Big Tracks

No matter where you go in this old world, people have been there ahead of you.  I think that's why history appeals to me as much as it does -- I want to know what they saw before I got there.

Several times each year I pass through the small community of Saint Jo, Texas.  It lies on U.S. Highway 82 to the Northwest of Fort Worth.  It is one of those places that tend to slide right by as you travel by automobile across the country.  It was once a very important community.

It was founded in 1849 by Prince Singletary who entered the area in a fruitless search for gold.  He found it to be an ideal place to settle near the head of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.  It grew in importance as various military expeditions crossing the area discovered it as an excellent camping spot.  Later, it was considered to be a crucial way point on the cattle drives as they headed north.  It was one of the last places to obtain supplies before heading across the Red River into Indian Territory.

Only in the imagination can you see signs of the old cattle trails.  The land forms suggest the likely path the cattle were driven on their long journey north.  Of course "the trail" wasn't what we might envision when we hear the word, it was spread out and varied somewhat in course depending on which herd was passing through.  The cattle had to forage for the grass as they walked, so each herd's path would diverge slightly in search of grazing.  The common points of convergence would be water sources and river crossings which constricted their flow to specific points.

Saint Jo is still in the heart of cattle country although it is not far from the thriving cities of Fort Worth and Dallas as well as smaller, but quickly growing communities in the surrounding area.  Some day it will likely be swallowed by suburbs that seem to expand in an endless quest for more land on which to build houses and industry.

I'm sure the citizens of Saint Jo would initially disagree, but there is value in preserving our heritage in places like this.  There is even greater value in conserving the precious resources that made this an important point on the early trails crossing the area.  At the head of an important watershed crossing the eastern portion of the state, it is critical that natural land forms and plant communities be maintained to protect quality for those downstream who are dependent upon it as a source of clean water.  The real issue however, isn't currently the land use around Saint Jo, it is the land use further downstream where urban and suburban development have engulfed the river and surrounding watershed with concrete and asphalt which causes frequent and severe flooding in the event of heavy rainfall.

The best solution to those issues is to ensure the land continues to be used for grazing which is the ideal way to maintain grasses and tree belts to mitigate rapid runoff and provide natural filters for water entering the system.  Saint Jo was important for the cowboys heading north because it provided relief and supplies from the trail.  It is important today because it is at the heart of a way of life that protects millions of people downstream.  The ranchers that come to the The Lazy Heart Grill or, the Stonewall Saloon seen in the photo above, probably aren't aware of how important their operations are to preserving the quality of life for the myriad people who live down state.