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La Bahia Pecan LbNA #68240 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Silver Eagle Supporter Verified
Plant date:Mar 27, 2015
Location: Old Washington Cemetery
City:Washington
County:Washington
State:Texas
Boxes:1
Found by: topcrop
Last found:Jul 3, 2015
Status:Fr
Last edited:Mar 27, 2015
*** Part of my Famous Trees Of TX Series ***
Terrain Difficulty: Easy (flat, 100 yards RT)
Recommended Ink: brown & green
Status: alive


Texans are fortunate to have such a rich and colorful historic heritage and trees which serve as witnesses to some of these historic events. Texas has also been blessed with trees famous for being the largest of their kind in America. "Famous Trees Of Texas" is a book written in 1970 by the Texas Forest Service that describes these trees, and this series will take you to some of them.


Overlooking the historic ferry crossing where the Navasota and Brazos rivers meet in the small community of Washington, the La Bahia Pecan likely was germinated when a nut dropped from the saddlebags of a trader in the early 1800s. It was so named because the tree grew along La Bahia Road, a major trade route that originally served as an Indian trail and route for Spanish explorers. DNA testing shows La Bahia Pecan is different from neighboring populations and is related to pecans from Tamaulipas, Mexico. This pecan was just a young tree in March 1836, when a convention of Texans formally declared independence from Mexico and established the Republic of Texas. As the tree grew, so did the town of Washington, capital of Texas from 1842-1845, reaching its peak population in 1856. Today you can see the tree at Washington-On-The-Brazos SHP, and find this letterbox in nearby Old Washington Cemetery.

Directions:
From Hwy 6 in Navasota, go southwest on Hwy 105 about 6 miles to FM 1155, turn left and go about 1.5 mile to Washington-On-The-Brazos SHP on the left. Park by visitor center and walk to Independence Hall, then right to intersection at old ferry overlook, then right about 50 yards to La Bahia Pecan against the fence on the left. For the letterbox, go out of park and right on FM 1155 about 0.5 mile to Washington Cemetery Road. Turn left and go about 0.3 mile to first entrance of Old Washington Cemetery on the left. Enter and park.

Clues:
Walk right (southwest) along road 70 steps then left to a large tree with small cedar tree next to it. LB is between trees under sticks and leaves.