Do we know if Cedar Elm/Mountain Cedar inhabited central TX a couple hundred years ago? This is something I wonder while I'm surveying the layout of certain areas when I'm thinking there may have been camps here or there.

its junipers i believe. i do not believe they are a native species. atleast in tom green and irion counties because ive seen pics of ranches from the 1900's i used to roam on and it was nothing but savanna plains(grassland)the only trees you would see would be along the creek and river edges.i can also remember as i was growing up after drivers license, you would'nt see the mequites,junipers or salt cedar around the lakes.

There probably was no red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, in Tom Green County in the earlies. Red cedar is a native species in Texas but it is an invader and has extended its range westward over the years. Mesquite is also a native invader species. Some of the old timers believed that the red cedar invasion followed the introduction of cattle. Some of the old south Texas horse ranches raised a lot of farm mules and some folks believe the mesquite spread with those mules. The control of prairie fires on those vast savannas also helped both species extend their range. Salt cedar, Tamarix parviflora, is native to the Mediterranean region and was introduced to North America by some unknown moron who liked the way the flowers smell.

actually salt cedar was brought in by morons to control the mequite. what were they thinking, that must have been 1 hell of a salesman.

I know they are devastating, choking the ground of growth and moisture. I think I read somewhere that a mature Juniper can absorb like 10 gallons of water out of the ground DAILY!

So, back to original question, when I'm surveying the landscape of a particular area where I suspect there may be some camps, I need to look past the Juniper mot that covers the land, as if they weren't there?

there were a lot more forrest fires back then wich controlled them more. Over time the climate has changed wich has allowed them the freedom tho multiply like pigs.

absolutely!!!!!!!!!!! just as if they were the indians themselves

In your rockier areas especially, look for stands of hardwood trees which stand out from the rest, whether its other hardwoods or cedar. Old camp sites usually contain soil considerable more fertile than the surrounding areas, and which creates greater growth.

Bud, all good replies. I can only input that your time frame of 200 yrs is kinda short, thats just up to before the civil war.
Many of our TX sites have points up to 10K old. I like Matt's evaluation that whatever the growth to look for today it's because of a richer camp soil ( and since camps were handy to some water source, vegetation will be tapping into that supply today )

Yeah, shoulda used more than a "couple hundred" years.

Yall's input is good news. The 3 areas I'm intrigued most by are: Areas of large, old hardwoods, seems to have/had fertile soil and at intersections of 2 or 3 of creeks/springs.

pick me coach. i'm ready!!!

Tony, those sound like great areas to begin your search. I have a friend who lives is the hills below Canyon Lake, a little less than a mile off the Guadalupe River. From his deck we used to look down at three groves of hardwoods located on the canyon floor below him. Each grove was an acre or two in size, and really stuck out because 80% of the surrounding vegetation was cedar. A few years ago that property below him was developed and dirt roads were dozed so real estate agents could show the properties. We drove back in there and found that each of those groves was in fact on a midden. The sad part of the story is that the middens had already been dug.

No worries, Pat. Just have your van ready to travel when it's game time!

il pinch hit whenever budmann