Looking Back: How did Chiropractic get to Texas?

To reflect on something is to literally “to turn one’s thoughts back upon, to resolve matters in the mind.”  The History Committee will share brief historical sketches for your reflection.

For a more extensive timeline check out this article.

Texas has “always” desired to regulate medical practice.  The first medical practice act was incorporated into Constitution of the Republic of Texas in 1837.  It was repealed ten years later and Texas did not regulate the practice of medicine again until after the Civil War in 1873.

We are, or should be, familiar with the basics of “chiropractic history” with D. D. Palmer’s healing practices which began in 1888 and culminated with the development of the healing art of chiropractic in 1895. Sometime after 1900 chiropractic arrived in Texas, but how did it get here.  The details are a bit murky, but connecting the dots is pretty straightforward.  

In 1898 D. D. Palmer added to his list of students one Andrew P. Davis of Texas.  It is thought that somewhere between 1903 and 1905 one or more of the fewer than twenty students of D.D. Palmer, or perhaps one of their students, arrived in Texas to practice chiropractic.

While it can safely be said that Andrew P. Davis was the first “Texas Chiropractor” the distinction of who the first chiropractor in Texas was is at this point unclear.  Perhaps it was a “Dr. Guy” who established a chiropractic school in Dallas in 1906, or Dr. J. N. Stone, who established the City College for Chiropractic in San Antonio in 1910.

But however it occurred and whoever it was, shortly after chiropractic arrived in Texas it became active with the public and within a handful of years sought to make it absolutely lawful for chiropractic doctors to practice the healing art of their choosing.

2025 Gala Award Recipients

The following is a preliminary report of  the award recipients of the 2025 TCA Gala.  This report will be improved in the near future.

• P. A. WILLMON AWARD:  Kevin Allison 
• CHIRO ADVOCATE AWARD: J.D. Silva and associates 
• FRIEND OF CHIROPRACTIC:  Saatva and Janet Asghar
• RISING STAR AWARD: Maria Sosa 
• STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD: Hayden Hadley 
• PRESIDENT's AWARD: Jon Blackwell, Korey Rose

A New Millennium Dawns, a Summary Overview

The new millennium dawns in 2001.   Terrorists destroy the World Trade Center in New York City, damage the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and crash a jet liner into a field in Pennsylvania on September 11.  A War on Terror is declared.

Also in 2001 the first 9000 chiropractic licenses have been issued, and the TCA is actively included and consulted in legislative negotiations regarding the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission overhaul compromise bill HB2600.

In response to threats to the profession in June 2002, the TCA files lawsuit against the University Interscholastic League for discrimination against chiropractors by prohibiting them from performing and signing school physicals.  TCA also files a lawsuit against the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission for discriminatory regulations against the chiropractic profession regarding their use of Designated Doctors. The Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners is sued in a class action lawsuit regarding Chiropractic facility registrations.

A Judge issues a temporary injunction against the UIL in favor of the TCA and trial date is set for fall of 2002.  The TCA successfully endorsed candidates in 94% of Senate elections, is neutral in 3% of the races, 87% of House winners endorsed, neutral in 9%. Overall Legislative elections are 89% of the winners, neutral in 8%, and wrong in only 3% of the election results.

Milestones: 1970-2000

The last two-thirds of the 20th century continued to see changes in and about the chiropractic profession.  On January 20, 1970 the executive officers of the Texas State Chiropractic Association, hired Dr. Charles E. Walker of Austin as the executive director until a new permanent director could be found.  The job quickly escalated into a 24-hour-per-day proposition and the officers eventually quit looking for another applicant.  Dr. Walker had won the job and continued in that post until November 1977.

Herbie G. McMennamy, DC was elected TSCA state secretary in 1970 and would become the first female president in 1972 .  In 1971, Dr. H. H. Kennedy suggested that if the ladies auxiliary saw fit to establish an award comparable to the Keeler Plaque, he would personally bear its cost. Recognizing an opportunity of merit, the ladies responded by establishing the Kennedy Award in 1971.

2015 TCA Centennial Powerpoint

This presentation was prepared and presented for the TCA Centennial program.  Brief captioning has been added between the slides.

85th Legislative Session Results, 2017

Of the thousands of bills that TCA tracked and worked on, three of TCA's key desires were passed and signed into law.

• TBCE Sunset Bill (SB 304)

• PASSED. SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR.

• This bill clarifies that DCs may lawfully diagnose the biomechanical condition of the spine and musculoskeletal system of the human body. It also eliminates facility registration (and associated fees), streamlines the complaint and investigations process, and continues TBCE as a state agency for 12 years.

