Retracing the Steps of History

One of the joys of this project is communicating with people whose discovery of my book on Trammel’s Trace leads them to physically connect with its history.

Jennifer Judkins, in an article titled “On Things That Are Not There Anymore,” explores the notion that a physical connection to history is vital to creating an emotional link to events and people from the past. She explains a critical aspect of how we connect to our past by declaring that “our appreciation of things that are not there anymore is enriched when we understand and value what is missing, and when we have an accurate original location.” We must not only understand what happened and where, but we must also value it on its own merit and for our own personal reasons. In the past few weeks, my contact with two readers has highlighted that point.

Lisa Trammell Deaven at the DRT marker in Nacogdoches.

A Trammell Descendant on Nick’s Route

Lisa Trammell Deaven is a descendant of Nicholas Trammell himself! When she gave her family the opportunity to join her on a point-to-point trip following that history they could not say no. Okay, literally could not. (She may have dragged them, but who says no to a Trammell?).

They started in Nacogdoches at the Trammel’s Trace DRT marker in Banita Creek Park, followed the route through Tatum, and made their way all the way up to Fulton and Old Washington on the other side of the Red River.

They even made a valiant effort at finding the location of Nick’s Taven east of Old Washington using coordinates I sent. Lisa relished in what she correctly identified as a “Nicholas Trammell trailblazer-frontiersman-smuggler-sketchy-resourceful-pioneer-entrepreneur celebrity status I’m carrying.” As she should!

What came through clearly was Lisa’s sense of joy and discovery in connecting her family history to a broader history of Texas. And BEING THERE in places where old Nick trod made all the difference.

Vernon May’s stomping grounds.

Old Stomping Grounds

Connecting personal history and Texas history happened differently for Vernon May. Mr. May, an 82-year-old iPad user, explained that he grew up around Dalton, Texas in the 1940s and 50s and that he and a friend “roamed all over that area hunting arrowheads.” Like my own story, he knew nothing about Trammel’s Trace at the time.

Though Mr. May is unable to roam the woods now, his memories of the terrain were vivid. Upon seeing the Google Maps route of the trail (in Maps tab) he recognized that the Trace “came down the dirt road in front of our house, went through a wooded area, crossed a road to Bryan’s Mill and then on to Dalton and Old Unionville.” He said that when he would go through the woods to his grandparent’s house, he somewhat remembered a trail.

Like Lisa’s trip, history became personal. May said “It has really been an interesting trip back thru history following the part of Trammel’s Trace I have been associated with. Just wish i had known several years ago what I now know so I could have traveled the Dalton area following the Trace.”

The History of Where We Stand

Places across East Texas that seem mundane or forgotten are alive with history waiting to be discovered and understood. These two have sought that history out, and in doing so have made themselves part of it. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!