Historical Marker
The Oak Grove
Brownfield, Terry County · Texas
Erected 1969
Shin oak is a shrub of the sandy southern plains, usually three to six feet high, which is why a stand of taller ones draws notice. Most of the plant is underground: its stems spread through the soil in thickets, more than 90 percent of the biomass sits below the surface, and a single colony can be thousands of years old while any one visible stem lasts only eleven to fifteen years. The acorns feed bobwhites, prairie-chickens and peccaries. When farmers began settling Terry County in 1903, they cleared shinnery to plant grain, sorghum and corn.
What the plaque says
The Oak Grove Landmark for pioneers, freighters, these "Shin-Oaks" are unusual for growing spontaneously on treeless High Plains. (1969)
Where it stands
33.19507, -102.27393 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Site of Joe T. and Laura Hamilton Home — steps away
- First Baptist Church of Brownfield — 1.1 mi
- Brownfield Cemetery — 1.1 mi
- Brownfield Municipal Power Plant — 1.2 mi