texas parks and wildlife

Interpretive Guide to:

CEDAR HILLSTATE PARK AND PENN FARMAGRICULTURALHISTORY CENTER

CEDAR HILLSTATE PARK AND PENN FARMAGRICULTURALHISTORY CENTER

ENJOY THE PARKWe hope you enjoy your visit to Cedar Hill State Park. Here are some things to do at the park:

• TakeahikeontheTalalaTrailorDuckPondTrail.

• Learn more about the plants and wildlife in the park byattending an interpretive program.

• Ask for the “BirdsofCedarHillStatePark” fieldchecklistandgobirding.

• TourhistoricPennFarm.Checktheeventcalendarforguidedtoursorexploreonyourownwithaself-guidedbrochure.

• GofishinginJoePoolLakeoratPerchPondinthepark.

• Attend events hosted by the park, such as theCaroling atPennFarminDecember.ChecktheCalendarofEventsonthewebsite.

You can be a partner in conserving the natural and culturalresourcesoftheCedarHillStateParkby:

• Leavingnotraceasyoucamporrecreate. Ifyoupackitin,packitout!

• Stayingonestablishedtrailswhilehiking,bikingorridingtoprevent soil erosion and damage to the prairie grasses; and stayingoffthetrailswhentheyareclosedafterarain.

• Helping create and maintain trails by volunteering for agroup such as the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association(D.O.R.B.A.);visitwww.dorba.orgtofindoutmore.

• Volunteering as a park host. Hosts are needed to help in the campgrounds or with office duties, interpretation ormaintenance.

Cedar Hill State Park1570F.M.1382,CedarHill,TX75104

(972)291-3900•www.tpwd.texas.gov/cedarhill/

RICH IN DIVERSITY Todaymany acres of prairie grasslands lie beneath thesurface of Joe Pool Lake as it captures the waters ofMountainCreekandWalnutCreek.Thecreationofthelakeinundatedanumberofsmallfamilyfarms.However,the farmstead established by John Wesley Penn in 1859 is preserved within the park, a reminder of the agriculturallegacyofearlyDallasCounty.

Theparkisbiologicallydiverseduetotheconvergenceoftwoecosystems.Thegrasslandsof theTexasBlacklandPrairie and the upland forests of the White RockLimestoneEscarpmentcreateatransitionalhabitatzone,supportingplantsandanimalscommonlyfoundinNorthCentralTexas,EastTexas,ortheTexasHillCountry.

A rich combinationof grassland and forest provides anideal habitat for migratory birds. The park’s bird listincludesalmost200species,includingyear-roundresidentssuch as the easternbluebird and great-hornedowl, andseasonalfavoritessuchasthecolorfulpaintedbunting.

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Red-tailed hawks are among the many species that rely on the grasslands.

© 2015 TPWD. PWD BR P4503-131O (7/15) In accordance with Texas State Depository Law, this publication is available at the Texas State Publications Clearinghouse and/or Texas Depository Libraries.

TPWD receives funds from the USFWS. TPWD prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, and gender, pursuant to state and federal law. To request an accommodation or obtain information in an alternative format, please contact TPWD on a Text Telephone (TDD) at (512) 389-8915 or by Relay Texas at 7-1-1 or (800) 735-2989. If you believe you have been discriminated against by TPWD, please contact TPWD or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office for Diversity and Workforce Management, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041.

Proud Sponsor of Texas Parks and Wildlife Programs

The Penn family owned this farm for over a century.It isrepresentativeofthesmall, middle-class farmsteads that once occupied

thismarginofDallasCounty.Thesiteshowsanevolution ofstructuresconstructedoradaptedbythePennfamilyasneedschangedandmodernconvenienceswereadded.

Italsoservesasareminderthathumansmadethegreatestimpact on the tallgrass prairie. Farmers such as JohnWesley Penn utilized the rich natural resources of thelandtobuildfarmsandprovideshelterfortheirfamilies.ThePenn familygrazedcattle andhorseson thenativeprairiegrassesforoverahundredyears.Overtime,mostof the tallgrass prairie in Dallas County vanished—plowedunderandreplacedwithcropsofwheatorcotton.Perhapsbecauseoftherockysurfaceandthehillyterrainofthe“cedarmountains,”prairieremnantsatPennFarmsurvived.Thecontinuedsurvivaloftheseprairieremnantsdepends on our efforts to conserve them bymanaging,appreciating and protecting them from encroaching development.

