Published February 24, 2011 By ARCHER COUNTY NEWS
A multitude of people throughout the years have undoubtedly seen the large native pecan tree which majestically stands in Stonewall Jackson Camp #249 near Holliday, Texas, but few have recognized the reality of what it really is.
This unusual tree is known as a Native American marker tree. When the tree was a sapling, the Native Americans bent the tree over until it nearly touched the ground. They tied it down so it would be forced to grow in the position. The ancient marker trees were utilized to mark Native American trails, water, sites where they camped, the location of graves, and to serve as prayer trees and medicine trees. These trees are also described as “bent trees.”
Holliday resident, Don Briix discovered the marker tree while riding his bicycle at Stonewall Jackson Camp. Briix indicated that he had previously witnessed one of these trees in Florissant, Colorado at the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. A Park Ranger at Florissant had pointed out the location of the tree in their park to Briix and explained the history and significance of the Native American marker tree.
Briix’s daughter, Angela Burroughs, also a Holliday resident, sent a photo of the tree to Don Wells, President of “Mountain Stewards.” Mountain Stewards, a non profit organization, is a group of volunteers who have been working for several years to document all the Native American marker trees throughout the United States and into Canada. Wells responded to the photo by stating, “This is a great tree!” Wells states that the marker tree had a “nose” on the front, which would atrophy or be cut off after the initial bending process. Trees were spiritual to the Native Americans. Wells indicates that the Comanche Indians used pecan trees as campsite markers to mark favorable sites with high bluffs or flat ground near water. Mountain Stewards have mapped over 1,000 miles of Native American trails and documented more than 1,600 trees in 39 states across the United States.
Stonewall Jackson Camp #249 is located two miles south of Holliday on the east side of F.M. 368. This park owned by the City of Holliday, has ball fields and a pavilion. The Native American marker tree stands in a beautiful area of the park near Holliday Creek. It is located 85 yards south of the United Confederate Veterans Monument.