Big Thicket

Physical geography s of the various formations at the surface have shifted and intermingled through erosion and other factors over time and can be locally quite complex. The Big Thicket contains a greater variety of soils than any area of comparable size in the United States. Sources vary, but from 50 to 100 soil types are said to occur in Hardin County alone. Hydrology: Hardin, Tyler, western Jasper and southeast Polk counties are drained by the Neches River and its tributaries: Village Creek and its smaller tributaries (Beach, Theuvenins, Turkey, Hickory, Kimball, Big Sandy, and Cypress creeks) in the north; Pine Island Bayou and its smaller tributaries (Little Pine Island Bayou and Mayhaw Bayou) in the south. Eastern regions, including eastern Jasper and Newton counties, are drained by several relatively short creeks running into the Sabine River. Western regions including central Liberty, northeastern San Jacinto, northern Walker counties and southwest Polk County (via Kickapoo, Long King, and Menard creeks) are drained by the Trinity River. Areas farther west are drained by the San Jacinto River, with east and west forks. Additional wetlands are extensive, including innumerable nameless swamps, cypress sloughs, oxbow lakes, wetland savannas, and baygall bogs. Floodplains and bottomlands in the south, can retain surface water for days and weeks after rain. The Sabine and Neches rivers flow into Sabine Lake, a natural occurring brackish water estuary, just southeast of the Big Thicket. The other large lakes in the region were constructed in the decades following the Second World War, including B.A. Steinhagen Lake (1947–53) and Sam Rayburn Reservoir (1956–65) on the Neches River drainage, Lake Livingston (1966–69) on the Trinity River, Lake Houston (1953) and Lake Conroe (1970–73) on the San Jacinto River. with northern areas receiving about , and southern areas receiving about . However, tropical storms and hurricanes can increase annual rainfall to over . Humidity stays well above 60% most of the time and exceeds 90% often. Winters are mild, with nighttime lows averaging and daytime highs . Winter cold fronts can drop temperatures to freezing, but freezes rarely last for more than a few days, sometimes only hours, averaging about 20 mostly nonconsecutive days each year. Snow is rare, occurring only once every ten years or so. Summer temperatures are hot, with nighttime lows averaging and daytime highs averaging . Temperatures exceed about 110 days each year and days with temperatures above and even above are not uncommon. The high summer temperatures with high humidity levels can produce very high heat index numbers. Human geography Population: In 2010, the United States Census Bureau reported a population of 54,635 for Hardin County, with an average of in a county of . The larger towns (and populations from 2010 census) in Hardin County are Kountze, the county seat (2,123), Lumberton (12,448), Silsbee (6,611), and Sour Lake (1,813). Smaller unincorporated communities in the Hardin County include Batson, Honey Island, Saratoga, Thicket, Village Mills, and Votaw. Tyler County had a total population of 21,766, with an average population of in . The larger towns in Tyler County are Chester (312), Colmesneil (596), Warren (757), and Woodville, the county seat (2,586) with smaller unincorporated communities including Doucette, Fred, Rockland, and Spurger. Polk County had a total population of 45,413, with an average of in an area of in 2010 including Livingston (5,335), the county seat and the largest town in the county. ==Biology==

Ecosystems On a larger scale of ecoregions of the United States, the Big Thicket is part of the Piney Woods. The Big Thicket is located in the southwest of the Piney Woods and transitions into the Western Gulf coastal grasslands immediately to the south. To the west are the Texas Blackland Prairies and East Central Texas forests (a.k.a. post-oak savanna). Within the Big Thicket, a major component in the high diversity of plants and animals is the variety of ecosystems present in a relatively small area. The National Park Service identifies eight plant communities in Big Thicket National Preserve. Some biologist and plant ecologists identify as many as nine, ten, or eleven ecosystems in the Big Thicket. habitat. Big Thicket National Preserve, Turkey Creek Unit, Hardin Co. Texas; 16 April 2020 Cypress slough in the Big Thicket region of southeast Texas. Liberty Co. Texas; 22 May 2020 Mixed-grass prairies: Mammals: About 54 species of mammals occur in the Big Thicket (not counting extirpated species), including such species as the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), short-tailed shrew (Blarina carolinensis), American beaver (Castor canadensis), Baird's pocket gopher (Geomys breviceps), southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius), American mink (Mustela vison), river otter (Lontra canadensis), coyote (Canis latrans), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), bobcat (Lynx rufus), and Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) a threatened species in Texas. Although many of these species are common, they can be highly secretive and are seldom seen in the dense woodlands. Many prominent species that once occurred in the Big Thicket have been extirpated from their historical ranges. Examples include hog-nosed skunks (Conepatus leuconotus), red wolves (Canis rufus), ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), and jaguars (Panthera onca). File:Picoides borealis USMC2005729133853B.jpg|Red-cockaded woodpecker File:Bachman's Sparrow, Hal Scott Reserve, Florida 3.jpg|Bachman's sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis), Hal Scott Reserve, Florida File:Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) Walker Co. TX. photo W. L. Farr.jpg|Scissor-tailed flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) in Walker County File:Painted Bunting - Texas - USA H8O2367 (23443730189).jpg|Painted bunting (Passerina ciris), Texas File:Yellow-crowned Night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) Harris Co. TX. photo W. L. Farr.jpg|Yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea) in Harris County File:White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) showing adult (left) and immature (right) plumage, Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, Texas.jpg|White ibis (Eudocimus albus) adult and immature plumage, Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge File:Wood ducks (Aix sponsa) (a557702f-eab3-43fd-bef4-837c129b7775) (cropped).JPG|Wood ducks (Aix sponsa), Big Thicket NP, camara trap Reptiles: Sixty-one species of reptiles are known from the Big Thicket area including the alligator, 15 turtles, 12 lizards, and 33 snakes. Along with birds, reptiles are among the more commonly seen wildlife and they are an important part of the forest community or ecosystems. The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), although somewhat uncommon, occurs throughout the Big Thicket where sufficient water is found. However, alligators are abundant in the open marshland of Chambers and Jefferson counties to the south, where they bask in the sun unobstructed by forest trees. The snapping turtle family (Chelydridae) is found only in the New World with two genera, both represented in the Big Thicket, the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). The alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America and one of the larger freshwater turtles in the world. One record sized individual with a shell has been documented, and another captive specimen recorded, however, and is the typical adult size. whereas the legless western slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus) prefers areas of dense grasses with sandy soils. Three lizards barely range into peripheral counties, including two rare skinks, the southern prairie skink (Plestiodon septentrionalis) in the west and the coal skink (Plestiodon anthracinus) in the northeast; and the Texas spiny lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus), common to the west, but rare in a few western Big Thicket counties. Most records of the state reptile, the Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), from east Texas are from the early and mid-twentieth century when they were popular pets, and are thought to represent released or escaped pets and not the species natural range. Two invasive species, the brown anole (Anolis sagrei) and the nocturnal Mediterranean gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), are found there. There are five species of venomous snakes in the area. Two rattlesnakes, the pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) and the canebrake or timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) are both uncommon to rare. Timber rattlesnakes are a threatened species in Texas, as they are in most states where they occur and are protected by state laws. Common toads and frogs include the Gulf Coast toad (Incilius nebulifer), Blanchard's cricket frog (Acris blanchardi), green tree frog (Hyla cinerea), squirrel tree frog (Hyla squirella), spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer), eastern narrow-mouth toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis), American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), bronze frog (Lithobates clamitans), and southern leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus). Two other frequently encountered tree frogs, Cope's gray tree frog (Hyla chrysoscelis) and the gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor), are identical in appearance and can only be distinguished by subtle differences in their calls or by laboratory analysis. The East Texas toad, commonly seen in the Big Thicket, has been controversial among herpetologist and taxonomist, some arguing that it is a distinct species (Anaxyrus velatus) while others argue that it is a hybrid between Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii) found to the west and Fowler's toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) found to the east. Two rare and highly secretive frogs are the pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris) and the southern crawfish frog (Lithobates areolatus) which is a fossorial species, spending much of its time in crayfish burrows and other small cavities in the ground. One invasive species, the small Rio Grande chirping frog (Syrrhophus cystignathoides), is native to the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico but, it does not appear pose an ecological threat to other species as invasive species often do. File:Small-mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma texanum) Liberty Co. Texas. photo by W. L. Farr.jpg|Small-mouthed salamander (Ambystoma texanum) in Liberty County File:Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea quadridigitata) Polk Co. Texas. W. L. Farr.jpg|Dwarf salamander (Eurycea quadridigitata) in Polk County File:Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) Walker Co. Texas. photo by W. L. Farr.jpg|Eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) in Walker County File:East Texas Toad (Anaxyrus velatus or woodhousii x fowleri) Hardin Co. Texas. photo by W. L. Farr.jpg|East Texas toad (Anaxyrus velatus or woodhousii × fowleri) in Hardin County File:Eastern Narrow-mouth Toad, (Gastrophryne carolinensis) Liberty Co. Texas. photo by W. L. Farr.jpg|Eastern narrow-mouth toad, (Gastrophryne carolinensis) in Liberty County File:Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) Montgomery Co. Texas. photo by W. L. Farr.jpg|Gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) in Montgomery County File:Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea) Hardin Co. Texas. photo by W. L. Farr.jpg|Green treefrog (Hyla cinerea) in Hardin County Fishes: Well over 90 species of fishes are known from the area. The Big Thicket National Preserve inventoried 92 species in the preserve's waters and another 20 species are noted as possible occurrences. The National Park Service checklist includes 104 species. Others source note 98 species In the smaller tributaries the most abundant species are minnows, killifishes, darters, bass, and bullhead catfish, while larger creeks and bayous are dominated by channel, blue, and flathead catfish, sunfishes, largemouth and spotted bass, and crappie. Dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata): Damselflies typically sit with their wings together, closed over their backs. Dragonflies sit with their wings spread. Collectively over 120 species occur in the Big Thicket area. They are often associated with water where they lay their eggs. Most species have preferences in the water they frequent, such as moving water vs. still water, streams, ponds, marshes etc. The Needham's skimmer (Libellula needhami) lay their eggs in flight, while the ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) submerges for up to two hours while depositing eggs. The nymphs are aquatic. Both the larva and adults are fierce predators, feeding primarily on insects. They are frequently sexually dimorphic and males and females may have different colors and patterns. Some species like the roseate skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea) and common green darner (Anax junius) can be seen in their adult form year round. Others are limited to a few weeks or mouths each year like the calico pennant (Celithemis elisa) flying April - August and Needham's skimmer (Libellula needhami) flying May - September. The Texas emerald (Somatochlora margarita) and the rare and sarracenia spiketail (Cordulegaster sarracenia) are endemic to southeast Texas and adjacent areas of Louisiana. File:1. Common green darner (Anax junius), male, Liberty County.jpg|Common green darner (Anax junius), male, Liberty County File:2. Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata), male, San Jacinto County.jpg|Ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata), male, San Jacinto County File:3. Needham's Skimmer (Libellula needhami) female, Harris Co County.jpg|Needham's skimmer (Libellula needhami) female, Harris Co County File:4. Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa) male, Chambers County.jpg|Calico pennant (Celithemis elisa) male, Chambers County File:5. Roseate Skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea), male, Liberty County.jpg|Roseate skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea), male, Liberty County File:6. Widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), female, Houston County.jpg|Widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), female, Houston County File:Sarracenia spiketail (Cordulegaster sarracenia) Rapides Parish, LA, USA (7 April 2019) 2.jpg|Sarracenia spiketail (Cordulegaster sarracenia) Rapides Parish, Louisiana == History ==