The topography of theCedar Hill area is the result of the geologicinterplay of ruggedAustin Chalk limestone with layers of erodableEagleFordshale.Erosion

of the shaleovermillionsofyears createdhills andvalleys.The limestone also eroded, butmuchmore slowly, leavingrough, rugged outcrops exposed at the top. When watertrickles through the limestone layer, it collects in shallowpoolsabovethe layersofshale.Thiscreatespocketsofsoilwhere water-dependent plants such as ferns and buckeyesmaygrow.

The fertile, dark clay soils of the Blackland Prairies aresomeof the richest soils in theworld.This attracted early settlers who replaced much of the native tallgrass prairie withcropland.

C E D A R H I L L S T A T E P A R K A N D P E N N F A R M A G R I C U L T U R A L H I S T O R Y C E N T E R

Prairies may contain more than 250 different plant species.Grasses such as Big bluestem, Little bluestem,Indiangrass and Switchgrass dominate the TexasBlacklandPrairie.Therelictprairiesintheparkpresentexcellent stands of Indiangrass and Big bluestem, alsoknownas“turkeyfoot”fortheshapeofitsseedhead. Awidevarietyofwildflowersburstintocolorduringspringand summer, including the Purple coneflower,Maximilian sunflower and Celestial ghost iris. Deeprootedgrassesandwildflowerssurvivecoldwinters,hotsummers,droughtanderosion.

Fire,anessentialelementinmaintainingahealthyprairieecosystem, sparks increased plant diversity and growthand flowering of plants. Fire prevents invasive woodyspeciessuchasmesquiteandcedarelmfromtransformingaprairieintoawoodland.NativeAmericansusedfireasatooltocreateislandsoffreshgrasstoattractbison.

TPWD conducts prescribed burns to recreate the beneficial effects of fire.

“...the black prairie soil was built by the prairie plants, a hundred

distinctive species of grasses, herbs, and shrubs; by the prairie

fungi, insects and bacteria; by the prairie mammals and birds,

all interlocked in one humming community of cooperation and

competition, one biota. This biota, through ten thousand years of

living and dying, burning and growing, preying and fleeing, freezing

and thawing, built the dark and bloody ground we call prairie.”

Aldo Leopold, Round River, 1953

In the early 1800s a vast tallgrassprairiestretchedfromTexastoCanada,coveringthecontinent like an ocean.Today,lessthan1percentofthe tallgrass prairies survive,mostly in isolated patchesresembling scattered islandsin a great sea. InTexas, lessthan 5,000 acres remaintoday. The first wave of

destructioncameinthe1800sasfarmersconvertedtheprairietofarmland.Todayurbandevelopmentconsumesthevanishingprairielandscape.Mostremnantprairieslikethosepreservedintheparksurvivedbecausefarmersusedthemashaymeadowsorbecausethelandwastoorockyforplowing.

ThewordprairiecomesfromthesimpleFrenchwordformeadow. However,prairiesrepresentcomplexecosystemscomposedofamultitudeofplantsprovidingsustenanceandshelterforavarietyoflivingorganisms,fromlargemammalstosongbirdstosmallinsects.Duetothiscomplexity,notallprairiesarealike.Theeasterntallgrassprairiesreceivemorerainthandothewesternshortgrassprairies.Thesoiltype,theabsenceorpresenceoffireandrain;allcontributetothecharacterofaprairie.

Sometimestheywerecalled “hogwallow”prairiesbecausetheclaysoilscollectedwaterinslickmuddypitslikethosecreatedby wild hogs. (Trails in the park are closed after a rain to preventtrafficfromturningthemintoaseriesof“hogwallows.”)

U N D E R S T A N D I N G T H E P R A I R I EP E N N F A M I L Y L E G A C Y

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Maximilian Sunflower

Texas BlacklandPrairie Ecoregion

FORMED BY TIME