settlers launched a concerted succession of battles to secure their rights to self governance, using their flags with a lone star as battle standards.  

Following Sam Houston’s decisive victory at San Jacinto in 1836 and the subsequent formation of the Republic of Texas, the “Lone Star” flag as we know it today was adopted by the Congress of the Republic of Texas on January 25, 1939, as the national flag. 

The Lone Star flag continued to symbolize Texas when the Republic joined the United States as the 28th state on December 29, 1845.  

Today, more than 150 years later, the Lone Star State is still a powerful presence and the name “Lone Star” is often used synonymously with Texas.