2009 Wichita Falls Presentation Script
- 1. Wichita Falls People, Prairies, Partners: The Rolling Plains 2009 1. The 2009 symposium, held October 15th through 18th, was focused on the junction of the Western Cross Timbers and the Rolling Plains, which is very near the east-west centerline of the continental United States. The theme of People, Prairies and Partners covered not only the flora, but also the fauna, history and people of the area. 2. The Rolling Plains is the largest contiguous natural region in Texas underlain with shales, sandstone, limestones and of botanical interest, thin layers of gypsum covering over 26 million acres in the northwestern part of the state. 3. The climate is described as mild dry winters and hot humid summers. Annual precipitation ranges from 18 to 30 inches with an average growing season between 212 and 235 days per year. 4. The vegetative make up is primarily a midgrass grassland interspersed with shrubs and trees creating a mosaic that, if seen from the air, resembles the spotted appaloosa horse. 5. Only Indians inhabited this part of North Texas in 1854 when Captain Randolph Marcy and party set out to determine the head waters of the Brazos and Big Wichita Rivers. Marcy describes the mesquite and mentions them several times in his report to the United States government: ‘…passing over a rolling country covered with groves of mesquite trees, and Intersected by several spring branches, flowing through vallies clothed with a Dense coating of verdure and teaming with a multitude of beautiful flowers of Brilliant hues, the aroma from which filled the atmosphere with a most delicate and fragrant perfume.’ 6. This sculpture represents the legendary crossing of Comanche Indians on horseback at the original site of the falls that gives Wichita Falls its name. The legend goes that the braves would not go into the river not knowing how deep it was. The woman went into the water to show that the water was only waste deep. Waste deep is the translation of Wee-Chi-Tah. 7. The city of Wichita Falls is just south of the Red River and one of the major crossroads into Oklahoma and westward to the Panhandle. It is the hub of an area known as Texoma. 8. In 1882, Fort Worth and Denver Railroad brought the first train to the area, establishing the town as an agricultural and trade center. Just south of the Oklahoma boarder and considered in the Panhandle plains, an Oil boom in the early 1900s established the city as the headquarters for north Texas petroleum production, service and manufacturing. 9. Since 1996, River Bend Nature Center has been the place to go in Wichita Falls for nature lovers young and old. Throughout the 15 acres there is a children’s garden, nature trails and wetlands, prairie pathways and gardens, and the 6700 sq ft Elizabeth Prothro Pavilion which is on the right and the 6000 sq ft Ruby N. Priddy butterfly and nature conservatory in the background. 10. Riverbend Nature Center was the location of the Thursday night buffalo burgers and beans dinner.
- 2. 11. We were entertained that evening by Doc ‘n Hal with Cowboys ‘n Country Folks. It was performed by cowboy poets Doyle Wood and Hal Newsome. 12. The Symposium was hosted by the Red River chapter in Wichita Falls, the new Wild Flower Power chapter from Young County, the River Bend Nature Center in Wichita Falls and the Native Praries Association of Texas. There were 146 attendees of the 2009 symposium. 13. The amazing 6000 sq ft Ruby N. Priddy butterfly and nature conservatory is the crown jewel of the River Bend Nature Center. 14. What sets the Ruby Priddy Butterfly conservatory apart is the exclusive use of local native plants and animals, including fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and of course butterflies. It was decided early on that this conservatory would celebrate the flora and fauna of the Rolling Plains and Western Cross Timbers. As such, it has a greater value to local students of nature. 15. The conservatory, which was built into a hillside, was designed as a stroll through various habitats that include live critters introduced to the displays this past year including such as a bullfrog, tarantula, Amarillo lizard, rough green snake, king snake, black chin hummingbird and this bobwhite quail. 16. The path winds by reptiles and four-legged creatures you would find above and below ground through the seasons. 17. The path begins with a stroll through shortgrass and mixed-grass prairies, this is a Queen butterfly, 18. then falls gently through the sandstone escarpments of the Cross Timbers, this is a Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charitonius), 19. winding up with riparian environment at the lower end. The small pond, or large aquarium, is stocked with local fish species. 20. The butterflies featured in the conservatory represent 20 species that live in or migrate through North Central Texas. Most are ordered in chrysalis form and kept in a glass case to that they can be observed as they transform into butterflies. 21. Others are free to live their lives inside the conservatory and feed on the host plants in the conservatory. 22. The J.S. Bridwell Terrace joins the butterfly conservatory with the Elizabeth Prothro Pavilion atop the hill which overlooks 23. winding paths that leads to Lucy Park and further the Wichita River. The River Bend Nature center is adjacent to the entrance to Lucy Park and is open 7 days a week its website is RiverbendNatureCenter.org. 24. One of the Friday afternoon field trips was to the Wee-Chi-Tah park at Berend’s Landing near the Front St. bridge. It is the legendary crossing of Comanche Indians on horseback at the original site of the falls. The park holds one of America’s largest sculptures that depicts the First Nation of America.
