Historians frequently struggle to show how sweeping historical phenomena affect the daily lives of men, women, and children. The Texas State Historical Association has developed My Texas to add the flavor, variety, and texture of direct personal experience, both lived and recounted, to history as traditionally written and taught.

My Texas is an interactive Web site that provides people of all ages with an opportunity to tell their own Texas history stories. These stories are collected in an online database that is fully searchable and interconnected to relevant entries in the Handbook of Texas Online. Users thus participate in the construction of a new Texas history that adds to the core scholarly narrative established in the Online Handbook.

The “tell a story” link provides an easy way for users to contribute their stories, with examples, suggestions, and other resources. There is no charge for telling a story in My Texas, though we do ask users to register with us so we can contact them in case we have questions about their submissions. The TSHA reserves the right to edit or reject any My Texas submission.

The “read a story” link allows users to read the stories submitted by others. Users can browse the My Texas database by subject, or search for a specific story.