Prehistoric Texas Trail

Ancient Life on the Prehistoric Texas Trail

by Coleman Hampton

Many people are surprised to learn that in various prehistoric eras much of Texas was underwater or that Central Texas is full of prehistoric sites. In February 2010, thirteen individuals representing six locations from Glen Rose to Florence gathered to organize and establish the “Prehistoric Texas Trail.”

In the beginning, the trail was made up of six sites that featured a variety of prehistoric materials, artifacts, archeological digs, and exhibits dedicated to prehistory in Texas. The purpose of the Trail was to contribute to the Central Texas economy through heritage tourism and to provide a rewarding and educational learning experience for families traveling in Texas.

Today the mission of the Prehistoric Texas Trail (officially known as the Prehistoric Texas Education Initiative) is “to promote knowledge, appreciation, and tourism surrounding the rich prehistoric heritage in the Central Texas region.” Although the organization has seen some changes in the past twelve years, the mission and purpose remain the same.

The Texas Brazos Trail Region and the Texas Lakes Trail Region are partners. The organization, a registered non-profit, produces brochures and banners, maintains a website and keeps the public informed through social media. These efforts continue the original focus on heritage tourism, education, and a positive visitor experience.

Make your plans to get in the car and travel back in time – way back – along the Prehistoric Texas Trail!

Glen Rose is known as the “Dinosaur Capital of Texas.” One step into the 113-million-year-old dinosaur footprints at the Dinosaur Valley State Park and you’ll see why. With some of the best-preserved dinosaur tracks in North America, this paleontological find provides import-

(left) The mammoth dig site at the Waco Mammoth National Monument. | Courtesy Troy Myatt

(right) Visitors touring the Gault Archaelogical Site near Florence. | Courtesy Gault School

(far right) A bust of the oldest-known Texas resident from the Horn Shelter exhibit in the Bosque Museum. | Courtesy Wyatt McSpadden

(bottom right) Visitors enjoy different displays in the Williamson Museum | Courtesy photo

DON’T MISS

Visit Prehistoric Texas prehistorictexas.org

Dinosaur Valley State Park 1629 Park Road 59 Glen Rose, TX 76043 (254) 897-4588 tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/ dinosaur-valley

Dinosaur World 1058 Park Road 59 Glen Rose, TX 76043 (254) 898-1526 dinosaurworld.com/texas

Bosque Museum 301 South Avenue Q Clifton, TX 76634 (254)675-3845 bosquemuseum.org

Waco Mammoth National Monument 6220 Steinbeck Bend Rd. Waco, TX 76708 (254) 750-7946 wacomammoth.com

Mayborn Museum Complex 1300 S. University Drive Waco, TX 76706 (254) 710-1110 baylor.edu/mayborn

Belton County Museum 201 North Main Belton, TX 76513 (254) 933-5243 bellcountymuseum.org

The Williamson Museum 716 South Austin Avenue Georgetown, TX 78626 (512) 943-1670 williamsonmuseum.org ant clues as to how and where dinosaurs walked. Located just outside Dinosaur Valley State Park, Dinosaur World features over 100 life-size dinosaur models nestled among a lush assortment of native vegetation.

The Bosque Museum in Clifton, features a recently updated Horn Shelter exhibit. The Horn Shelter, discovered in Bosque County, is a rare 11,200-year-old Paleo-American archeological site where two skeletons and an array of burial goods were found.

The Waco Mammoth National Monument on the outskirts of Waco contains fossil specimens of the nation’s first and only recorded evidence of a nursery herd of ice age Columbian mammoths. The site features a climate-controlled dig shelter and a suspended walkway that provides an overhead view of several specimens, including a bull mammoth and a camel that lived approximately 68,000 years ago.

Also in Waco, visitors can travel through millions of years by exploring ancient fossils of Central Texas at Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex. Exciting and interactive exhibits invite visitors to touch a palm tree stump from the Tertiary Period and see one of the largest fossil marine turtles found in the United States.

The award-winning Bell County Museum, located in Belton, features a permanent interactive exhibit on the Gault Site that offers an in-depth look at this important archaeological excavation. The museum also offers bi-monthly tours of the Gault Site and outdoor dig pits for visitors. The Gault Archaeological Site near Florence is one of the largest excavated sites of the Clovis culture (13,500 years ago) and a Texas State Archeological Landmark. Gault has more than 2 million artifacts, some of the earliest art and the oldest architecture in North America.