- 3. 25. This marvelous life-sized bronze sculpture by local artist Jack Stevens features a Comanche family crossing the Wichita River. The legend of their crossing defines where Wichita got its name. 26. This multi-part artwork is of a woman, her child, two braves, their horses and a colt set in the natural beauty of rock and flowing water. The woman is testing the river’s depth showing that the water is only waste deep which is how Wee-Chi-Tah is translated. The stone work of the water feature is made of all local sand stone. 27. The original falls that were in this location were actually more of a shoals than they were a falls. 28. The park was landscaped by Colin Johnston, in the tan hat, a member of the Red River chapter of NPSOT. Around this rock display listing supporters and volunteers are Liatris Spicata and black foot daisy. 29. Close up of the black foot daisy. 30. Shad Scale is a local plant that Collin likes to use in landscapes. It is salt tolerant and smells like fish. Cowpen Daisy is the yellow flower at lower left. Colin also used buffalo grass and little blue stem grasses for the landscape. 31. Around the sculpture are sumac and tooth ache tree on the right and American smoke tree on the left. 32. A hike and bike trail runs along the north bank of the Wichita River from the Wee-Chi-Tah sculptures west to Lucy Park. 33. A Walnut tree on the bank of the river. 34. The Foundation on the left is of an original bridge from 1896 before the town was founded. The newer bridge built in 1910 its foundation on the right. 35. The 1910 bridge was retired in the ‘70’s and is now a walking bridge. 36. Water is red because it has a heavy iron content in the water. 37. The Wichita River trail system leads to the signature Waterfall. This 54 ft man made recreation of the waterfall that washed away in a flood in 1886 is a multi-level cascade on the south bank of the Wichita River. 38. The waterfall can be seen by southbound motorists on I-44 and provides many wonderful photo ops. 39. Located within Lucy Park, it is part of a 4.37 miles trail system stretching along the Wichita River from Lucy Park to Williams Park. It is also connected to the almost 2 miles of the Holiday Creek Trails.
- 4. 40. An interesting piece of Wichita Falls history lies in the Littlest Skyscraper at 511 7th St. In 1919, Wichita Falls was enjoying several oil booms and a Philadelphia building engineer sold stock to construct a skyscraper in Wichita Falls. As all the investors were in Philadelphia they did not notice that the blueprints dimensions in square feet were executed in square inches until after the property, still standing after 80-plus years, was finished. By then, the engineer had long left the city taking the bulk of the ill-gotten $200,000 along with him. 41. Each floor is just large enough for one room and a stair way. A quaint shop called The Antique Wood shop, now calls the Littlest Skyscraper its home. 42. Friday nights dinner was a buffalo roast and a presentation on Native American life held at Lucy Park Pavillion. Lucy Park is a 178 acre regional park located in the center of the city of Wichita Falls. The park is in a bend of the Wichita River, which gives it a natural setting with huge pecan trees, cottonwoods and numerous other species of native and introduced trees. 43. The park contains a log cabin, pool, playground, duck pond, picnick areas and several pavilions like the one used Friday night. The park is the western starting point for the Wichita River Trail system. 44. Native Americans Kenneth and Nakima Geimausaddle entertained us with how Native Americans used native plants. 45. They also sang several traditional Indian songs using a tribal drum. 46. One of the Sunday homeward bound field trips was Springer Ranch. 47. It is located in Archer county and just a few miles northwest of Archer City on River Road in the Little Wichita River drainage area. 48. David Springer, in the cowboy hat, currently owns 1000 acres which he runs it with his son. He originally leased the land beginning in 1979 which was originally the Turbeville sheep ranch established in 1804. He bought the southern half in 1982 and the northern portion in 1996. In all he works and leases 8000 acres and the ranch pays for itself never having to put in any additional funds. 49. Our tour guide was Jerry Payne in the orange hat. He is retired from the US Dept of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and now has a private consulting business, Payne’s Range and Wildlife Consulting. Also in our group was Martha Davis in the green jacket. She is the Exhibits Curator and Naturalist for the River Bend Nature Center and presented a paper on Host Plant Preferences of the butterflies in the River Bend Conservatory. 50. Springer Ranch is true Rolling Plains habitat. It has short and tall grasses and all the big 4 grasses are here. 51. One of the big 4 being Little Blue Stem with a guaca yucca in the foreground. 52. and another big 4 is Indian Grass 53. Jerry is holding blue gramma on the left and hairy gramma on the right.
