The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 444
728 p. : maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
steep to moderate slopes which cause a rolling terrain seemingly
contradictory to the classification of flat land belts. The size of
the hills is not sufficient, however, to place the land in a differ-
ent category. On the steeper slopes, there has been considerable
erosion exposing the clay subsoil.3
Historically, Red River County is not old in comparison to
other gulf state counties or even to some of the coastal counties
in Texas. At the time of the Texas Revolution there were few
settlers in the area. From 1836 to 1861 some immigrants arrived
from Tennessee, Kentucky, and the northern portion of the gulf
states.4 Some were slave-owners who introduced the plantation
system along the Red River and in the Black Prairie region where
either water transportation was available or a minimum amount
of work was required to clear and prepare the land for cultivation.
By the beginning of the Civil War, there were 2,303 slaves and
6,232 whites in the county.5 The majority of these settlers, how-
ever, were not large planters but farmers or small planters with
only a few field hands or household servants.6
Until the late nineteenth century, certain geographical, eco-
nomical, and political features discouraged rapid immigration
into northeast Texas. The wilderness of the lower Mississippi
Valley made a direct route to the West extremely difficult, forcing
most persons to follow indirect routes along the gulf coast or
along the tributaries of the Mississippi River. The Indian Terri-
tory acted as a barrier to travel from the north. Although much
of the land in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee was near the
point of exhaustion, the general population was not ready for
mass migration. In addition, during the space of less than forty
years, the political status of Texas changed rapidly from that of
a Mexican province to a republic, a state in the United States, a
state of the Confederacy, and a state undergoing the ordeal of
Reconstruction.'
The end of the Civil War inaugurated a period of rapid immi-
gration into Texas from the Southern States-the cotton country.
Slbid., .o101-02-2.o03.
'Barnes F. Lathrop, Migration into East Texas, I835-186o (Austin, 1949), 35-
6The Texas Almanac for x86o (Galveston, 186o), 266.
'Frederick Law Olmsted, Journey Through Texas (New York, 1857), 419-420o.
7The Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide (Dallas, 1929), 43; hereafter
cited, Texas Almanac.444
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/470/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.