Texas; is it part of the South or the Southwest? (Houston: metro, places)

[supfromthesite]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

And many Germans came straight here from Germany through Galveston BEFORE the Civil War, and many Mexicans were already here (Texas having been part of Mexico first), and many Czech came NOT through the South, and even some of my own ancestors came from England to the Northeast and over to the midwest and down to Texas, avoiding the South entirely. Heck, as a genealogist, I know that many of those "Southerners" were actually coming THROUGH the South to get further West (down from the Northeast after arriving from England, across to Texas and further West, sometimes picking up wives and children along the way).

Unless you ignore huge parts of the cultures that went into making up Texas, you can't state that it is the South, founded by Southerners. You just can't. And the Southwest is very different from the South. East Texas shares the most with the South, but that's not anywhere near all of Texas, not by a long shot.

It is the South with more Spanish and German culture, but the South none the less. I'm not talking about people that were passing through, I'm talking about every branch of my family

[supfromthesite]

I think what city/neighborhood you live in will certainly impact your choice.

[soletaire]

The eastern 3/4s of Texas is very clearly the south - albeit with an infusion of mexican culture. And most of East Texas is an extension of the deep south historically, topographically anad geographically.

[KathrynAragon]

Texas is all that AND a bag of chips - tortilla chips, that is.

[stephenm85]

hot salsa and chips

[High_Plains_Retired]

I thought I had replied in this thread but it must have been one of the many others like it.

I grew up at Lufkin and my dad's family came to Texas from Catahoula Parish. LA and the Carolinas. My mom's family came to Texas out of northern Alabama and the Carolinas. I've always said that, had I met and married my wife in Angelina County, my children would have webbed toes. Eastern Texas has deep, deep deep southeastern cultural roots. There were few Hispanic families in Lufkin in the late 1950s and early 1969s. I went to high school with one Hispanic fellow that I recall and it was difficult to learn Spanish because there was no one who spoke it in public in the 1960s.

On the other hand, the western part of Texas, at least the High Plains, has connections to the deep south but I think primarily from the eastern Texas families, like me, who moved out here in recent years and in the near past to escape the boll weevil. My wife's South High Plains family came to west Texas from Minnesota and I have always had the impression that many of the early families out here came from Mexico and from other states.

Culturally I would say Texas has historically had both strong southwestern influences as well as strong deep south influences. The eastern side has been culturally deep south and the west side has been historically influenced by the southwest and other parts of the country. However, modern day divisional politics, local economics and mobile generations stand to change much of this soon.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

It is the South with more Spanish and German culture, but the South none the less. I'm not talking about people that were passing through, I'm talking about every branch of my family

And that is YOUR family. You are having to ignore other Texans' families in order to make your claim. Is there a Southern influence? Yes, absolutely. There is also a German influence, a Spanish influence, a French influence, a Czech influence (all of those coming directly here NOT through "the South".

Texas is Texas, pure and simple. It is a blend. It is large enough and varied enough to be its own region.

Growing up in East Texas, as a little girl, I would have LOVED for Texas to be part of "the South", for romantic reasons. Once I grew up and was more experienced and learned more, I had to give that childhood dream up and acknowledge the reality (which is actually, if you think about it, much more romantic).

[SouthernBoy205]

I would say it's a mixture. Without a doubt, Houston, Beaumont, and East Texas are the South. El Paso is not the South, however.

[supfromthesite]

I guess the Cajun influence means that South Louisiana isn't Southern either

[tstone]

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

I guess the Cajun influence means that South Louisiana isn't Southern either

Nope, that would be eastern Canadian.