Duval County, another place in another time
Another preview of my upcoming book, Soy de Duval.
There are several localities in South Texas with evidence of habitation attributed to a time prior to 11,000 years ago…there were claims some decades ago for the association of artifacts and mid-Ice Age fossils in the so-called “Equus beds” of Duval County…
Thomas R Hester, Digging into South Texas Prehistory: A Guide for Amateur Archaeologists
To think of Duval County, Texas, is to imagine whitetail deer grazing in the brush along the roadways or maybe javelina skirting nopal. Perhaps it is envisioning a stretch of highway with mesquite and huisache here and there with palomas flying out of the brush. In some county roads, one may still come upon a vaquero on horseback. Now and then, a driver may spot an older woman wearing a gorra surrounded by children picking agrito berries along a roadside. They are placing them in her delantal and she will use the berries to make delightful agrito jelly.
However, it was not always this way.
The history of Duval County should logically start with its political organization. If that were so, then the history of Duval County began in 1858 when the Texas Legislature carved it out of Nueces, Live Oak, and Starr counties. Or, more precisely, its origins can be traced to 1879 when the Nueces County Commissioners Court accepted a call from area residents to organize Duval County. However, before it existed as a political entity, Duval County was another place in another time.
Geologists believe that Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years. The time of the place called Texas goes back to about 1.7 billion years. In its early existence, Texas was part of the super-continent called Pangaea, the Earth’s only landmass, then located near the equator. About 240 million years ago, Pangaea broke apart forming a new continent called Gondwana. As the eons rolled by Texas became part of the super-continent of Rodina and later the sub-continent of Laurentia, or what we call North America today.
So, how did all this happen?
Well, as Thomas E. Ewing tells us in the book Texas Through Time,
“…there is a lot we don’t understand yet, and the knowledge we do have is imprecise.”
Earth is continuously undergoing significant geologic change. These transformations take place over long periods, and people will most likely never experience them. Earth’s tectonic plates are constantly moving, which is why Texas has not always been where it is today.
The extent of the geologic history of Texas, while interesting, can be hard for most people to wrap their minds around. Geologists, like scholars in any field, write for their fellow academics. The words and terms they use are usually only understood by other geologists and researchers of related fields. This point is by no means an aspersion on those professors, merely a recognition that the general public has difficulty understanding and following their findings. It is sufficient to say that the ancient continents, as are the present ones, were constantly changing.
While parts of northern and western Texas are 1.7 billion years old, the southern part is not as ancient and was most likely underwater. The shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico probably ran through Duval County; the northwest area of the county was inland, and southeast was on a shore in a mud basin. Geologists searching for uranium found “shallow-marine shoreline deposits…” east of Seven Sisters and ten miles northeast of Freer.
Several faults or fractures, some as wide as three miles, also exist in the center of the county. The Bordas Escarpment crosses the county in a southwesterly direction from the middle of its northern boundary to the middle of its western border. To those familiar with the county’s terrain, the Bordas line is not hard to visualize; it runs from the southwestern part around the old community of Borjas to the hills north of Freer.
East of the escarpment the soil is sandy with caliche on the surface in many places. West of the slope, the Earth is clayey, that is moist, similar to clay in most areas, and a dense brush of chaparral, cactus, and mesquite covers this soil. The far western edge of the county is topographically different.
Small mounds dot the west part of Duval County. Some of the more notable hills are the Atravesada and Las Parrilla hills. Most of these hills, including Los Picachos north of Freer, are no more than 60 feet high. South of Freer is the Sarnosa Chiquita and Sarnosa Grande hills. A little further southwest is the Cedro hill.
Because of their linear arrangement, some geologists believe that these hills are evidence of a geologic fault route, which could indicate a crack in Earth’s crust.
Some books consulted for this piece.
Alfredo, could you please put me on your list of buyers, I would certainly be interested in buying the book once it is completed. I have followed your blog over the years and have really enjoyed your writings as one of us and not someone from far away that knows little of our culture.
Thank you, Jose.
Thank you, Alfredo. You provide us with a wealth of information. Love the vivid imagery that you presented. Can’t wait for your book.
Thank you, Alma.
Your book starts with the earth. Solid foundation.
I remember reading about the Catahoula tuff in the Los Ojuelos area. I loved Arturo Longoria’s books about the land, and now we look to you for the story of the people on that land.
Thank you, Andres. As you know this is a labor of love, but labor just the same. Stay safe, my friend.
You’re off to a great start Buddy! Remember to save one for me when it’s out!
Thanks, JD. Count on it.
Excellent read sir!
Thank you.
I never knew those names for the hill around Freer. You really go back for history on this one.
Thank you, Jo Nell.
Can’t wait for your book Alfredo !!
Thank you, Darren. I will keep you posted when it goes to print. We’re still several months away. Maybe for Christmas.
What an amazing way to start a book. I could literly picture the Vaquero on horse back, and the old lady and her children. Thank u for that beautiful perfect moment. God Bless U.
Thank you, Sylvia.
Thanks Fredo, never thought about it geologically.
Neither had I, Louie. As I researched this period I felt like Frodo in Quest of the Ring, experiencing Middle-Earth.