In pre-Columbian times, people of the Caddoan Mississippian culture occupied areas just to the north of the Big Thicket region. The Atakapa-Ishak (including the subgroups Akiosa, Akokisas, Bidai, Deadoses, and Patiri) occupied the Big Thicket area, living nomadically along the Gulf of Mexico in Southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. They left evidence of hunting camps and such, although the Big Thicket area itself does not appear to have been the site of any significant permanent settlements comparable to the Caddo mound builders to the north. The Atakapa-Ishak speaking people were largely decimated by European diseases in the late eighteenth century, with only a few descendants surviving today. About the same time as the collapse of the Atakapa-Ishak people, the Alabama-Coushatta, originally two closely associated tribes living in adjacent areas of Alabama, began a westward migration about 1763 due to the encroachment of Europeans. The Alabama-Coushatta settled into the northern sections of the Big Thicket area by 1780, prior to the acquisition of their reservation in 1854. in the 1830s. Deforestation has dramatically reduced its size. The Spaniards ruled the region 1521–1810, defining the Big Thicket's boundaries with the north as El Camino Real de los Tejas (Old San Antonio Road), a trail from central Texas to Nacogdoches; in the south as the Atascosito Road running from southwest Louisiana to Southeast Texas; to the west by the Brazos River; and to the east by the Sabine River. After Mexican independence (c. 1810–1836), the region remained largely undeveloped. One of the earliest European naturalists to survey Texas was Jean Louis Berlandier (1803–1851), a French naturalist who participated in a Mexican Boundary Survey from 1828 to 1829. Although Berlandier did not survey the Big Thicket area, he did travel to Robbins Crossing, where the El Camino Real (Old San Antonio Road) crossed the Trinity River and camped May 25–29, 1829, collecting information on the Trinity River among other things. Of the lower Trinity, Berlandier wrote in his journal "Every year in May or June the water overflows its banks. These banks are covered with dense forest where one finds many nut trees [pecans], oaks, maples, elms, and pines. The banks are populated by various Indian nations of the United States of America, such as the Conchates [Coushatta], Kichais, and Kicapoos, who have established their village there. One also finds two villages of colonist, known as Trinidad and Atascosito, which have achieved some growth at the present time". Lorenzo de Zavala (1788–1836) received empresario land grants in 1829 and sought to interest capitalists in New York without success. In 1830, Zavala formed the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company in New York City with Joseph Vehlein and David G. Burnet (holding grants for in Texas) in hopes of colonizing the land, but they had minimal success. Stephen Jackson received in Hardin County, settling at Sour Lake Springs around 1835, the oldest extant town in the county. With Texas independence (1836), and the early years of statehood in the United States, Anglo-Saxon settlers began drifting into the area. Entrepreneurs bottled the water from the Sour Lake Springs and Jackson had developed a health resort with quality accommodations there by 1850. A Sour Lake post office was established in 1866 but discontinued in 1876. In the mid-nineteenth century the Big Thicket was sparsely populated by a few scattered inhabitants living in the woods off subsistence farming, hunting, and running free range hogs and cattle. It also had a reputation as a place for those avoiding conscription in the Confederate Army, Jayhawkers, outlaws, and such. The 1860 census showed there were about 200 sawmills statewide, but most were located near the Gulf Coast or north of the Big Thicket. Compared to other states, lumber production in Texas was small. As late as 1870, the majority of the forest of East Texas remained untouched. However that soon changed as the "bonanza era" (c. 1880–1930) of Texas lumbering began, facilitated by a rapidly developed railroad system. In 1877 Henry J. Lutcher and G. Bedell Moore started the first major mill in Orange, Texas. Others followed, many building company towns in remote areas, where employees were often at the mercy of their employers. In the midst of the lumbering activity, oil was discovered at Spindletop in January 1901, just south of the Big Thicket. The frenzy of activity that followed saw rampant drilling and exploration, the founding of Gulf Oil, Humble, and Texaco, and a rapid growth in population, development, and infrastructure. The population of Hardin County went from 1,870 in 1880 to 15,983 in 1920 according to the Census Bureau. John Henry Kirby "Prince of the Pines", started the Kirby Lumber Company about 1900 which ultimately held mineral and timber rights to a million acres in the region. By the 1920s East Texas timber was nearing depletion and most of the operations practiced a cut-out and get-out policy and moved