The Woman’s Thursday Club gathered Thursday, Feb. 13, at the Patrick St Church of Christ annex for our third study session hosted by Pam Crabtree, who introduced us to the Post Oak Savannah Ecoregion in East Texas. This is a long system, which covers a north to south area mostly through lightly populated areas, including College Station, Washington on the Brazos, the northwest edge of the Houston area, Brenham, and Beeville.
As you may have guessed, this Ecoregion is mostly characterized by its Post Oaks, but also Plateau Live Oak, Black Hickory, Blackjack Oak, and savannah vegetation, including many wildflowers typical to our area. The Post Oak is the main species that typifies the ecoregion between the Blackland Prairies and the Piney Woods. The Post Oak woods consist of the tough, small oaks which thrive in poor soil, and are actually helped by frequent, cleansing, cooler fires, which discourage undergrowth. Deer love the post oaks. Its wood is used for railroad ties and fence posts. In the past, the Wildlife Management Association (WMA), a land management group, would conduct controlled burns about every 35 years, which helped this ecoregion to thrive. A 70’s trend, however, was to bulldoze the upland woods for pastures. The ecosystem changed. Wildlife cannot move through the grass runners. Quail populations plummeted. No one is sure if it is due to loss of habitat, invasion of fire ants, or expansion of cattle.
Though the Post Oaks have survived the changes, some new species of vegetation have crowded out the historical species, such as Yaupon Holly, Cedar Elm, Sugarberry, and Eastern Red Cedar.
The WMA has been managing land for deer, quail, and turkey to return. Controlled burns, fencing cattle out of some areas, and creating walking trails for the public as an alternative use of the land are some methods employed. As a result, some of the largest displays of wildflowers thrive in this ecoregion. The broad, twin-lobed leaves of the Post Oak, which resembles a cross, can be enjoyed by future generations. One wildflower, which only thrives in this ecoregion, is the Navasota Ladies Tresses.
One notable town here, is Washington on the Brazos, where Texas began. The Star of the Republic Museum has an excellent display of Texas history. It is worth a visit. You may learn that the term ‘high cotton’ literally means conditions were right that year, to enable the cotton plants to grow up to 10’ tall, enabling farmers to harvest up to three times in one growing season. We wondered how in the world they harvested such tall crops!
Brenham, of course, is famous for its Bluebell Ice Cream Creamery. It is still an iconic location, but due to Listeria outbreaks, there is less of it open to the public for tours, but is still worth a visit. Its German population is significant, and is famous for its German heritage festivals.
Our next gathering, scheduled for March, is our 127th Anniversary Celebration, which may be postponed until we can rely on better weather, and to avoid overcrowded Spring Break crowds at the Doss Ranching Heritage Museum in Weatherford. We will keep members posted.