Sign-In
Cart
The River That Made Texas: A Forgotten History of the Trinity
Hardcover
Environmental StudiesGeneral Political ScienceRegional: Southwest
PREORDER - Expected ship date September 29, 2026
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 1469698358
ISBN13: 9781469698359
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: Sep 29 2026
Pages: 240
Weight: 1.14
Height: 0.69 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
ISBN13: 9781469698359
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: Sep 29 2026
Pages: 240
Weight: 1.14
Height: 0.69 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Today, half of Texas's expanding population, including the cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston, depends on the Trinity River, a river that has shaped the state's politics, economy, and environment for centuries. From the prairies of North Texas to the Gulf of Mexico, the Trinity established Native nations, foiled Spanish and French imperialism, stood at the center of the Texas plantation system, and fueled the growth of the state's largest cities.
In the first history of this vital river, historian Scot McFarlane illuminates how the Trinity has defined Texas history. Its floods enriched the soil and destroyed crops, its channel served as both a route and barrier to freedom, and its once-polluted waters now sustain a significant portion of the state. McFarlane's captivating narrative brims with stories of the people who called the Trinity home over the centuries: the Comanche, steamboat pilots, enslaved and freed people, sharecroppers, inmates, and millions of urban residents. The result is a fresh perspective on economic development, slavery, and the environment--revealing the Trinity not as a backdrop to Texas history but as a force that shaped it.
In the first history of this vital river, historian Scot McFarlane illuminates how the Trinity has defined Texas history. Its floods enriched the soil and destroyed crops, its channel served as both a route and barrier to freedom, and its once-polluted waters now sustain a significant portion of the state. McFarlane's captivating narrative brims with stories of the people who called the Trinity home over the centuries: the Comanche, steamboat pilots, enslaved and freed people, sharecroppers, inmates, and millions of urban residents. The result is a fresh perspective on economic development, slavery, and the environment--revealing the Trinity not as a backdrop to Texas history but as a force that shaped it.
Also in
Regional: Southwest
The Lost Cities of El Norte: Coronado's Quest, the Unconquered West, and the Birth of American Indian Resistance
Stark, Peter
Hardcover
$31.50
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis
Blitzer, Jonathan
Paperback
From $12.99
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin
Paperback
From $10.99
The Myth of Red Texas: Cowboys, Populism, and Class War in the Radical South
Griscom, David
Paperback
$18.95
Friday Night Lights (25th Anniversary Edition): A Town, a Team, and a Dream
Bissinger, H. G.
Paperback
From $10.99
The Case of the Autographed Corpse: A Medicine Man and a Mystery Writer in Pursuit of Justice
El-Hai, Jack
Hardcover
$30.40
The Grand Canyon: Native People and Early Visitors
Shields, Kenneth D., Jr.
Stampoulos, Linda L.
Paperback
$22.79
The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, the Apache Kid, and the Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History
Hutton, Paul Andrew
Paperback
$20.90
Those Who Walked Before: Fossil Footprints at White Sands
Bennett, Matthew
Bustos, David F.
Odess, Daniel
Paperback
$20.85
The Counter Revolution of 1836: Texas slavery & Jim Crow and the roots of American Fascism
Horne, Gerald
Paperback
$43.74
Ribbons of Green: The Rio Grande and the Making of Modern Albuquerque
Berrens, Robert P.
Fleck, John
Paperback
$23.70
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis
Blitzer, Jonathan
Hardcover
$30.40
Language of Blood: The Making of Spanish-American Identity in New Mexico, 1880s-1930s
Nieto-Phillips, John M.
Paperback
$44.93
Todos Los Que Se Han Ido Están Aquí / Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis
Blitzer, Jonathan
Paperback
$23.70
Ladies of the Canyons: A League of Extraordinary Women and Their Adventures in the American Southwest
Poling-Kempes, Lesley
Paperback
From $10.99
Friday Night Lights (25th Anniversary Edition): A Town, a Team, and a Dream
Bissinger, H. G.
Hardcover
$32.00
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon
Fedarko, Kevin
Hardcover
$29.45
Cricket in the Web: The 1949 Unsolved Murder that Unraveled Politics in New Mexico
Moore, Paula
Paperback
$21.95
A Big Mess in Texas: The Miraculous, Disastrous 1952 Dallas Texans and the Craziest Untold Story in NFL History
Fleming, David
Hardcover
$29.45
It Happened in Oklahoma: Stories of Events and People That Shaped Sooner State History
Dorman, Robert L.
