Mr. Ranger

Lore & Background

The Texas Rangers were unofficially created by Stephen F. Austin in a call-to-arms written in 1823. After a decade, on August 10, 1835, Daniel Parker introduced a resolution to the Permanent Council creating a body of rangers to protect the Mexican border. The unit was dissolved by the federal authorities after the Civil War during the Reconstruction Era but was quickly reformed upon the reinstitution of home government. Since 1935, the organization has been a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS); it fulfills the role of Texas' state bureau of investigation. As of 2019, there are 166 commissioned members of the Ranger force.

Reader's Guide

The Rangers have taken part in many of the most important events of Texas history, such as stopping the assassination of presidents William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz in El Paso, and in some of the best-known criminal cases in the history of the Old West, such as those of gunfighter John Wesley Hardin, bank robber Sam Bass, and outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. Scores of books have been written about the Rangers, from well-researched works of nonfiction to pulp novels and other such fiction, making the Rangers significant participants in the mythology of the Wild West and modern culture.

The Lone Ranger, perhaps the best-known example of a fictional character derived from the Texas Rangers, draws his alias from having once been a Texas Ranger. Following close after, a classic titled Lone Star Justice by Robert Utley explains the life of Texas Rangers from the very beginning, showcasing the development of the now structured law force. More well-known examples include the radio and television series Tales of the Texas Rangers, Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call from the Larry McMurtry novel series Lonesome Dove, and Chuck Norris portraying Cordell Walker in Walker, Texas Ranger.

The Major League Baseball (MLB) team Texas Rangers is named after the division. The Rangers are legally protected against disbandment. There is a museum dedicated to the Texas Rangers known as the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, which celebrates the cultural significance of the Rangers.