• TCA also successfully opposed the consolidation of TBCE into the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and the total elimination of chiropractic acupuncture.

• Professional Associations (SB 679)

• PASSED. SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR.

• This bill allows DCs to form business entities with physicians and podiatrists. It was one of the first bills to pass the Senate but was held up in the House for political reasons unrelated to the bill itself. After finally being referred to committee, the bill was considered in the House Public Health Committee final hearing and passed unanimously. It was then held hostage in the Calendars Committee. TCA’s lobby team rescued the bill in the eleventh hour. The bill passed in the House on the last day of eligibility.

2016 TCA Chiropractic Districts

The Texas Chiropractic Association has long divided the representation among its association leaders by dividing itself into regional districts.  There are twelve regional districts that elect a state director to serve on the state associations board of directors.  In 2016 these districts were listed as being composed of the following counties. 

2023 Award Receipients

Honored during Chiro Texpo ’23 were:

• Keeler Plaque – Tyce Hergert, DC, Grapevine
• Young Chiropractor of the Year – Sammie Mees, DC, Georgetown
• H. Ford Johnson Membership Award – Jon Blackwell, DC, Amarillo
• P.A. Willmon Award – Korey Rose, DC, New Braunfels

A Brief History of Sports and Chiropractic

Originally Published Thursday, September 10, 2015 12:00 AM

The history of the sports professional predates the origin of chiropractic by more than a quarter of a century when in 1838 the rules for baseball were first noted, and in 1869 the first professional baseball team was organized.  At the time that professional athletes became more prevalent in the early 20th century, so did the chiropractic professional.

After its initiation in 1895, the profession of chiropractic continued its development in the early 1900s. By 1906, there were seven fairly well known chiropractic schools, and the very first chiropractic law in any state was proposed and nearly gained passage.  Both D. D. and B. J. Palmer were indicted for practicing medicine without a license in 1906, and the Universal Chiropractors' Association (UCA) was formed. Membership dues paid to a central treasury were used to cover the costs of legal services. By 1908, J. N. Stone D.C. founds a Chiropractic practice in San Antonio.  By 1910 Stone charters and presides over the Chiropractic College of San Antonio.

It is speculated by sports historians that the first professional athlete to receive chiropractic care was Mordecai (Three-Finger) Brown in 1911.

Medicine v. Chiropractic, a Timeline

From an article of the same name published

Sunday, August 07, 2016 08:43 AM

The Texas Medical Association (TMA) is continuing its over-a-century-long quest to eliminate the chiropractic profession.  For a decade now they have been challenging the chiropractic doctor’s right to diagnose – all the way to the Texas Supreme Court.  

The TCA and its legal team continue to intervene on behalf of the chiropractic profession.  The latest TMA lawsuit was heard August 2 in Austin.  While the chiropractic team has done well explaining the job of the chiropractor in the area of diagnosis, the TMA’s experts have admitted their lack of expertise on the chiropractic profession that they deem themselves qualified to regulate.

We thought we would present a brief synopsis of this 120+ year old battle in Texas.

The Chiropractic Struggle

By Chris Dalrymple, D.C., F.I.C.C

By the late fall of 1895, D. D. Palmer had developed four methods of adjusting the vertebrae of the spine; Willard Carver had also begun the study of chiropractic. In the summer of 1896 D.D. Palmer incorporated the Palmer School of Magnetic Cure, his thriving 40-bed magnetic healing facility on the fourth floor of the Ryan building in Davenport, Iowa. He also trained a few individuals in the new-school healing art of chiropractic that same year.    

D. D. Palmer writes “Medicines and medical doctors are necessary; we cannot get along without them”,  but Palmer minced no words: “People have been led to believe that all medical laws were made for the 'protection of the public against quacks.' But the facts are, that these laws are usually framed by professional quacks for their own protection.” “If Health Boards were what their name implies,” he continued, “they would utilize some of their fondness for law by getting out injunctions against manufacturers of anti-toxin…We are sick and tired of the monopoly of drugs and the ruling of medicine …. Laws should be made to protect the people, not a particular class or school.” 

The Gilded Age

By Chris Dalrymple, D.C., F.I.C.C

The Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain to describe the time from 1870s to about 1900, was the time when the science of chiropractic was founded and developed.  In 1878 Harvey Lillard lost hearing in his left ear after lifting a heavy weight while  stooped.  He would later become the first chiropractic patient on September 18, 1895, when D. D. Palmer successfully adjusted his spine and improved hearing resulted. By the late fall of that year Palmer had developed four methods of adjusting the vertebrae of the spine.  In the summer of 1896 he also trained a few individuals in the healing art of chiropractic.

