Timeline
Meandering through the grounds of the College Station Veterans Memorial Park is The American Mile, a project of the College Station Historic Preservation Committee. About every twenty feet are a series of stone tiles highlighting historic events in American, Texan, and College Station history, beginning with the year of our nation's birth: 1776.
Below are events taken from those tiles from 1988 to today, with additions from the “City Stories" series highlighted in red. Click on that hyperlink text to go to the story.
1988
Research Annex at Former Bryan Air Base Named Texas A&M Riverside Campus
1989
Tim Berners-Lee Invents Worldwide Web
L. Douglas Wilder Becomes 1st African American Governor Elected
1990
Clean Air Act Sets Nationwide Air Pollution Limits
US Census Count: College Station 52,443
1991
Operation "Desert Storm;" Persian Gulf War Begins
Texas A&M Site Selected for the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library
1992
Cold War Ends
North American Free Trade Agreement Approved
27th Amendment Implemented
1993
42nd US President William J Clinton
Mullis And Smith Earn Nobel Prize
Kay Bailey Hutchison Becomes First Texas Woman Senator
1994
North American Free Trade Agreement Goes Into Effect
Brooke Leslie First Woman Elected TAMU Student Body President
1996
Chess Computer Defeats Champion Karsparov
Dolly The Sheep Cloned In Scotland
19 US Servicemen Killed In Saudi Arabia Bombing
Centennial Olympic Park Bombing In Atlanta Kills One
Dow Jones Average Closes Above 6,000 For First Time
1997
Madeline Albright Becomes First Woman Secretary of State
George H.W. Bush Library Center Is Dedicated
TEEX Opens Urban-Search-And-Rescue Training Site
Brazos Valley Czech Heritage Society Founded
1999
Dow Jones Average Closes Above 10,000 for First Time
TAMU Bonfire Stack Collapses, 12 People Killed
Humana Hospital Becomes College Station Medical Center
George H.W. Bush Celebrates 75th Birthday With Parachute Jump At Bush Library
2001
43rd President George Walker Bush
Terrorist Attack On World Trade Center And Pentagon
U.S. Invasion Of Afghanistan Begins
2002
Congress Approves Homeland Security Act
TAMU President Ray Bowen Cancels Bonfire
Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial Dedicated
College Station Retiree Ellis Mooring Reunites With Teenage Sweetheart
2003
Space Shuttle "Columbia" Lost On Return From Mission
Iraq War Begins
Hispanics Largest Minority In US
Iraq Forced Out Of Kuwait
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Howard Graves, TAMUS Chancellor Dies
Lincoln Center Begins The Juneteenth Freedom Walk To The George Bush Library
2004
Two Mars Rovers Land On Red Planet
World War II Monument Dedicated In Washington
First Privately-Funded Sub-Orbital Human Spaceflight
230,000 Killed Or Missing From Indian Ocean Tsunami
Legendary Lawman Bob Wiatt Retires As TAMU Director Of Security
2005
Rocket Mission Studies Comets
Kashmir Earthquake Kills 80,000
Hurricane Katrina Hits Gulf Coast
Condoleeza Rice First African-American Secretary of State
Steve Fossett Flies Around World Without Refueling
2006
Texas Aggie Mike Fossum Flies To International Space Station
Dow Jones Average Closes Above 11,800
Construction Begins On Phase II At Veterans Memorial Park
World's Tallest Tree Discovered In Redwood National Park
US Population Reaches 300 Million
2007
American Mile Walk Completed At Veterans Park
King Herrod Tomb Discovered Near Jerusaleum
Dow Jones Average Closes Aboave 14,000
Cost Of Living: Gallon Of Gas $3.38
2008
China Earthquake Kills 69,000
Final Game In Yankee Stadium
Dow Jones Drops 680 Points
Petroleum Hits $100 Per Barrell
2009
44th US President Barack Hussein Obama II
US Airways Crashes In Hudson River, All Aboard Survive
Dude Perfect Posts Its First Trick-Shot Video To YouTube
The Aggie Field Of Honor Is Opened Within The College Station Memorial Cemetery
2010
100th Anniversary Of Boy Scouts
100th Anniversary Of Camp Fire Girls
Int'l Space Station Sets Human Occupancy Record
US Census Bureau: College Station 93,857
Memorial Cemetary And Aggie Field Of Honor Dedicated
2011
Tsunami Devastates Northern Japan
Space Shuttle Program Ends
Bastrop Wildfires Burn 1,500 Homes
NY Memorial Plaza And Museum Opens
2012
100th Anniversary Of Girl Scouts
Encyclopedia Britannica Stops Printed Edition
Voyager Space Probe Reaches End Of Solar System
College Station High School Opens Its Doors To Local Ninth- And Tenth-Graders
2013
College Station Celebrates 75th Anniversary
The Created4Change Center Moves To The Lincoln House Of Hope
2014
2015
New Horizon Takes Photos Of Pluto
Redeveloped Kyle Field Opened As Fourth Largest College Football Stadium In The Country