Thomas Cree Homesite

After serving as a teamster in the Civil War (1861-65), Thadium (Thomas) B. Cree worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1888 he and his wife came to the High Plains. They acquired this land and, with no trees for lumber, they built a dugout home. Cree traveled 35 miles at his wife's request to find a sapling and planted it here. He watered it from a nearby lake that he dug from a buffalo wallow. The tree never grew but lived many years despite blizzard, heat, and drought. Gov. John Connally dedicated an historical marker in 1963 to the first tree in the Panhandle. (1980)

Thomas Cree Homesite is a historical marker in Panhandle, Carson County, dedicated in 1980. It is one of 42 historical markers documented in Carson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 49 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 35.3106, -101.4615 near Panhandle. The nearest cataloged historic site is First Tree Texas High Plains (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include The 33rd Anniversary National Convention, Oldest Bank in the Texas Panhandle, and John F. Weatherlys Family.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5065005467. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.