Lance Rosier

In October 1965 Senator Ralph Yarborough toured the Big Thicket at Dempsie Henley's invitation with a party of environmentalists, and Lance Rosier guided them as they searched for park sites. The National Park Service credits that trip with persuading Yarborough to pursue national park protection. Rosier had served as temporary president of the revived Big Thicket Association in 1964 until Henley took the post. He died in 1970. When Congress created Big Thicket National Preserve in 1974, its first and largest unit was named for him, covering the area near Saratoga where he was born.

What the plaque says

Lance Rosier The Big Thicket National Preserve exists today in large part due to the efforts of a few dedicated individuals who took up the causes of conservation and wildlife preservation against great odds, both political and social. Lance Rosier was one of those early advocates. Rosier was born in what is now the Preserve unit that bears his name. He grew up in Saratoga, in the center of the Big Thicket, living with his aunt Mattie Evans in her Vines Hotel. There, he listened to stories told by roughnecks, drummers and pioneers. He spent much of his youth wandering the nearby woods and learning about the native flora and fauna. After serving in the U.S. Army, he became a timber cruiser, as well as a guide for surveyors. Authors and journalists wrote numerous stories about the self-taught naturalist who provided tours for scientists, photographers, politicians, students, scholars, conservationists and others who sought his expertise. His knowledge grew through work with scientists who identified plants for him, thus expanding his understanding of habitats, life cycles, medical or industrial uses, and scientific names of species of plant life. His tours featured extras, like stories of an encounter with a black panther. Known as "Mr. Big Thicket," Rosier served as a bridge between the first East Texas Big Thicket Association (1929-1957), led by R.E. Jackson, another regional conservationist, and others to establish the second Big Thicket Association in 1964. Unfortunately, Rosier died in 1970, a few years before the realization of his dream to have the unique environmental area declared a national park. Today, his legacy lives on in the protection and continuing research of his beloved Big Thicket. (2005)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Big Thicket National Preserve — 15 mi
  Start at the Kountze visitor center, where rangers sort the preserve's scattered units for you, and learn why Congress made this 1974 string of pearls the country's first national preserve.
• Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center — 19 mi
  A state archives and museum north of Liberty with an exhibit on Southeast Texas history and a campus of historic buildings, including an 1848 house and an 1898 church.
• Village Creek State Park — 22 mi
  A 2,466-acre state park on one of the few free-flowing creeks in Texas, with a launch for the Village Creek Paddling Trail, boat rentals and sandy-upland trails in the Big Thicket.
• McFaddin-Ward House — 28 mi
  A Beaux-Arts Colonial Revival mansion finished in 1906 and lived in by one family for 75 years, with free guided tours of three furnished floors, the carriage house and gardens.

More markers nearby

• Ghost Road: The Big Thicket Light — 1.7 mi
• Batson Prairie School & Church and Guedry Cemetery — 6.7 mi
• Old Hardin — 12 mi
• Sour Lake, C.S.A. — 12 mi