Before you enter the archway into the galleries, you will encounter 4 large one-centered semicircular arched wall inlays with quotes underneath. The Quotes are as followed:
"Texas is the finest portion of the globe that has ever blessed my vision." - Sam Houston 1833. In December 1832 Sam crossed the Red River into Texas as an emissary of President Andrew Jackson. He would later take residence in Nacogdoches, Texas where he opened his law practice. This quote is from a letter he wrote to his cousin Jack on July 31, 1833, about the prospects for his practice and land purchases.
"Its richness is space, wide and deep and infinitely colored..." - Tom Lea 1952. Thomas Calloway Lea III was an American muralist, illustrator, artist, war correspondent, novelist, and historian. The bulk of his art and literary works were about Texas, north-central Mexico, and his World War II experience in the South Pacific and Asia. Many of his murals can be seen in small towns throughout Texas. In this quote, Tom is specifically speaking of the wonders of West Texas.
"I will never forsake Texas and her cause. I am her son." - Jose Antonio Navarro, trans. 1842. Navarro was one of the state’s most prominent and influential political figures of the 19th century. He and his Uncle Ruiz were the only native-born signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Navarro also helped draft the constitution that created the Republic of Texas (1836) and the 1845 constitution of the Republic of Texas. During the failed Santa Fe expedition of 1831, Navarro was captured by Mexican forces and brought to Mexico City where he and others were imprisoned as traitors of Mexico. Navarro was offered his freedom if he would renounce his allegiance to Texas, but he never relented.
"Texas is Rich in unredeemed Dreams..." - Larry McMurtry 1968. Born and raised in Archer City, Texas, arry Jeff McMurtry was an American novelist, essayist, prominent book collector, bookseller, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas. This quote ends McMurtry's collection of essays, In a Narrow Grave. He asserts the creative energy and imagination that settled the Texas frontier will now be channeled into literary attempts to comprehend the meaning of Texas' frontier heritage.
These quotes embody what Texas meant to different Texans at various points in time, however, the overall impact remains - the love and pride of Texas. This love and pride can be seen as you encounter the history and challenges that culminated in Texas over the years.