Square Dance History Project
The rich story of North American square dance finally has a home in the digital age.

Browse Items (25 total)

  • Spatial Coverage is exactly "USA, Texas"
Document

"Meet Your Honey, Go Hog Wild"

This collection of anecdotes describes early dances and social norms in Texas cowboy country. View item
Document

Texas Dance Memories

This booklet was compiled by Betty Casey; it presents an overview of Texas square dance history. The booklet features short profiles of 14 "first pacesetters," figures who are important in the history… View item
Document

Swing Your Partner  (Texas, Doc Journell)

This is the first issue (see Additional Files) of a square dance magazine edited by C.D. "Doc" Journell. A major focus of this issue is a discussion about the formation of a national square… View item
Sound

Shoot the Owl (clip) - Hollis Johnson

Hollis Johnson (1897–1996) was born in Eastland County, Texas. This dance figure was introduced decades later by Sandy Bradley and appears on her "Potluck & Dance Tonite" album. View item
Document

Texas Cowboys - dance poems and lore

A collection of pieces related to square dance in southwest cowboy culture, published in 1925 View item
Document

Cowboy Dance (1923 article)

This description of dances on the Texas frontier was included in a 1923 collection, Coffee in the Gourd, edited by J. Frank Dobie for the Texas Folk-Lore Society. The author paints a vivid picture of… View item
Document

Your Favorite Calls and Callers

This booklet features 30 callers, the majority of whom are from Texas. Each person is represented by a short biography, a photograph, and an example of a dance associated with them. Texas callers and… View item
Document

West Texans Do It Differently

In this 1949 article, caller Jimmy Clossin describes some of the distinguishing characteristics of west Texas square dance: "Many people think when Western Square Dancing is mentioned that we… View item
Document

Texas Square Dance Festival regions

Texas had a history of square dance contests going back to pre-World War II days. The dance festivals and contests continued into the late 1940s, evidenced by these articles from Foot 'n' Fiddle… View item
Sound

Mary Ann - Marshall Flippo

This is a short clip of Marshall Flippo calling at a dance in 1970 the singing call Mary Ann (originally recorded by C.O. Guest on Kalox label #K1107) View item
Document

"The Texas Cattle Country and Cowboy Square Dance" – Olcutt Sanders

This article, scholarly yet accessible, provides an excellent look at square dancing in west Texas in the late 1800s. He starts with a look at the conditions that set this region apart from… View item
Document

Texas Square Dance - Family Tree

The author attempts to trace the various antecedents leading up to Texas square dancing in the 1940s. After the obligatory look at British sources, he notes: "The recent history of the square… View item