Thomas Cree's Little Tree

Plains Trail Region
US HWY 60, 5 miles southwest of Panhandle Panhandle, TX 79068

Set behind protective fences is the site of the first tree planted throughout the entire Texas Panhandle. Immense plains were once a sea of grass from horizon to horizon. In 1888 settler Thomas Cree hauled a sapling of bois d'arc from beyond the Caprock and planted it by his dugout home. Cree is long gone, but the tree thrived until 1969 when it was accidentally killed by an agricultural chemical. Carson County residents planted a new one as a memorial to early pioneers.

Mapped location of Thomas Cree's Little Tree

Thomas Cree's Little Tree

US HWY 60, 5 miles southwest of Panhandle Panhandle, TX 79068