page_title: History of Texas forests
section_title: Early Texas and the Republic of Texas
hierarchical_section_title: History of Texas forests / Early Texas and the Republic of Texas
context_page_description: The forests in the U.S. state of Texas have been an important resource since its earliest days and have played a major role in the state's history.
  The vast woodlands of the region, home to many varieties of wildlife before Europeans first showed up, provided economic opportunities for early settlers. They continue to play an important role economically and environmentally in the state.
  The most dense forest lands lie in the eastern part of the state in the Piney Woods region. In particular the Big Thicket region, just north of Houston and Beaumont, has historically been home to the most dense woodlands. The Big Thicket was mostly uninhabited until heavy settlement from the U.S. began in the mid-19th century, and was even used as a refuge by runaway slaves and other fugitives. The Rio Grande Valley in South Texas was home to a large palm tree forest when Spaniards first arrived, though today very little of it remains.
  One of the first steam sawmills in Texas was planned in 1829 in what is now modern Houston. After the Texas Revolution lumber production increased steadily such that by 1860 there were reportedly 200 saw mills in the state.
context_section_description: The Big Thicket forest region once covered more than 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km²) in east Texas. The Spaniards, who once ruled the region, defined its boundaries in the north as El Camino Real de los Tejas / Old San Antonio Road, a trail system that ran from Central Texas to Nacogdoches; in the south as La Bahia Road or Atascosito Road, a trail that ran from southwest Louisiana into southeast Texas west of Galveston Bay; to the west by the Brazos River; and to the east by the Sabine River. This thickly wooded area proved to be a natural barrier against settlement. It had remained largely uninhabited even by Native Americans until the 19th century.
  In the Rio Grande Valley a large forest of Mexican Palmetto (Sabal mexicana) extended from the coast to approximately 80 miles (130 km) inland as late as 1852. Spanish explorer Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda, in fact, named the river Río de las Palmas (Palm River) in 1519 because of the forest that surrounded it.
  When Europeans first arrived in east Texas the Hasinai, Bidai, and Akokisa tribes lived at the fringes of the Big Thicket lands. These predominantly agriculture-based peoples avoided settlement in the forests primarily because the sandy soils of these forest lands were much less fertile than the clay-rich soils outside the dense forests.
  During the early 19th century the gradual westward migration of settlers in North America made the forests of east Texas a popular refuge for runaway slaves and fugitives from justice in the United States.
  One of the first steam sawmills in Texas was planned in 1829 by John Richardson Harris, founder of Harrisburg (part of modern Houston). It operated until at least 1833. After the Texas Revolution, the influx of settlers quickly increased demand for lumber. Sawmills were constructed on the coast in locations such as Galveston, Houston, and Beaumont. As settlement moved further inland new mills were constructed at towns from Nacodoches to Bastrop.
  The Lost Pines Forest near Bastrop, the westernmost stand of pine trees in the state, became an important source of lumber for Central Texas.
caption: Traditional limits of the Big Thicket region prior to the Texas Revolution.[13] Deforestation has dramatically reduced its size.
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