The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
6 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1909.
the Red River is composed of relatively high hills or bluffs, and is the
most broken area in the county. These hills sometimes extend to the
banks of the river, from which they rise almost abruptly to heights of
100 to 200 feet. There occur in this strip numerous short, but deep
V-shaped valleys, formed by the action of small streams seeking an
outlet to the Red River. The greater proportion of the more rolling
or hilly country, however, is found in the vicinity of Denison. In
the southeastern part of the county the topography varies from hilly
to almost level, some of the more broken areas bordering Choctaw
Creek and its tributaries in the vicinity of Sherman. Around Howe
and Van Alstyne large areas of practically level country are found.
East of Van Alstyne, or in the southeastern corner of the county,
where numerous areas of Houstpn clay have been mapped, the topography
along the stream is hilly and broken. There are some comparatively
large areas northwest of NVhitesboro that are almost level.
The greater proportion of the county is prairie, but where the upland
timbered areas are found the soil is generally sandy and the topography
hilly. There are two main bodies of timbered land; one, a
narrow strip following the western border of the county and extending
entirely across it, another a broad ridge or chain of hills passing
east and west through Denison. These areas are generally cut by
small streams, and the soil is largely eroded, especially where it has
been cleared and cultivated.
The altitude of Grayson County varies from about 520 feet to
900 feet above tide. The lowest elevation is in the Red River Valley
and the highest in the county between Denison and Pottsboro. The
elevation of the greater part of the area ranges from 650 to 800 feet.
Taking the county as a whole it has an excellent drainage system.
The Red River receives the bulk of the drainage through minor
streams, the most of which have their source within the county
limits. In a general way a line drawn east and west in the vicinity
of Sherman and Whitesboro marks a watershed. The important
streams that drain the county north of this line and empty into
the Red River are Sandy, Big Mineral, Little Mineral, and Iron
Ore creeks. All of these streams flow to the north, with the exception
of Iron Ore Creek, which takes an easterly direction and
empties into the Red River near the northeast corner of the county.
The most important streams south of this east and west line are
Range, Buck, Sister Grove, and Choctaw creeks and the East Fork
Trinity River. All of these streams pass out of the county in a
southern or southwesterly direction, with the exception of Choctaw
Creek, which follows a northeasterly course.
Grayson County is one of the oldest settled counties in the State,
the first settlers coming principally from the Carolinas, Virginia,
Georgia, and Kentucky. A very large percentage of the present