In 1949, the small town of Kerens, Texas -- population roughly a thousand -- wanted to boost holiday shopping. Howell Brister, manager of the local Chamber of Commerce, had an idea: build the world's largest Santa Claus. Community members welded a 49-foot frame from iron drill casing, layered it in papier-mache, and strung unraveled rope for the beard. The figure stood over Colket Avenue for two Christmas seasons, drawing press coverage from as far away as Iran and Australia. But by 1951, the novelty had faded, and Kerens put its oversized Santa up for sale. State Fair president R. L. Thornton bought the components for $750. He hired artist Jack Bridges to transform them into a cowboy, and Big Tex was born. Bridges modeled the new face on three sources: his own photograph, a picture of rancher Doc Simmons, and a photograph of Will Rogers.

Big Tex made his debut at the 1952 fair as a 52-foot cowboy in denim jeans and a plaid shirt donated by the H. D. Lee Company. He was silent that first year. In 1953, Jack Bridges rigged a custom recipromotor and 75-watt speaker inside the head, creating a swinging mechanical jaw that gave the illusion of speech. The first voice belonged to Al Jones, a disc jockey at WRR FM 101.1, who howdied from a booth the crew called 'the doghouse.' After Jones, radio announcer Jim Lowe became Big Tex's most iconic voice, performing from 1956 to 1998 across two stints. Dallas band Tripping Daisy wrote the song 'Jim's Longtime Voice' as a tribute after his retirement. Over the decades, Big Tex's voice has been played by only a handful of men, each performing every single day of the fair.

On the morning of October 19, 2012 -- the final weekend of the fair and Big Tex's 60th birthday -- a fire started in an electrical panel under his right boot. The blaze raced upward through the framework. His clothing, face, and hat were destroyed in minutes as fairgoers watched in disbelief, many of them filming on their phones. Only the iron skeleton remained. Investigators determined that the panel had powered the air compressor keeping his clothing inflated. The news went national. Fair officials committed to rebuilding Big Tex 'bigger and better' by the following year. Working under strict secrecy, SRO Associates and Texas Scenic Co. constructed a new figure at a cost of $500,000. Big Tex Circle was enlarged and reinforced to support the larger statue. The new Big Tex made his public debut on September 26, 2013, to cheering crowds. He had survived his own funeral.

Big Tex's wardrobe tells part of the story: size 96 boots, a 95-gallon hat, jeans in a 434-waist, and a shirt fabricated from nylon awning fabric. He receives new clothes every three years, currently made by Dickies (originally Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, now part of VF Corporation). Hurricane Carla tore his outfit in 1961. In 1970, someone stole his massive shirt from a pickup truck. In 2002, for his 50th birthday, the fair added gray streaks to his hair and wrinkles to his hands and face. He even received an AARP card. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Big Tex wore a mask while the fair was on hiatus. He has traveled to Minneapolis with the Dallas Jaycees, to Abilene for a college homecoming, and back to his birthplace in Kerens for the town's centennial. His domain name is bigtex.com. He is, in every measurable way, the tallest Texan -- and the one who has greeted the most people with a handshake he cannot actually give.