The Depot Museum

 

 

European Exploration

From 1690 to 1836, Spain, France, the United States, and Mexico at one time or another claimed Texas. French and Spanish expeditions explored and traveled through Texas from the middle of the sixteenth century until the end of the seventeenth century. The area between Spanish Texas and French Louisiana, which was later to become Rusk County, became known as the Neutral Territory.
Throughout eighteenth and very early nineteenth centuries, Rusk County was unsettled and populated by Native Americans. The Spanish government established the mission system in 1680. Ten years later the first mission was started in East Texas. Three missions were founded in the Nacogdoches area in 1716 and were abandoned in 1773. See attached Spanish Missions in Rusk County, Texas.
The missions operated as an agency of both church and state. The missionary's role was to assist in extending, holding and civilizing the frontier while converting the natives into useful Spanish subjects as well as Christians.
The mission system is generally regarded as a failure. Yet, while the missions fell short of their objectives, they represent a crucial step in the introduction of European civilization to Texas. The Spanish influence on the region's culture, in its architecture, laws, customs and language is out of proportion to the meager numbers sent by Spain to convert the Indians and guard the frontier.

TRAMMEL'S TRACE

Trammel's Trace was an important trail that early settlers took into Texas. It entered Rusk County at Rocky Ford on the Sabine River and passed through the present day areas of Tatum, Pine Hill and Mount Enterprise. It is the boundary between much of Rusk and Panola Counties. A later branch of the Trace from Jefferson crossed the Sabine River at Camden (Easton) near Tatum and proceeded through Harmony Hill to rejoin the original Trace near Martin Creek.
The Trace was an early Indian Trail named for Nicholas Trammel --- A mysterious scout and a horse thief. Trammel reportedly surveyed it for the United States in 1813.
The Caddo and other Indian tribes used the trail that ran roughly north-south. It kept to the high ground as much as possible and avoided lakes and streams unless absolutely necessary. It was much used by the Plains Indians seeking horses that had been brought from Spain into Mexico.
Trammel ran horses from the south to eager buyers in the north even though this was prohibited by Mexican law. Settlers from Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Kentucky found this the easiest route to the promising New Lands, and the U.S. Government encouraged them to move into the coveted Mexican territory.
Daniel Martin got this one league (4,439 acres) along Trammel's Trace in 1835 and he became an influential pioneer. His log house was located near the Creek that was later to bear his name. This is the stream that was dammed up to make Lake Martin.
Texas heroes David Crockett and Sam Houston traveled Trammel Trace to keep their appointments with history as did others such as Robert E. Lee.

LESSON ONE
TOPIC: Exploration

GRADE: 3 & 4

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS: Social Studies and Science

TEKS: Grade 3 - (1), (5B,C), (13)
Grade 4 - (2A), (6A)

OBJECTIVES: The students will: identify individuals who have helped to shape communities; understand the concepts of location, distance, and direction on maps and globes

VOCABULARY: compass, north, south, east, west, trail, league, expedition, century, mission, civilization

BACKGROUND MATERIAL: European Exploration and Trammels Trace

LESSON ACTIVITIES:
1. First, discuss the importance of knowing what direction the explorers are going and go over how they determined what direction they were going. Example-at night they used the stars; during the day they used the sun; but what did they do on a cloudy day?
2. As a science experiment, (this could be done in groups or demonstration to the class) make a compass. Follow directions on handouts below.

MATERIALS NEEDED: nail, cork or piece of Styrofoam, small magnet, plastic or glass pan of water, compass

REFERENCES: Depot; Colonial Kids (An activity guide to life in the New World) by Laurie Carlson p. 16

Steps to making a compass:

LESSON TWO
TOPIC: Exploration (Sailing Ships)

GRADE: 3 & 4

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS: Social Studies and Art

TEKS: Grade 3 - (1), (17B)
Grade 4 - (2), (23)

OBJECTIVES: The students will: identify reasons for European exploration.

VOCABULARY: ship, hull, fore, aft, deck, mast, sails

BACKGROUND MATERIALS: Discuss different explorers and their sailing ships

LESSON ACTIVITIES:
1. Have the students individually create a sailing ship. Use the patterns that are provided below.
2. Extra - (Optional) Have students to design a flag for their ship. They can decide what color the flag should be; put their name on it or make up a pirate name; put some sort of symbol on it. Encourage them to be creative.

MATERIALS NEEDED: directions for model, white paper, scissors, brown construction paper or brown
paper grocery bags, glue, drinking straw or coffee stir

REFERENCES: Depot, Internet, library, Colonial Kids (An activity guide to life in the New World) by
Laurie Carlson

Building A Sailing Ship Patterns and Directions:


LESSON TWO
TOPIC: Exploration - "Where's the Treasure?"

GRADE: 3 & 4

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS: Social Studies, Reading, Writing

TEKS: Grade 3 - (1A), (17B), (18)
Grade 4 - (2), (22), (23), (24)

OBJECTIVES: The students will: create written and visual materials; use problem-solving and decision-
making skills, working independently and with others.

VOCABULARY: treasure, caravans, bank (of the lake), whit, amateurs, pirate, silver bars

BACKGROUND MATERIALS: Read "Where's the Treasure?" and any other information you can find
About Pirate Jean Lafitte

LESSON ACTIVITES:
1. First, read out loud or give every student a copy of "Where's the Treasure?" story
2. Next, ask the students to brainstorm what they would do if they were to go in search of the treasure in Hendricks Lake. Have them to concoct a plan in writing and they could also draw a map.

MATERIALS NEEDED: pen, pencil, paper

REFERENCES: library, Internet

Here is the "Where's the Treasure?" story:

"WHERE'S THE TREASURE?"

The story of $2 million dollars worth of Spanish treasure, stolen by the Pirate Jean Lafitte and dumped into Hendricks Lake near Tatum, has persisted in Rusk County for over 150 years --- and, according to many Tatum residents, "has given rise to about that many treasure hunts".
This romantic story goes that Lafitte and his band robbed the "Santa Rosa" in 1816 in Matagorda Bay on the Texas Gulf of pure silver bars and headed for St. Louis with their loot. The pirates are supposed to have joined with one of Nicholas Trammel's caravans in an attempt to transport the silver to safety. In a mad flight from pursuing Mexican soldiers, Trammel himself was reported to order the six wagons carrying the silver to the edge of Hendricks Lake. There the mules were cut loose and the wagons allowed to roll down the bank into the lake.
Over the years, the legend has undergone many variations. Dates differ --- with dumping said to have happened in 1812, 1816, or 1818. Gossip has it silver bars have been taken from the lake --- three in 1913 by loggers, two by fishermen in the 1920's. Others say the treasure was not silver bars, but silver ingots, gold nuggets, hogshead of gold of rare silver Spanish coins.
At any rate, treasure hunters persist in the belief that something of value may have been dumped into Hendricks Lake in the early 1800's.
One of the first attacks on the lake was by the colorful "Fox" Tatum (who named the nearby town) in the 1890's. Tatum and friends tried to pump the lake dry using a wood-fed boiler pump. Hendricks Lake is spring-fed, and the group abandoned the idea after a month of steady pumping that didn't lower the lake a whit. Since that time, a steady stream of both professional treasure hunters' combines, scuba divers and local amateurs have prowled the steep banks and clear waters of the lake.


 

 

 

 

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