March 20, 2026

By Mary Beth Gahan

If you’re a fan of history, this is the year for you. July Fourth will mark 250 years since the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, and several exhibits will be on display locally to mark the occasion.

With four months to go, the fun has already started.

There are five banners at the Flower Mound Library that show a little bit of Texas from its time as a republic to today.

“It’s small but delightful,” said Jacque Narrell, chair of the of the Flower Mound Historical Commission.

The exhibit, which is on loan from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, has five panels with copies of documents and photos that are housed in Austin.

The first panel shows the Texas Declaration of Independence that was signed on March 2, 1836 — Sam Houston’s 43rd birthday. The signers hailed from Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, and others, according to The Raven by Marquis James. Two of those who signed the document were born in what was then Mexico.

The revolution was in full swing by that point. The Alamo fell four days later and Texans would eventually secure victory at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.

The second panel shows a vote tally for annexation in 1845 and Article I of the current Texas Constitution, which was adopted in1876. The constitution has been added onto several times in the last 150 years, making it the second longest in the country.

Original sections include a statement of who is in charge, “All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit,” and a guarantee that all have a freedom to worship as they please, “No human authority ought, in any case whatever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion, and no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious society or mode of worship.”

The third panel on display shows an 1858 map of Texas by Karl Wilhelm “Charles” Pressler. On it, settlement is clustered on the eastern two-thirds of Texas, with the Panhandle and west Texas wide open. Denton County has dots marking Denton, Pilot Point, and Little Elm Post Office. There’s also a marking for Pilot Knob, a spot west of Interstate 35 near Northlake, and post office for Alton, the old seat of Denton County near Hickory Creek.

The fourth panel shows a drawing of the Texas flag and state seal that were approved in 1839. The colors of the flag were described in 1933 as blood red, azure blue, and white, according to the Texas State Historical Association. The colors represented bravery, loyalty and purity.

The final panel on display has photos of “modern Texas,” including one of Buzz Aldrin on the moon, a nod to Houston and the Space Center where NASA trains astronauts. There’s also a photo of oil gushing in Ranger, Texas and an undated sepia photo of a cowboy looking into the distance.