Big Thicket Region (Images of America) - Softcover

Wells, Renée

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1467129534 ISBN 13: 9781467129534

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2018

Synopsis

The Big Thicket region is centered in Hardin County but includes land in Tyler, Jasper, Newton, Polk, Liberty, Orange, and Jefferson Counties as well. Changes to the dense forests of the thicket began with pioneers who first cleared land for family farms and communities. Economic pressure on the forests occurred as steam engines rode iron rails through vast stands of yellow pine and timber harvesting laid waste in a cut and get out sawmilling method. The oil boom also resulted in enormous changes as town populations doubled almost overnight. In 1936, R.E. Jackson, a conductor on the Santa Fe Railway, formed the first organization with the goal of protecting the thicket. Later individuals continued the fight, and in 1974, the United States Congress authorized the Big Thicket National Preserve. The preserve, with its 112,500 acres in nine land units and six water corridors, now protects the remnants of a biological crossroads that once covered more than three million acres.

About this title

About the Author

Renée Hart Wells, a sixth-generation descendant of pioneer Texans, is a retired educator who writes pictorial histories of southeast Texas. Vintage photographs in this volume come from collections in area libraries and museums and families of thicket residents.

Edition details

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1467129534
• ISBN 13: 9781467129534
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128