Gone to Texas

Gone to Texas, often abbreviated G.T.T. or GTT, was a phrase used by Americans immigrating to Texas in the 19th century often to escape debt, especially in the South and Midwest. It was often written on the doors of abandoned houses or posted as a sign on fences. The phrase is well known in Texas due to the state government's policy of requiring Texas history courses in grades four and seven.

Outside of Texas the phrase is less well known, although it has gained notoriety recently due to the publishing of Gone to Texas! by Randolph B. Campbell, considered to be the most recent authoritative work of Texas's history by scholars. The phrase has also been used as the title of a 1986 CBS TV movie Gone to Texas: The Sam Houston Story and as the first trade paperback in the Vertigo comic book series Preacher. Gone To Texas is also the title of a novel by Forrest Carter, which was adapted into the film The Outlaw Josey Wales starring and directed by Clint Eastwood. In 2006, American rock band Jessica's Crime released a concept album entitled Gone to Texas, which shares similar themes of vengeance and retribution with Carter's novel, while the album's protagonist recalls the man with no name character, portrayed by Eastwood in his earlier spaghetti western films, such as the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Recently, the Governor's Office of Economic Development has revised the use of "Gone to Texas" as part of its plan to attract businesses to Texas under its current advertising campaign "Texas. Wide Open For Business".

References

Further reading

• Gone To Texas - A History of the Lone Star State, Randolph Campbell, Oxford University Press, Oxford, ISBN 0-19-513843-0.