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164 free Texas trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
52 free Texas trivia questions with answers. This Texas trivia quiz is built around Texas history: the Caddo word that gave the state its name, Cabeza de Vaca and La Salle, Austin's Old Three Hundred, the cannon at Gonzales, the thirteen days at the Alamo, the eighteen minutes at San Jacinto, the Republic and its presidents, annexation as the 28th state, secession and the last battle of the Civil War, Juneteenth in Galveston, the 1900 hurricane, Spindletop and the oil boom, the Rangers, and the space centre in Houston. A first round covers the state symbols everyone should know: the capital, the flower, the mammals, the six flags. Questions run from easy (which city is the capital?) to hard (which European power recognised the Republic first?), so it works for a Texas history class, a Texas Independence Day round, or a Lone Star trivia night. Difficulty is marked on every question. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on Texas, its history, the revolution and the Republic, and each question shows its citation.
30 of 164 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which city serves as the capital of Texas?
Austin
Austin has been the capital since it was chosen for the Republic in 1839, and stayed so after annexation to the U.S.
Q 02Who was the first elected president of the Republic of Texas?
Sam Houston
Sam Houston won the vote on September 5, 1836, and later served a second, non-consecutive term.
Q 03What is the official state flower of Texas?
Bluebonnet
The Bluebonnet became the state flower on March 7, 1901; the native lupine blankets Texas roadsides every spring.
Q 04How many different national flags have historically flown over Texas?
Six
Six: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States and the United States, hence 'Six Flags over Texas'.
Q 05What is the official state motto of Texas, adopted in 1930?
Friendship
The official state motto of Texas is 'Friendship,' stemming from the Caddo Native American word 'tayshas' or 'tejas,' meaning friends or allies, which is also the origin of the state's name.
Q 06What is the official nickname of Texas?
The Lone Star State
The Lone Star State takes the name from the single star on its flag, symbolising independent spirit; the nickname became official in 2015.
Q 07Which of these is the official state snack of Texas?
Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Tortilla Chips and Salsa won the title by House Concurrent Resolution in 2003, recognising their deep roots in Texas tradition.
Q 08What is the official state fruit of Texas?
Ruby Red Grapefruit
Ruby Red Grapefruit, formally the Texas red grapefruit, was named state fruit by the 73rd Legislature in 1993; it is grown mainly in the Rio Grande Valley.
Q 09Which bird is the official state bird of Texas?
Northern Mockingbird
The Northern Mockingbird was adopted as the state bird in 1927; it is also the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Q 10Which animal is recognized as the official small mammal of Texas?
Armadillo
The armadillo got the title in 1995; nine-banded armadillos almost always give birth to identical quadruplets.
Q 11Which shipwrecked Spaniard became the first European to explore the interior of Texas, between 1528 and 1535?
Cabeza de Vaca
Cabeza de Vaca and three other survivors of the Narváez expedition lived among native peoples as slaves and traders for years before reaching Spanish Mexico in 1536.
Q 12What was La Salle actually looking for when he mistakenly planted a Texas colony in 1685?
The mouth of the Mississippi
La Salle meant to settle at the mouth of the Mississippi, but bad maps and Gulf currents put Fort Saint Louis on Matagorda Bay instead; the Karankawa destroyed it within a few years.
Q 13Mexico's 1824 constitution merged Texas with which neighbour into a single state?
Q 21How long did the decisive Battle of San Jacinto last on April 21, 1836?
18 minutes
The fighting took about 18 minutes: Houston's men swarmed the Mexican breastworks after a single volley, shouting 'Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!'
Q 22What was Santa Anna wearing when he was captured the day after San Jacinto?
A private's uniform jacket
Santa Anna had swapped his finery for a private's uniform jacket, but the disguise failed when other Mexican prisoners cried out in recognition of their commander.
Q 23Two cannon that opened the Battle of San Jacinto, a gift from Cincinnati, were nicknamed what?
The Twin Sisters
Coahuila
The 1824 constitution joined Texas with Coahuila as the state of Coahuila y Tejas, with Congress promising Texas separate statehood 'as soon as it feels capable of doing so'.
Q 14Stephen F. Austin's first colonists, settled along the Brazos River in 1822, are known as what?
The Old Three Hundred
The Old Three Hundred were the families who took up Austin's original land grant, first made to his father Moses Austin under Spanish rule.
Q 15The Texas Revolution began on October 2, 1835, at Gonzales, when Texans refused to hand back what?
A small cannon
A small cannon, lent by the Mexican army to the town for defence against raids, gave rise to the 'Come and Take It' flag.
Q 16Where was the Texas Declaration of Independence signed on March 2, 1836?
Washington-on-the-Brazos
Delegates meeting in an unfinished building at Washington-on-the-Brazos adopted the declaration on March 2, 1836, the date celebrated as Texas Independence Day.
Q 17How long did the siege of the Alamo last before Santa Anna's final assault?
13 days
The siege lasted 13 days, from February 23 to the final assault on the morning of March 6, 1836, when roughly 200 defenders were overwhelmed.
Q 18Which frontiersman and ex-Tennessee congressman arrived at the Alamo with volunteers in February 1836?
David Crockett
David Crockett, a three-term congressman from Tennessee, died in the March 6 assault; Disney's 1950s miniseries and John Wayne's 1960 film later made him the face of the battle.
Q 19At Goliad in March 1836, Mexican forces executed roughly how many Texian prisoners of war?
300
Roughly 300 men (most counts say 342) of James Fannin's surrendered command were shot on Santa Anna's orders on March 27, 1836; 'Remember Goliad!' became a battle cry weeks later.
Q 20What name is given to the panicked flight of Texas settlers eastward ahead of Santa Anna?
The Runaway Scrape
The Runaway Scrape emptied settlements from Gonzales toward the Sabine in March and April 1836; many of the fleeing men rejoined Sam Houston's army for San Jacinto.
The Twin Sisters, two six-pounder cannon donated by citizens of Cincinnati, opened fire about 4:30 in the afternoon while much of the Mexican camp was resting.
Q 24The treaties Santa Anna signed to end the war are named after which coastal town?
Velasco
The Treaties of Velasco, signed May 14, 1836 near the mouth of the Brazos, were repudiated by Mexico's Congress because Santa Anna had signed as a prisoner.
Q 25What nickname did the Republic of Texas's paper money earn from its ink?
Redbacks
Redbacks, named for the red ink on their reverse, were issued from 1839 and had fallen to a small fraction of face value by 1842.
Q 26The "Father of Texas" died in December 1836 after just two months in which office?
Secretary of State of the Republic
Stephen F. Austin had been Secretary of State of the Republic since October 1836 when pneumonia killed him on December 27; Waterloo was renamed Austin in his honour in 1839.
Q 27Which president of the Republic of Texas moved the capital to the new town of Austin in 1839?
Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau B. Lamar, president 1838–41, chose the frontier site of Austin over Houston; he also backed the disastrous 1841 Santa Fe Expedition.
Q 28The Republic's first flag, a single gold star on a blue field, was named for which official?
David Burnet
The Burnet Flag, proposed by interim president David Burnet, was adopted in December 1836; the red, white and blue Lone Star Flag replaced it in 1839.
Q 29Which European power was the first to formally recognise the Republic of Texas, in September 1839?
France
France signed a treaty of amity with Texas on September 25, 1839; its legation, built in Austin in 1841, is the city's oldest frame building.
Q 30Texas entered the Union as which numbered state?
28th
Texas became the 28th state when annexation took effect on December 29, 1845, skipping the territorial stage entirely.