The Cast Iron Forest: A Natural and Cultural History of the North American Cross Timbers

Corrie Herring Hooks Series

by Richard V. Francaviglia

Winner, Friends of the Dallas Public Library Award, Texas Institute of Letters, 2001 A complex mosaic of post oak and blackjack oak forests interspersed with prairies, the Cross Timbers covers a north-south belt of southern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, and North Central Texas. Home to Native Americans over several thousand years, the Cross Timbers became a barrier to westward expansion in the nineteenth century, until roads and railroads opened it up to farmers and ranchers, coal miners, and modern city developers, all of whom changed its character in far-reaching ways. This landmark book fully describes the natural environment of the Cross Timbers and the role that people have played in transforming the region. Richard Francaviglia opens with a natural history that discusses the region's geography and geology, vegetation, and climate. He then traces the interaction of people and the landscape, from the earliest Native American inhabitants and European explorers to the developers and residents of today's ever-expanding cities and suburbs. Many historical and contemporary maps and photographs illustrate the text.

Genres: History

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Diane]

The definitive book about this highly endangered ecosystem, the Cross Timbers Forest. Stretching from Kansas to Central Texas, this narrow forest has had an important impact on the settlement and development of the North Texas area where I live. Francaviglia shows this is a natural treasure worth taking steps to save before it's too late.

[Ann]

Francaviglia reconstructs much of the history of the Cross Timbers Ecoregion from what can be known of the time of native peoples through European conquest and settlement nearly to the present day. He focuses especially on north Texas with parting words about Oklahoma and a bear mention of Kansas. Beginning with a focus on the ecology, he develops the sense of constant interplay between people in the region and the ecology, especially the oaks through changes in maps of the region, in land use and crops, and the process of urbanization including railroad development and cities. He summarizes the history and major points at the end and brings the book to a close by underlining what he has detailed all along: the uniqueness of the Cross Timbers and that it is worth saving. It is not just another patch of forest.

[Wes Morrow]

Did not finish. Interesting, but repetitive and got boring.

[Kristen Newcomer]

A bit repetitive, but had some good information relevant to my research.