At the Williamson Museum in Georgetown, “The Tech in Ancient Texas” exhibit about the Gault site is open through January 2024. The Williamson Museum also offers bimonthly tours of the Gault Site. Also, check out a Leander Dinosaur Tracks hike on the South San Gabriel riverbed – no reservations required!

Whether you’re visiting Glen Rose or Florence, we look forward to seeing you on the Prehistoric Texas Trail!

The Silver Turtle

by Katerina Cotroneo

If you were a Girl Scout or Boy Scout, the odds of this sparking your tastebuds and bringing back memories are high. Meet the “hobo packet,” “foil dinner,” or if you will, the “silver turtle.” For the uninitiated, this cooking tradition involves stuffing a tin foil packet to the brim with potatoes, carrots, and a big ‘ole onion slice as the base, the meat of your choice (customarily ground beef), and some seasoning (if you’re lucky) and then cooking your little pouch friend on hot coals (shown above right).

Silver turtles are best done when turned upside down and buried in coals which allows the juices of the meat to cook the vegetables so they get properly soft. Also, rather than just folding the tin foil over, twist the corners to look like little “legs”; be sure there are no gaps or openings with the packet. Once removed from the fire, there’s no need for plates since you can eat straight out of the foil packet! This simply prepared meal is most appreciated after a long day of outdoor activi-

Courtesy Katerina Cotroneo

ties such as camping, hiking and getting lost in the forest with your friends.

Silver turtles are an economical and easy meal to make. It’s an excellent activity for a large group or the whole family since each turtle can be made to individual portions and tastes. It’s also an easy meal to prepare ahead of time. For kids, creating their own silver turtle can be a creative exercise: sticking in carrot “legs” and smothering the body in ketchup to their heart’s desire (or until mom says “enough”). While you can make silver turtles with different ingredients, the traditional way sits pretty in my heart.

The idea that generations of Texans have grown up eating this around campfires is a nod to a simpler lifestyle that once was and still can be! Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts continue to pass along this tradition, and the little silver turtle is still well-loved by taste buds everywhere. A trick that my Girl Scout leader taught me when I was younger is to use lots of butter and garlic salt and some Worcester sauce. Hearing the sizzle and crackle in the tin foil, you’ll find yourself getting excited to pull these little packets off the coals and dig in to enjoy your old-fashioned dinner that didn’t involve a stove, just like days gone by.

This culinary delight provides a nutritious meal whether you’re out camping or gathered with friends around the backyard fire pit. My family recently enjoyed a trip down memory lane with me and I recommend you put the silver turtle on your list of outdoor activity. Perhaps you’re an outdoorsy type of person and this is already a staple in your cooking regimen but maybe you weren’t as familiar with all the details and possibilities.

Our sparkling turtle friend has quite the past, and I suspect it doesn’t plan on going anywhere soon!

INGREDIENTS AND SUPPLIES

• Meat Options – ground beef, beef patties, boneless chicken breasts, boneless pork chops, pre-cooked ham, steak, salmon, tilapia • Vegetable Options – carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, peppers, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, asparagus • Fruit Options – apple slices, lemon slices, pineapple or orange pieces • Seasoning Options – Salt and

Pepper, Garlic Salt, Ketchup,

Butter, Olive Oil, Worcester sauce, barbecue sauce, a dollop of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup • Tin Foil – heavy duty is best, or layer more than one sheet; pieces should be 18” to 24” long • Tongs – for placing silver turtles in the coals and grabbing the silver turtles when they’re done!

PREPARATION TIPS

circle-1 Roll ground beef into small meatballs or create a small patty. circle-2 Boneless chicken breasts, boneless pork chops, ham and steak are best when cut into bite-sized pieces before cooking. circle-3 Vegetables and fruit should also be cut into bite-sized portions.

INSTRUCTIONS

circle-1 Lay tin foil sheet(s) on flat surface. circle-2 First, layer your choice of vegetables circle-3 Second, top vegetables with choice of meat circle-4 Next, add seasoning(s) circle-5 Fold the foil tightly around the ingredients; be sure there are no gaps or openings. Using the four corners, crimp and create “legs”. circle-6 Place the silver turtles upside down and directly into hot coals of a campfire, fire pit or charcoal grill. circle-7 Cooking time can vary; 10-20 minutes is typical – it really depends on the meat and vegetables. circle-8 Start checking the silver turtles when you hear them sizzle and smell them cooking. circle-9 Using the tongs, remove silver turtles from the coals. circle-exclamation Be careful of hot steam and ingredients when opening the silver turtle.

