Celebrating 50 years of Texas Highways

by Shannon McIntire

AUSTIN—Inspiring Texans and tourists alike with tips on cultural festivals or where to find the best piece of pie on a country road for a half-century, Texas Highways is turning 50 this year and celebrating the occasion with a new look in the July/Aug issue.

Although the Texas Highways you know today made its debut in 1974, the publication’s origins can be traced back to 1953 when it started life as Construction and Maintenance Bulletin — an internal publication for State Highway Department employees.

Six years later, Texas lawmakers gave the green light to the promotion of tourism by state agencies, an event that spurred the publication’s name change to Texas Highways in 1959.

“That was a time when state officials started recognizing Texas as a marketable travel destination,” said Andrea Lin, director of the Travel Publications Section of the Travel Information Division. “Travel was becoming big business and state agencies were tasked to promote it.”

Although still an internal magazine in the 1960s, stories on general travel started to weave their way into the picture until it graduated into a wholly consumer-oriented travel issue in May 1974 — the year Texas lawmakers declared Texas Highways the official travel magazine of the state.

“That declaration really secured our position and gave us a firm foundation going forward,” Lin said.

Just three years later the magazine achieved a following in all 50 states and global distribution in 48 countries.

“We still have subscribers in every state,” said Emily Stone, Texas Highways editor-in-chief.

Then there is Frank Lively, who served as the magazine’s editor from 1962 to 1990.

“Frank is really the father of Texas Highways,” said Lin. “He oversaw the transition from an internal, technical publication to a travel and tourism publication.

Lin credited Lively as the “enthusiastic visionary” of the magazine’s potential.

“He fought for the content and to make it a real magazine with professional staff,” she said. “He wanted it to be the National Geographic of Texas. His influence has been longstanding.”

Lively’s vision contributed to building a loyal and engaged readership that continues today.

While the physical magazine boasts a monthly readership of 292,000, Lin said the reach of the publication extends well beyond the printed page.

“Today, Texas Highways reaches 14 million people each year through the magazine, newsletters, web and social channels,” she said.

Travel spending in Texas totaled $94.8 billion in 2023, while generating $193.8 billion in economic impact to the Texas economy, according to research by the governor’s office.

“We are lucky to have incredibly loyal subscribers, many of whom have subscribed to the magazine for decades,” Stone said. “We still receive handwritten letters from readers on a monthly basis. They let us know when they like an issue or story and also when we get something wrong — they don’t miss a thing!”

Trust is a big part of that loyalty. Texas Highways readers see it as a trustworthy source of information.

“We’re very protective of the trust of our readers,” Lin said. “Our reader surveys have had remarkably consistent results over the years. We get extremely high marks across the board. It’s pretty remarkable. They know if we write about something, it’s worth visiting. The magazine is a cultural treasure for the people of Texas.”

Looking ahead to the next 50 years, Texas Highways continues to evolve. The July/Aug 2024 issue will debut a complete redesign in a special double issue that broke advertising records for the Travel Division.

The magazine’s excellent articles and features have even caught the eye of the publishing industry. In 2021, Texas Highways was nominated for its first National Magazine Award, the Oscars of magazine publishing. Its competition in the category included big names like The Economist, The New Yorker and The Paris Review.

Also from 2021, a piece from September’s “Cowboy Issue” was featured in The Best American Magazine Writing 2022.

“To have a state magazine be included in that company shows that our staff is on top of our game,” Lin said. “TxDOT should be really proud.”