- 5. 54. Historical sites on the property include the Comanche Exodus Trail (1859), Marcy-Neighbors trail (1854), Parilla-Veal-Mares trail (1781), and the Geraldine fossil beds. 55. Salvia Azuria and little blue stem 56. Salvia Azuria 57. Side Oats Gramma 58. Natural buffalo grass 59. Part of the Springer ranch herd. 60. We drove a few miles into the ranch and because of the amount of recent rains we would have to continue the tour on foot. 61. Seacoast Sump weed is an invasive that is hard to kill. The seed may come in with flood waters. 62. White Tridens 63. This is Lote Bush. It is great for wild life and is a valuable plant that the ranch preserves. 64. Large predators can’t penetrate it. 65. The Red Haw has a fruit that is eatable to humans and cows. 66. Close up of the Red Haw. 67. Feral hog track. 68. Canada Wild Rye is a cool season grass and grows in wet areas here. 69. Native 4 O’Clock 70. a close up 71. This pond only occurs during seasonal rains. 72. When we started the tour we were told to watch for snakes and sure enough we spotted a rattle snake. 73. His rattle could be heard from several feet away. 74. Dragon Fly 75. This stand of Post Oaks are the only ones for miles in any direction. 76. They are also on a sand stone hill which was possibly an Indian site since it is the highest point in the area.
- 6. 77. Although Archer county did not experience as much of the Indian problem as the counties to the south and east, two of the larger battles were fought near this area. In fact, the earliest engagement between the Indians and white men was in October, 1837, called ‘The Battle of the Stonehouses’. These houses were stone hills resembling teepees to the Indians. The main Indians involved were the Keechi. With 18 Texas Rangers against about 200 indians, the remaining eight rangers retreated two hundred miles back to their settlement. 78. The other large battle was called by the military ‘The Battle for the Little Wichita River’ but to their adversaries, the Kiowas Indians, it was termed ‘Kicking Bird’s Face Saving Battle’. The battle took place on July 12, 1870 between fifty eight troopers from Ft. Richardson and over 250 Indians and lasted for over six hours. The troops retreated slowly back to Ft. Richardson loosing 2 men and saving the company. The Indians lost 15 braves. 79. Indian campsites abound in Archer County, as well as in the surrounding counties, but in recent years, it has become hard to find many relics of their camps. 80. This part of the ranch is close to the Marcy-Neighbors Trail. This trail was used by Captain Marcy and Major Neighbors to survey and map the land to find a location for the Brazos Reservation. 81. Mammalaria cactus 82. Soap berry 83. Orange Mallow 84. Back at the ranch head quarters we were privileged to have buffalo burgers with Dr. Bob Mahler. He belongs to the Red River Chapter of NPSOT. 85. Just south of Springer ranch, Archer City was established in 1881 and is the county seat for Archer County. Named for an early Texas patriot, Branch T. Archer, his principal part in the Texas Revolution was securing funds, but he did participate in one of the early battles between the Mexicans and Texans at Gonzales on September 2, 1835. 86. It was and still is a retail and shipping center for area ranches but is best known as the site of two movies filmed here and based on novels written by native son Larry McMurtry, The Last Picture Show filmed in 1971 and Texasville in 1989. McMurtry is the author of the popular Western novel Lonesome Dove. 87. As a result of McMurtry’s love of books that he gathered over several years, 4 books stores are on the downtown square cleverly named Booked Up 1, 2, 3 and 4. They offer the largest collection of antiquarian books in the US. They also carry rare and unusual books and out of print publications. 88. The Western Cross Timbers and the Rolling Plains has been the site of a great many changes in its history, from Indian tribes to cattle ranches and the discovery of oil. 89. The unique beauty of the Rolling Plains, its history and the people are what make the Texoma area what it is today.