Brinda Mandella and Larry Collins of Hughes Springs are intrigued to have a sunken track in their back yards.
"It starts on a hill and runs up into Larry's yard," Mandella tells. "A landfill built cuts it off. But in my yard, it's always been there, and we've wondered about it."
The track they are speaking of is part of Trammel's Trace crossing Cass County. The trace was one of the first paths into Texas from the north. The trail is increasingly being discovered and pointed out, according to Gary L. Pinkerton, author of "Trammel's Trace: The First Road to Texas from the North."
"Years ago, there was a lot of made-up stuff about Nicholas Trammel and his trail," Pinkerton said. "Now, since the book, there has been productive research to tell the true story. It's like the trail is being rediscovered."
Trammel's Trace was an old smuggler's trail that in the early 1800s became an early route for migration to Texas. It was used by David Crockett, James Bowie and Sam Houston in their travels to Texas.
In the two years since publication of the book, the trace has gained the attention of people interested in this part of Texas history.
"The role of East Texas before the revolution has not been fully appreciated or understood," Pinkerton said. "Part of the intent in publishing this history has been to interest landowners in preserving any remains of the trail."
Several families in Cass and nearby counties have ruts of Trammel's Trace on their land and are proudly preserving it, Pinkerton continued. He spoke of one he recently visited in Marion County
"There we found a creek crossing of the trace where rocks were laid across the bottom to make passage easier."
One portion of the trace in Cass County is already historically marked on State Highway 77 passing through Dalton.
The marker reads, "The trace crosses this field and joined the Spanish or Mexican Trace connecting early settlements on the Red River with the El Camino Real near Nacogdoches.
"In 1813, horse trader and smuggler Nicholas Trammel established the road widening it for wagon use in 1824.
"The trace crossed the Sulphur River into Cass County at Epperson's Ferry. It headed past this point and joined the pre-existing Spanish Trace."
The marker concludes that several roads converged at a site called Old Unionville not far from Naples, which no longer exists. The trace passed Avinger on its way southward.
A verbal description of the trace locally notes it crossed the Red River at Fulton, Ark., and went as follows:
- Bowie Texarkana to Nettle's Creek
- Bowie Nettle's Creek to Epperson's Ferry
- Cass Epperson's Ferry to Bryan's Mill
- Cass Bryan's Mill to Wye
- Cass Wye to Hughes Springs
- Cass Hughes Springs to Avinger
Current activity about the trace can be found at the Trammel's Trace Facebook site, which is comprised of a group of almost 900 members including descendants of Nicholas Trammel himself, Pinkerton said.
Pinkerton suggests the interested person simply do a Google search for 'Trammel's Trace Map," and there one will be able to see a Google map overlay of the trace as it passes out of Arkansas and through Cass County.
"October when the woods and field are more open is the best time to look for the trail," he said.
"This is our part of Texas history, and we should do all we can to educate ourselves and others and preserve any remaining ruts, which are part of the bigger Texas story," Pinkerton concluded.