From Gilded Age to Modern Era

By Chris Dalrymple, D.C., F.I.C.C

As Texas entered the Gilded Age, a term coined by Mark Twain to describe the time from 1870s to about 1900. It was the time when the science of chiropractic was founded and developed.  In 1878, a man named Harvey Lillard lost hearing in his left ear after lifting a heavy weight while in a stooped and cramped position.  He would later become the first “chiropractic patient” on September 18, 1895, when D. D. Palmer successfully adjusted his spine. By the late fall of that year Palmer had developed four methods of adjusting the vertebrae of the spine.  In the summer of 1896 he also trained a few individuals in the new-school healing art of chiropractic. Chiropractic students of D. D. Palmer in 1898 included Texan Andrew P. Davis, MD, DO, DC, who may very well be the first practicing chiropractic doctor in Texas. 

Jail Time

By Chris Dalrymple, D.C., F.I.C.C

While many people are aware that chiropractors have been fighting uphill battles with mainstream medicine, most are unaware that this often meant going to jail on behalf of the profession.  In 1909 the Carnegie Foundation commissioned Abraham Flexner to visit medical schools and write a report on the status of medical education in the United States and Canada.  The report found that many of the schools were substandard.  It stressed the need to link medical schools with universities and heavily emphasized the need for scientific research.  The Rockefeller Foundation funded grants for the implementation of the study’s recommendations. With the Flexner Report in hand medical education reform was in full swing giving birth to  the strongest professional monopoly in the United States: organized medicine. 

American Healthcare

By Chris Dalrymple, D.C., F.I.C.C

In the 1800s the authority to examine and license medical practitioners was delegated to state medical societies.  Medical licensure could be obtained either through medical society apprenticeship or through medical schooling.  In the 1800s a rapid proliferation of medical schools arose in the United States and the practice of medicine was deregulated allowing for schools of medicine to turn out doctors as desired.  

In 1837, the Republic of Texas passed it’s first Medical Practice Act regulating the granting of licenses to practice medicine and surgery in the republic.  By the mid-1800s, however, medical deregulation was in full swing in the United States and most of the states began to repeal their medical licensing laws. Texas followed suit discontinuing its medical board in 1848. There was then no governmental regulation of the practice of medicine in Texas until 25 years later in 1873. During this period of deregulation new schools-of-thought developed about how to practice medicine. These new-schools of medicine rapidly produced their own dedicated medical practitioners to meet the needs and desires of the masses. In 1853, in response to these new-schools, 35 medical physicians chartered the Medical Association of Texas to exclude “irregularly trained doctors.”     

Ancient Healthcare

By Chris Dalrymple, D.C., F.I.C.C

Life has always been a risky business.  The perils of war, disease, famine and childbirth have contributed to a life span markedly shorter than humankind currently experiences.  Humans in antiquity were no less concerned about the prevention and cure of maladies than they are now.  Cults, sanctuaries and professions dedicated to the restoration and preservation of health dotted the spiritual, physical and professional landscapes of the ancient world as they do today.

During the Stone Age, physicians were familiar with bone setting.  The origin of the therapeutic movement of joints is lost in the mist of antiquity, but in the historical development of medicine there are many references to the practice. In addition to the use of manipulation as a method of setting fractures, reducing dislocations, and restoring mobility to an injured or diseased joint, there is considerable evidence that many attempted to treat disease by manipulating the joints. 

Medical Licensure c. 3000 B.C.E. to 1800s C.E.

By Chris Dalrymple, D.C., F.I.C.C

Monday, August 10, 2015 12:00 AM

circa 3000 B.C.E. to circa 30 B.C.E.:  Egyptian Civilization

Documents from the Egyptian Civilization demonstrates that workers were offered a variety of healthcare benefits, including paid sick days and free visits to physicians.  The records prove that the workers visited three types of medical providers:  the physician, the scorpion charmer and the wise woman.

circa. 1754 B.C.E.:  Code of Hammurabi establishes patient fees and punishment for negligent treatment in Babylonia.

circa 1200 B.C.E. to circa 500 C.E.:  Ancient Greek Civilization 

circa 750 B.C.E. to circa 476 C.E.: Roman Civilization 

The Greeks and Romans  recognized distinction based on education determined who served the masses and who served the elite.  Temple priests who were formally educated served the aristocracy, while common practitioners with less formal medical education served the needs of community members who could afford to pay fees for service.  Finally, the indigent were served by folk practitioners, primarily women, who cultivated their healing herbs and learned from each other the secrets of healing. In fact women were barred for centuries from reading books and attending lectures, thus prohibiting them from entering the recognized practice of medicine."