Today in Texas History

1839 - The Battle of Neches ended. The two day battle between Texas troops and Cherokee Indians virtually ended Indian issues in the settle parts of Texas. The battle ended, but the pursuit continued until July 24. 

1870 - At Fort Concho, army officer John Porter Hatch began an experiment to manufacture and use adobe bricks as construction material. The experiment was judged a failure on September 2, 1870 when Hatch and 20 enlisted men had only produced 10,000 usable bricks. 

1931 - Oklahoma Governor William (Alfalfa Bill) Murray opened a bridge across the Red River by executive order. Texas Governor Ross S. Sterling had ordered barricades across the Texas approaches to the bridge due to an injunction filed by the builder of a nearby toll bridge. The Texas Highway Commission was under contract to buy the toll bridge before the opening of the new bridge. The issue was not permanently dissolved until August 16. 

1969 - In Houston, at the LBJ Space Center, NASA launched the mission to land the first man on the moon.