Texas Trivia (Panhandle: square, compared, near)

[jtur88]

Another Hint. There is both a River and a County with this name. The county was named for the river, which in turn was named for the phenomenon described in the question.

[Chanygirl]

Originally Posted by jtur88

What Texas place-name derives, indirectly, from the presence of precious gems that were found there, and thought to be in marketable abundance?

Originally Posted by jtur88

Another Hint. There is both a River and a County with this name. The county was named for the river, which in turn was named for the phenomenon described in the question.

By Jove, I think I've got it...

The Phenomenon:
Freshwater Pearls
The River:
Concho River
And, The County:
Concho County, Texas

CONCHO RIVER | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
The river is named for Spanish concha, "shell." When Hernán Martín and Diego del Castilloqqv explored the area in 1650, they found large quantities of mussel shells that yielded freshwater pearls. Their report was so enthusiastic that Diego de Guadalajara returned to the area four years later; unfortunately, the yield proved to be only about one decent pearl per 100 mussels, and any notion of systematic harvesting was abandoned.

CONCHO COUNTY | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)
CONCHO COUNTY. Concho County (H-13), in Central Texas, straddles the northern edge of the Edwards Plateau. The county derives its name from the Concho (or "Shell") River, which in turn was named for the large number of mussels found there.
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[jtur88]

Concho is correct. Your turn.

[Chanygirl]

Thank You jtur88
Lets stay in Concho County...
What can be found in Concho County that is archaeologically and culturally important?

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Chanygirl

Thank You jtur88
Lets stay in Concho County...
What can be found in Concho County that is archaeologically and culturally important?

From the TSHA online:

The two sites of Indian activity in Concho County that have drawn the most attention lie along the bluffs of the Concho and Colorado rivers. About a mile west of Paint Rock, above the Concho, are found some of the most noted Indian pictographs in Texas (see PAINT ROCK). To the east of Paint Rock on the Colorado, the area of O. H. Ivie Reservoir has been the scene of the most intensive archeological investigation in the county.

[Chanygirl]

So very correct joqua!!!!
Sorry for the extreme delay..work.
It's your turn joqua.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Chanygirl

So very correct joqua!!!!
Sorry for the extreme delay..work.
It's your turn joqua.

Wasn't much of a delay for me since I posted my answer late yesterday.

Next Question:

WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THE MAJOR STATE-FUNDED CONSTRUCTION PROJECT THAT WAS UNDERTAKEN BETWEEN 1990-1993, AND WHAT DID IT ACCOMPLISH?

[jtur88]

Raising vagueness to a new level. Can somebody name a construction project ever, anywhere, that was not in some way "unique"?

I'll start the wild guesses with the restoration of the state capitol. What made it unique was that it was, well, the only restoration of the state capitol. It accomplished, umm, a restored state capitol.

My turn. right?

[Chanygirl]

Originally Posted by joqua

Wasn't much of a delay for me since I posted my answer late yesterday.

Next Question:

WHAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THE MAJOR STATE-FUNDED CONSTRUCTION PROJECT THAT WAS UNDERTAKEN BETWEEN 1990-1993, AND WHAT DID IT ACCOMPLISH?

jtur88 is right..I am sure it was the restoration of the State Capitol Building..What was unique about this undertaking is that the north annex was built underground. This was done to preserve the north facade and the North Plaza.
Texas State Capitol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"to preserve the facade and historic plaza, the new Capitol Extension was built as a four-story underground structure, completed in 1993. Though the extension encompasses 667,000 square feet (62,000 m2), nearly twice the floor space of the original building, there is little evidence of such a large structure at ground level, except for extensive skylights camouflaged as planter rows."

Since all I did was complete the question..I defer to jtur88. If he had not pointed me in that direction I would still be looking....maybe.

[jtur88]

OK, I'll go ahead and toss one out.

Who is the obscure Texan, of German ancestry, whose first name remains unknown to this day, and he is known only to have been the manager, in the mid 19th century, of an agency whose exact function was uncertain. He is relevant only because a Texas county was named after him. There is a village in eastern Germany, near the Czech border, with the same name.