land surveys, land companies, promotional towns; Botany
Marker Year
1980
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
No
Marker Location
From Panhandle, 5.7 mi. SW on US 60, S side of eastbound lanes, 0.5 mi. W of CR J
Private Property
No
Marker Condition
In Situ
Marker Size
18" x 28"
Marker Text
After serving as a teamster in the Civil War (1861-65), Thadium (Thomas) B. Cree worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1888 he and his wife came to the High Plains. They acquired this land and, with no trees for lumber, they built a dugout home. Cree traveled 35 miles at his wife's request to find a sapling and planted it here. He watered it from a nearby lake that he dug from a buffalo wallow. The tree never grew but lived many years despite blizzard, heat, and drought. Gov. John Connally dedicated an historical marker in 1963 to the first tree in the Panhandle. (1980)