Paperback
$16.10
The River Wild: A Celebrated Journey Down the Whitewater Rapids of the Grand Canyon
Kuhne, Cecil
Paperback
$19.95
Voces del Pueblo: Artists of the Levantamiento Chicano in New Mexico
Hernández-Durán, Ray
Vásquez, Irene
Paperback
$42.75
Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment
Radford, Benjamin
Paperback
$24.95
The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral-And How It Changed the American West
Guinn, Jeff
Paperback
$19.94
Queen of All Mayhem: The Blood-Soaked Life and Mysterious Death of Belle Starr, the Most Dangerous Woman in the West
Huckelbridge, Dane
Hardcover
$27.54
Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience
Salmón, Enrique
Paperback
$18.95
Black Wall Street 100: An American City Grapples With Its Historical Racial Trauma
Johnson, Hannibal B.
Paperback
$23.70
Enslaved on the Trail of Tears: Race, Removal, and the Transformation of Indian Territory
Ligon, Terry J.
Paperback
$23.74
Enslaved on the Trail of Tears: Race, Removal and the Transformation of Indian Territory
Ligon, Terry J.
Hardcover
$33.24
San Antonio and Its Missions: Three Centuries of History, Memory, and Heritage
Kitchens, Joel Daniel
Hardcover
$40.38
Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New Mexico Mountain Range
Debuys, William
Paperback
$24.95
Denton Women's Interracial Fellowship: Leading a Texas City's Desegregation
Ramsay, Annetta
Hardcover
$35.00
Brown and Blue: Mexican Americans, Law Enforcement, and Civil Rights in the Southwest, 1935-2025
Behnken, Brian D.
Paperback
$51.73
Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre
Ball, Alverne
Hardcover
$15.19
The Great Oklahoma Swindle: Race, Religion, and Lies in America's Weirdest State
Cobb, Russell
Paperback
$23.70
Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football
Dent, Jim
Paperback
$19.95
When the Moment Chose Me: The Day ISIS Came to Garland, TX
Hughbank D. Mgt, Richard J.
Stevens, Gregory B.
Hardcover
$37.99
We Fought Back: The Black Legal Struggle for Education in Oklahoma Territory
Doolittle, Sara
Hardcover
$51.73
Forgotten Battlefield of the First Texas Revolution: The First Battle of Medina August 18, 1813
Schwarz, Ted
Paperback
$18.95
It Happened in Texas: Stories of Events and People That Shaped Lone Star State History
Crutchfield, James A.
Paperback
$16.95
Ghosts of Crook County: An Oil Fortune, a Phantom Child, and the Fight for Indigenous Land
Cobb, Russell
Paperback
$20.85
Capturing Water: Puebloan Resilience and Agricultural Sustainability in Chaco Canyon
Fladd, Samantha G.
Vivian, R. Gwinn
Hardcover
$119.00
Progress Denied: Quakertown, White Supremacy, and the Illusion of Democracy in Denton, Texas, 1850-1925 Volume 12
Teague, Hollie A.
Hardcover
$33.20
Hispano Nation: The Rise and Decline of Spanish Identity in New Mexico
Gonzales, Phillip B.
Paperback
$29.95
Surviving Desires: Making and Selling Native Jewellery in the American Southwest
Lidchi, Henrietta
Paperback
$33.20
A Culinary Journey Through Texas History: A State Historic Sites Cookbook
Texas Historical Commission
Hardcover
$37.95
When the Moment Chose Me: The Day ISIS Came to Garland, TX
Hughbank D. Mgt, Richard J.
Stevens, Gregory B.
Paperback
$23.74
The Water Cries: Uncovering the Slave Auction Houses of Galveston, Texas
Griffin, Anthony Paul
Paperback
$26.55
From Burning to Blueprint: Rebuilding Black Wall Street After a Century of Silence
Matthews, Kevin, II
Paperback
$16.14
Unsolved Mysteries of Texas: Stories of Legendary Outlaws, Buried Treasure, and Hauntings in the Lone Star State
Jameson, W. C.
Paperback
$28.93
History of Arizona: A Captivating Guide to Historical Events and Facts You Should Know About the Grand Canyon State
History, Captivating
Hardcover
$22.79