Where does it begin...? (Houston, Dallas: safe, property, metro area)

[blueskies49]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Yes, Paris is NE Texas. So, you consider it around 160 miles south, just barely outside of Dallas. I still have nightmares about Jasper, Kirbyville and parts thereof.

Why is that, Cathy?

I used to think that where my husband is from, Forney, is considered East Texas but he tells me that it is not. Although growing up, East Texas was his stomping grounds and he knows it like the back of his hand. Doesn't care if he never goes back, either. I'll have to ask him to elaborate. I know part of the reason is bad memories of his previous marriage. He talks about someday wanting to live in Johnson or Parker county, away from East Texas.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by blueskies49

Why is that, Cathy?

I used to think that where my husband is from, Forney, is considered East Texas but he tells me that it is not. Although growing up, East Texas was his stomping grounds and he knows it like the back of his hand. Doesn't care if he never goes back, either. I'll have to ask him to elaborate. I know part of the reason is bad memories of his previous marriage. He talks about someday wanting to live in Johnson or Parker county, away from East Texas.

Like your husband, very bad memories that still haunt me to this day at times. I never go anywhere near either place, ever...or even to ET except as a very quick driving through to get somewhere else.

I would not consider Forney to be ET....practically in Dallas..but close.

[case44]

Originally Posted by blueskies49

Why is that, Cathy?

I used to think that where my husband is from, Forney, is considered East Texas but he tells me that it is not.

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I would not consider Forney to be ET....practically in Dallas..but close.

Blue, your husband is correct. Forney is in North Texas. West of Terrell.

[TexasReb]

Greetings fellow Texans (natives and converts!), and friends!

I see this thread still has some life left in it, so while I am thinking about, and having JUST now returned from Caddo Lake, I GOTTA offer my two-cents worth (about all it is worth, as the ol' saying goes) about where East Texas "begins" along an I-20 route.

Lemme backtrack here just a bit. Earlier (and on another thread specifically devoted to ONLY East Texas) I ventured the opinion that, travelling along Hwy 69, it began just east of Greenville.

This year though, we went thru the Metroplex to hook up with I-20 and go east to Tyler/Longview/Marshall/Caddo Lake. In other words, a MAJOR highway ALL the way....which in turn means blowing past towns along the path and the changing ambiance of the same. So you miss lots of clues and guidepoints and all the things that go into when something becomes something else...

Well, without further ado...and prepared to catch hell over it...going along I-20, I gotta peg Canton as where East Texas truly begins. Now, dadgummit, let me hasten to add that Terrell has LOTS of credentials to be the nailhead between North and East Texas. But it was only when we got to Canton that I got that same shift and change of "feeling" that I previously did when we would go thru Greenville.

Again though, we were travelling along I-20. Had the route been thru Terrell or Forney PROPER? Then it MIGHT be different. As it was though, I still felt in North Texas when those "Exits" went past. Mesquite trees were still growing a bit...and the shadow of DFW was very close.

[solytaire]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Greetings fellow Texans (natives and converts!), and friends!

I see this thread still has some life left in it, so while I am thinking about, and having JUST now returned from Caddo Lake, I GOTTA offer my two-cents worth (about all it is worth, as the ol' saying goes) about where East Texas "begins" along an I-20 route.

Lemme backtrack here just a bit. Earlier (and on another thread specifically devoted to ONLY East Texas) I ventured the opinion that, travelling along Hwy 69, it began just east of Greenville.

This year though, we went thru the Metroplex to hook up with I-20 and go east to Tyler/Longview/Marshall/Caddo Lake. In other words, a MAJOR highway ALL the way....which in turn means blowing past towns along the path and the changing ambiance of the same.

Well, without further ado...and prepared to catch hell over it...going along I-20, I gotta peg Canton as where East Texas truly begins. Now, dadgummit, let me hasten to add that Terrell has LOTS of credentials to be the nailhead between North and East Texas. But it was only when we got to Canton that I got that same shift and change of "feeling" that I previously did when we would go thru Greenville.

Again though, we were travelling along I-20. Had the route been thru Terrell or Forney PROPER? Then it MIGHT be different. As it was though, I still felt in North Texas, Mesquite trees were still growing a bit...and the shadow of DFW was very close.

But it is truth you speak...I have ALWAYS been kind of hesitant to lend the East Texas extensions very far beyond Tyler (traveling from east to west...that is)...I always sat in silence thinking that, that Greenville allowance you had previously been giving was a bit gratuitous towards East Texas...lol

It has also always been my contention that the pines tend to dictate where the true strong East Texas boundaries begin/end...Tangentially, since the TPWD does not recognize Smith County (Tyler), or Anderson County (Palestine) as being in the Piney Woods region, my gauge may be wrong anyway but... as I have expressed before, I think a line should be drawn clearly to include the eastern half of Canton, down to the eastern half of Athens, on down through the very easternmost outskirts of Madisonville, and continue right along that axis until it reaches the latitude of Conroe...At that point you are in Houston anyway...Which I'm sure as Houston continues to grow and Conroe becomes absorbed into its suburbs, the cutoff point will become the Willis or Huntsville latitudes...

