This study provides both a descriptive account of Texas Alsatian (TxAls) and discussions on extra-linguistic factors linked to ethnic identity and language loyalty, which have enabled the maintenance of this distinctive Texas German dialect for 150 years. This discussion of TxAls is three-fold: (1) an analysis of social, historical, political, and economic factors affecting the maintenance and decline of TxAls, (2) a detailed structural analysis of the grammatical features of TxAls, supported by a description of its European donor dialect and substantiated by Gilbert’s (1972) data, and (3) a discussion of the participants’ attitudes toward their ancestral language, which have either contributed to the maintenance of TxAls, or are now accelerating its decline, based on responses to a survey developed for the TxAls community.