on, many to the Pacific coast, leaving vast areas of clear-cut forest behind. The Great Depression marked the end of the bonanza era for lumbering in East Texas. The population of Hardin County dropped to 13.936 (12.8%) in the 1930 census. Kirbyville (1895, named after John Kirby), Silsbee (1894, named for Nathan D. Silsbee, an East Coast investor in the railroads). Others include Kountze (1882), Camden (1889), and Diboll (1894). William Goodrich Jones (1860–1950), "the father of Texas forestry" was a bank president and civic leader in Temple, Texas. He had some exposure to good forestry practices in Germany and understood the commercial benefits of well-managed forests and he was appalled with what he saw in East Texas. He was not a conservationist, he advocated for sustainable forestry methods as a good business practice, including reforestation, maintaining soils, grasses, wildlife, and establishing parks. In 1898 the United States Bureau of Forestry asked Jones to write a report on the status of forestry in Texas. Jones condemn the destructive and wastefulness of the logging industry and predicted the forest would be gone in 25 years without changes. He recommended state and federal regulations with sustainable harvest and reforestation programs. In 1914 Jones formed the Texas Forestry Association with public officials, lumbermen, and conservationists. In collaboration with the United States Forest Service, the Texas Forestry Association drafted legislation to establish the Texas Department of Forestry, which, in 1926, became the Texas Forest Service. What came to be a 50-year struggle to protect a portion of the Big Thicket for posterity begin in 1927 when R. E. Jackson, a railroad conductor, formed the East Texas Big Thicket Association (ETBTA) which sought to preserve . With Don Baird, of the Texas Academy of Science, the ETBTA instigated a biological survey that was conducted by Hal B. Parks and Victor L. Cory in 1936 defining the Big Thicket as a area of East Texas. ==Protected and public land==

The headquarters of Big Thicket National Preserve (BTNP) are located north of Kountze, Texas, and approximately north of Beaumont via US 69/287. It is administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. It consists of nine separate land units as well as six water corridors and as of October 22, 2019, the preserve includes spread over seven counties. It was established in 1974 in an attempt to protect the many plant and animal species within. Along with Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, the BTNP became the first national preserve in the United States National Park System when both were authorized by the United States Congress on October 11, 1974. Senator Ralph Yarborough was its most powerful proponent in Congress and the bill was proposed by Charles Wilson and Bob Eckhardt that established the preserve. • Lake Houston Wilderness Park, Houston Parks and Recreation Department () • Martin Dies Jr. State Park, Texas Parks and Wildlife () • Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary, The Nature Conservancy () • Sam Houston National Forest, U.S Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Big Creek Scenic Area (), Little Lake Creek Wilderness () • Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service () • Village Creek State Park, Texas Parks and Wildlife () ==Ghost Road==

A dirt road leading north out of the town of Saratoga is the core of the area's predominant ghost story. Bragg Road, as it is more formally known, was constructed in 1934 on the bed of a former railroad line that had serviced the lumber industry. In the 1940s, stories began to circulate about a mysterious light, sometimes referred to as the Light of Saratoga, that could be seen on and near the road at night. No adequate explanation of the light has been offered. The various ghost stories include reference to the Kaiser Burnout, long-dead conquistadors looking for their buried treasure, a decapitated railroad worker, and a lost night hunter eternally searching for a way out. Less paranormal explanations include swamp gas, and automobile headlights filtering through the trees. ==Notable people==

• John Alexander (born 1945, Beaumont, Jefferson County), American painter that often draws inspiration and paints the landscape of Southeast Texas • Brian Philip Babin (born 1948, resident of Woodville, Tyler County) U.S. representative from Texas's 36th congressional district since January 2015 • Annette Gordon-Reed (born 1958, Livingston, Polk County) historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author • George Glenn Jones (1931, Saratoga, Hardin County – 2013) country musician and songwriter • Margo Jones (1913, Livingston, Polk County – 1955) stage and theater director nicknamed "The Texas Tornado" • Aubrey Wilson Mullican (1909, Polk County – 1967) known as "Moon Mullican, King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", country-western musician and songwriter ==Bibliography==