Really, if we truly want to get nit picky about it, a line could be struck right outside of the westernmost extension of Tyler and down thru Huntsville, Conroe and so forth...because even Tyler is developing more of a Dallas influence than other parts of Upper East Texas. IMO..

[tycobb2522]

I have to somewhat agree. I bought a lakehouse in East Texas last year and have spent a good deal of time roaming the area between Dalls and East Texas. I usually travel east on 80.

In my opinion, although Terrell may be generally accepted as the gateway, I don't FEEL like I'm in East Texas until AT LEAST Grand Saline or so.

[case44]

Originally Posted by tycobb2522

This was out of line. The guy wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers or trying to get anyone "worked up", he was giving his opinion; that's what the OP asked for. I don't agree with his assessment, not by a long shot. But that doesn't make me right either.

Just because you say "I've got a bunch of people on these threads that will undoubtedly agree with this" doesn't make you right. And no, just because you say "period" and "end of discussion", doesn't mean the discussion is over, as long as there are people who want to continue giving their opinions, even, heaven forbid, if they differ from your omnipotent decrees.

You tell the poor guy he "doesn't know what he's talking about", when all he was doing was looking at it from a different angle, in terms of watershed. Again, I wouldn't agree, but WHO CARES? I'm not going to bully someone because they have a different opinion.

This was a very rude response, and he deserves an apology.

Please know that I apologize for any offense given and for the way it was approached. Sometimes, things get a little passionate around here and I'm sorry that tensions ran higher than they should have. However, I was making a point, and, yes, I should have used a different choice of words at that time. I'd like us to now move forward, please.

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Oops, let me clarify. I meant that there are approximately 160 miles from my original point of East Texas' beginning of Paris....to your correction of Corsicana...! You set the beginning 160 miles southeast of mine.

Glad you've got this clarified, Cathy, and that is exactly right. Definitely from Corsicana to Paris would be 160 miles. You've got that right.

[case44]

Originally Posted by solytaire

But it is truth you speak...I have ALWAYS been kind of hesitant to lend the East Texas extensions very far beyond Tyler (traveling from east to west...that is)...I always sat in silence thinking that, that Greenville allowance you had previously been giving was a bit gratuitous towards East Texas...lol

It has also always been my contention that the pines tend to dictate where the true strong East Texas boundaries begin/end...Tangentially, since the TPWD does not recognize Smith County (Tyler), or Anderson County (Palestine) as being in the Piney Woods region, my gauge may be wrong anyway but... as I have expressed before, I think a line should be drawn clearly to include the eastern half of Canton, down to the eastern half of Athens, on down through the very easternmost outskirts of Madisonville, and continue right along that axis until it reaches the latitude of Conroe...At that point you are in Houston anyway...Which I'm sure as Houston continues to grow and Conroe becomes absorbed into its suburbs, the cutoff point will become the Willis or Huntsville latitudes...

Really, if we truly want to get nit picky about it, a line could be struck right outside of the westernmost extension of Tyler and down thru Huntsville, Conroe and so forth...because even Tyler is developing more of a Dallas influence than other parts of Upper East Texas. IMO..

I'm not sure if Tyler is getting the Dallas "treatment" per se, as it has a personality all its own. There's no denying the growth there, though. And you may be right about that line from Canton to Athens to Madisonville, but it's all give and take. Sometimes you might have to visit small towns just to see if locals can tell you what part of the state you're really in.

[case44]

Originally Posted by tycobb2522

I have to somewhat agree. I bought a lakehouse in East Texas last year and have spent a good deal of time roaming the area between Dalls and East Texas. I usually travel east on 80.

In my opinion, although Terrell may be generally accepted as the gateway, I don't FEEL like I'm in East Texas until AT LEAST Grand Saline or so.

Believe it or not, they actually had billboards -- and I'm not sure if they're still there -- leading into Terrell telling people that it is the 'Gateway to East Texas'. I got a real big kick out of those billboards. They were found east of Dallas, both on U.S. 80 and I-20.

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by case44

Believe it or not, they actually had billboards -- and I'm not sure if they're still there -- leading into Terrell telling people that it is the 'Gateway to East Texas'. I got a real big kick out of those billboards. They were found east of Dallas, both on U.S. 80 and I-20.

Case? I was just thinking (occasionally I do! LOL), that yes, Terrell might actually fit the definition of being the "Gateway to East Texas". But not actually BE East Texas...?

Kinda like...well, going thru the swinging gate onto private road and property just means you only started your trek up to the house and what it REALLY is!