From top, left to right: Plaza Tower in Tyler; North Broadway Avenue in Tyler; Downtown Longview; State Line Avenue in Texarkana; Paris Commercial Historic District; Downtown Palestine; and Downtown Marshall
The region is unique in that it is the only portion of East Texas that is not within the direct sphere of influence of either Dallas/Fort Worth or Houston. This generally weakens the area's visibility as areas in the far south ally themselves with Houston and areas to the west ally themselves with Dallas. These areas are on the fringe of those cities' spheres of influence, so are not as visible as smaller cities such as Grapevine or Deer Park, which are closer to the respective centers of power.
In the mid-19th century, Marshall and Jefferson constituted a sphere of influence that led the entire state into the Confederate States of America, and during the Mexican and Republic periods, Nacogdoches and San Augustine were the most developed and influential cities in Northeast Texas. Nacogdoches rebelled against Mexican rule in the Fredonian Rebellion and had one of the first newspapers to run the phrase Remember the Alamo!; while none of these three cities is a major population center in its own right on the state level any longer, all four are still major cultural centers, with Nacogdoches and Tyler being well-established centers of higher learning.[7][8] Many of the largest cities in Northeast Texas still follow a rural Southern way of life, especially in dialect, mannerisms, religion, and cuisine.
Geography
The geography of Northeast Texas is composed mainly of the Piney Woods, a mixed forest of deciduous and coniferflora.[9] The Piney Woods cover 23,500sqmi (61,000km2) of gently rolling or hilly forested land. These woods are part of a much larger region of pine-hardwood forest that extends into Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Northeast Texas lies within the Gulf Coastal Plain and receives more rainfall, 35 to 50 in (890 to 1270 mm), than the rest of Texas.[10]
The Sabine River is the major river in Northeast Texas, and flows through Longview and several other cities.[11] The Red River also flows through the region and forms the northern border with Oklahoma and a portion of Arkansas. In Northeast Texas and the rest of South, small rivers and creeks collect into swamps called "bayous" and merge with the surrounding forest. Bald cypress and Spanish moss are the dominant plants in bayous. The most famous of these bayous in Northeast Texas is the Cypress Bayou surrounding the Big, Little, and Black Cypress Rivers around Jefferson. They flow east into Caddo Lake and the adjoining wetlands cover the rim and islands of the lake.
The climate of the region is warmer and wetter than most of Texas and its geography is more hilly and forested. Its culture is similar to that of Southeast Texas, but does not have as much of a Cajun influence.
Counties
According to the Northeast Texas Genealogical Society, these 23 counties comprise Northeast Texas:[12]
Culturally, Northeast Texas is more closely akin to Arkansas, Louisiana, and even Mississippi than it is to West Texas. Northeast Texas is in the Bible Belt creating a strong FundamentalistChristian sentiment.[18] During the Civil Rights movement several communities clashed over integration. In presidential elections since 1950, both Smith County (county seat Tyler) and Gregg County (county seat Longview) have been reliably Republican.
Much of modern Northeast Texas culture has its roots in traditions that go back for generations. First Monday Trade Days is a monthly flea market held in Canton, Texas. The market is actually held on the Thursday through Sunday preceding the first Monday of each month. It purports to be the largest and oldest continually operated flea market in the United States,[19] and is a popular event in the area.
The East Texas Oil Museum, located on the campus of Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas, houses the authentic recreation of oil discovery and production in the early 1930s from the largest oil field inside U.S. boundaries.[20]
Tyler has a rich culture and has been nicknamed the "Rose Capital of America" because of its large role in the rose-growing industry;[21] about 20% of commercial rose bushes produced in the U.S. are grown in Tyler and Smith counties and more than half of the rose bushes are packaged and shipped from the area. It boasts the nation's largest municipal rose garden and hosts the Texas Rose Festival each October, which draws more than 100,000 spectators annually and has garnered nationwide attention.[22]
The Northeast Texas Children's Museum is located in Commerce. The museum provides playful and creative learning experiences for children in the Northeast Texas area. Many school districts from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and the Northeast Texas area take field trips to the museum.
The community colleges of Northeast Texas share a history of emerging from the "junior college" movement of schools focused on providing the first two years of the college degree. Although most added technical programs with associate of applied science degrees following the community college movement of the 1960s, the schools still place a strong emphasis on liberal arts and the academic associate of arts and associate of science degree programs. They often include the full range of college sports, including football, and host dormitories, and are known for their "high kicking" drill teams. Community colleges in the region include Kilgore College, Paris Junior College, Northeast Texas Community College near Mt. Pleasant, Texarkana College, Panola College in Carthage, Tyler Junior College, Trinity Valley Community College in Athens and with campuses in Terrell and Palestine, and Angelina College in Lufkin. Jacksonville hosts the two smaller private two-year colleges of the region, Jacksonville College (Baptist) and Lon Morris College.
"Piney Woods Forest." One Earth. "The Piney Woods ecoregion occupies the West Gulf Coastal Plain and encompasses eastern Texas (including the “Big Thicket”) as well as western Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, and a small portion of southeastern Oklahoma. It is separated from the Southeast US conifer savannas ecoregion by the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (the Mississippi Lowland Forests ecoregion)."
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Northeast_Texas, and is written by contributors.
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