Authentic Texas

Authentic Texas Authentic Texas - the heritage magazine of Texas. Authentic Texas is the Heritage Magazine of Texas. Box 208, Abilene, TX 79604.

We are storytellers with a passion for gathering, preserving, & sharing the tales about the authentic people, places and things that make Texas unique. Authentic Texas is a quarterly magazine that promotes Texas people, places, events, and stories; the magazine is available in the traditional print version and/or via the digital version on our website (AuthenticTexas.com). It is available by paid subscription and can be found for sale at retail outlets throughout the state (United and HEB grocery stores, Barnes & Noble, etc.). It’s also available at more than 100 visitor centers, historic sites, museums, and select cultural and heritage sites in the Lone Star state. We showcase the people, places, and products that make the Texas experience unique, from our rich and diverse heritage to today’s art and culture. We tell the true stories worth sharing, the stories that invite travelers to get in the car and come see for themselves. We tell those stories through content equal to its subject — words and images that do our state proud. Authentic Texas is a product of the Texas Heritage Trails, LLC, which is a coalition of five nonprofit heritage trail organizations from across the state. The Texas Brazos, Forts, Mountain, Pecos, and Plains Trail Regions promote community development through heritage tourism and are participants in the Texas Heritage Trails Program of the Texas Historical Commission. Our offices are located in Abilene, Texas; our mailing address is P.O.

The Big Texan’s famous steak challenge began when a group of working cowboys tried to out-eat one another in the middle ...
09/16/2026

The Big Texan’s famous steak challenge began when a group of working cowboys tried to out-eat one another in the middle of an Amarillo dining room. One man’s four-and-a-half-pound performance created a Route 66 tradition where the steak—and the story surrounding it—could only be Texas-sized.

Read more here: https://authentictexas.com/where-everything-is-bigger-even-the-appetites/

When Hotel Settles opened during the West Texas oil boom, its grand staircase, ballroom and 15 stories made it the talle...
09/02/2026

When Hotel Settles opened during the West Texas oil boom, its grand staircase, ballroom and 15 stories made it the tallest hotel between Fort Worth and El Paso. After decades of decline and a long closure, the Big Spring landmark again welcomes guests into a world of Art Deco glamour.

Read the full story here: https://authentictexas.com/checking-in-to-the-past/

Less than a mile separates two San Antonio bars rooted in generations of German fellowship. One fills a b**r garden with...
08/31/2026

Less than a mile separates two San Antonio bars rooted in generations of German fellowship. One fills a b**r garden with music, families and rows of personal steins; the other waits below a century-old fraternal hall like a hidden speakeasy. Together, they preserve two distinct expressions of gemütlichkeit.

Read the full story here: https://authentictexas.com/a-tale-of-two-german-bars/

Conrad Hilton arrived in Cisco intending to buy a bank. Instead, he found a hotel so busy that oilfield workers rented r...
08/28/2026

Conrad Hilton arrived in Cisco intending to buy a bank. Instead, he found a hotel so busy that oilfield workers rented rooms in eight-hour shifts—and the unexpected opportunity launched an empire. His Texas story began with savings sewn into his coat and a willingness to recognize a different frontier.

Read more here: https://authentictexas.com/conrad-hilton/

In 1881, a 17-year-old San Antonio bartender offered drinks in exchange for deer antlers. The unusual promotion worked s...
08/26/2026

In 1881, a 17-year-old San Antonio bartender offered drinks in exchange for deer antlers. The unusual promotion worked so well that his saloon slowly became a sprawling cabinet of curiosities filled with horns, wildlife, oddities and Texas Ranger history. See how one teenager’s hustle became a Texas landmark at Authentic Texas.

Read the full story here: https://authentictexas.com/the-buckhorn-saloon/

A magazine cover has only a moment to stop someone, suggest a story and make a lasting impression. Across 36 issues, Aut...
08/24/2026

A magazine cover has only a moment to stop someone, suggest a story and make a lasting impression. Across 36 issues, Authentic Texas has taken creative risks, worked through unexpected constraints and learned when a single image—and fewer words—can say the most. Go behind the covers at Authentic Texas.

Harvey Girls were expected to serve rail passengers with precision, follow strict rules and remain single during their c...
08/21/2026

Harvey Girls were expected to serve rail passengers with precision, follow strict rules and remain single during their contracts. But along the Santa Fe line, where travelers paused for a hot meal, one young railroad worker found a connection that would carry far beyond the dining room.

Read the full story here: https://authentictexas.com/love-on-the-line/

Bob Wills, Nat King Cole, James Brown, Selena and the S*x Pistols all left their mark on one extraordinary Dallas stage....
08/19/2026

Bob Wills, Nat King Cole, James Brown, Selena and the S*x Pistols all left their mark on one extraordinary Dallas stage. Through colorful owners, changing musical eras and more than one fight for survival, the Longhorn Ballroom became far more than a honky-tonk—and its story is still playing. Read the full story at Authentic Texas.

Michael and Nichole Ritchie began by cleaning neglected graves and documenting forgotten names. Their work has since hel...
08/17/2026

Michael and Nichole Ritchie began by cleaning neglected graves and documenting forgotten names. Their work has since helped preserve a historic cemetery, return military honors to families and make more than 59,000 World War II service records accessible—proof that preserving history can begin with simply deciding to step forward. Read the full story at Authentic Texas.

The way brisket is seasoned in Lockhart and ribs are served in Beaumont traces a map of migration, survival and cultural...
08/14/2026

The way brisket is seasoned in Lockhart and ribs are served in Beaumont traces a map of migration, survival and cultural exchange. Texas barbecue was not born from one tradition, but from several—each leaving its mark in the smoke, the pit and the plate. Read the full story at Authentic Texas.

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317 Pecan Street
Abilene, TX
79602

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