New York Hill Restaurant

Ghost Town Good Eats

by Sue Goodman and Lea Hart

Many of those traveling on Interstate 20 about an hour (or 70 miles) west of Fort Worth take the opportunity to enjoy a meal at the New York Hill Restaurant in one of Texas’ most noted “ghost towns” – Thurber. This community thrived for five decades as a mining, brick making and oil exploration boomtown; and back then, “The Hill” was home to the upper classes of society.

Coal was mined by the Texas and Pacific Coal Company at Thurber beginning in 1887. Around 1900, the company sent many officials and executives from their New York office to work on site. Residential construction for these employees was perched on a hilltop overlooking the town. For this reason, it became known as New York Hill.

The homes on New York Hill were of much higher quality than those in the rest of Thurber. Large two-story homes, landscaped yards, and brick sidewalks characterized this area. The official’s homes cost the company around $8,000 each, while the workers and miner’s houses were each built for a mere $150. A mile-long brick sidewalk stretched from downtown Thurber all the way up New

THURBER

York Hill and into the residential area further south. The steps of this sidewalk can still be seen on the northern slope of the hill.

The New York Hill area was also home to three different churches. In fact, the street that ran up the hill was called “Church Street” because it passed the Baptist Church and the Negro Church at the bottom and the Episcopal Church at the top.

What was once a thriving, company-owned boomtown is now a ghost town. On New York Hill today you can see the Thurber Historic Association’s collection of surviving historic structures from Thurber’s past. The small house is a typical residence for a miner and his family. Saint Barbara’s Catholic Church was a ministry to the eastern European immigrants (shown above right). Community social events and celebrations surrounded the bandstand in the heart of the town. The caboose was part of the train that transported miners from Thurber to work in the mines. Bocci ball courts were provided for all neighbors to enjoy.

Today, visitors drive to New York Hill Restaurant on top of that same hill to enjoy the sweep-

DON’T MISS

New York Hill Restaurant 292 County Road 107 Mingus, TX (254) 672-5848 Sun-Thu 7:30am-9pm Fri-Sat 7:30am-10pm thurbernewyorkhill.com

W K. Gordon Museum 65258 I-20 Mingus, TX 76463 (254) 968-1886 Tue-Sat 10am-4pm Sun 1pm-4pm gordoncenter@ tarleton.edu ing views of Erath and Palo Pinto counties while eating a tasty and filling meal. The restaurant was established in 1989 by Les and Janis Mills. When their son Randy Mills grew tired of corporate life, he moved back to Gordon to carry on the family legacy with the New York Hill Restaurant. Now Randy and his son Ryan focus on the basics to make every customer experience perfect.

Ryan Mills was asked what he would like people to know about the New York Hill Restaurant. Faster than a New York minute he said, “We have been family-owned for three generations. . . We bake yeast rolls from scratch, cut our own steaks and pork chops, grind our own hamburger and tenderize chicken fried steak daily. It’s all home made.”

Visitors to the restaurant are welcomed as part of the family. Bring your own bottle of wine or beer anytime, and enjoy the delicious specialties – steaks, hamburgers, chicken fried steak and chicken livers as well as fresh salads, seasonal vegetables and other meatless options. The Hill has Sunday lunch specials and serves breakfast daily until 11:00 a.m. Breakfast options of grilled pork chops, hash-brown omelets, or sirloin with eggs and all the trimmings will stick to your ribs a long time. The Friday special is always fried catfish, beans, coleslaw, jalapeno hush puppies and dessert.

The restaurant’s décor displays historical pictures and artifacts from the booming days of Thurber (1880’s to 1930’s). There are even a few of grandma’s quilts adding to the comfortable atmosphere in the main dining area (shown above center). The gift shop offers souvenirs like Thurber bricks, t-shirts, caps, peanut brittle, homemade jams and other treats. The banquet room can be scheduled for meetings and social gatherings. The facility is proudly non-smoking since 2013 and makes Wi-Fi available.

So, if you are driving on I-20 and in need of a break, or just looking for an enriching afternoon out, take exit 367 to find New York Hill Restaurant. Enjoy the homey setting, delicious home-made food, the historical displays and in summer months, delight in the hummingbirds feeding on the patio.

LEGACY

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Texas Originals

Meet Dr. Eileen Johnson at Lubbock Lake Landmark and Dr. Clark Wernecke at the Gault Site

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Texas State Library & Archives

Out on the range with documentation of Texas’ western heritage

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Texas Historical Commission

Celebrating Texas Archeology Month and state wide archeological work