Geraldine Watson

Geraldine Watson

Photographer Unknown

Activist, Author, Artist, & Park Ranger

1925–2012

Geraldine Watson dedicated her life to preserving and understanding the natural beauty of the Big Thicket. She used her expertise and passion to advocate for Big Thicket’s protection and served as one of its first park rangers.

Watson was born in Louisiana in 1925, but her family moved to Doucette, Texas, in Tyler County and then Jasper, Texas, in Jasper County when she was very young. Both of her parents enjoyed the nature of Big Thicket and shared it with Watson. Through their guidance, she learned to identify the flora of southeast Texas as well as their uses for medicines and dyes. She developed an artistic side from her mother and an outdoorsy side from her father who would take her on fishing trips and adventures in the Big Thicket.

Watson’s passion for the natural world led her to obtain a degree in biology. She put it to use by assisting the Big Thicket Association in 1964 when the organization was founded. She became a board member of the organization and helped push for the preservation of the Big Thicket region through her weekly column in a local Hardin County newspaper, The Pine Needle. Additionally, she presented slideshows about the region’s ecosystems to various garden clubs and organizations, and she resisted pushback from the lumber industry which wanted to continue their logging in the region. It was important to her that people know about the biodiversity of Big Thicket: “How are we going to save the world if we don’t understand what makes it what it is?”

Watson and her family were persecuted and ostracized from the local community, as neighbors viewed her efforts to preserve the region as a threat to their property and use of the landscape for hunting, trapping, and fishing. Still, she was a driving force in getting Big Thicket its national preserve designation. In 1974, Watson spoke to Congress on behalf of Big Thicket and convinced them of the economic and ecological value of the region. She asserted that the flora of the region was understudied, that it had culinary, commercial, and medicinal value. Further, she argued that the creation of a national park would benefit the area economically. This testimony along with the work of other conservationists was successful, and Big Thicket National Preserve was established in 1974.

 

How are we going to save the world if we don’t understand what makes it what it is?

—Geraldine Watson, during interview with Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine

Image credit: Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve

 

Watson’s contribution towards preserving Big Thicket was far from over. She worked as a park ranger and ecologist in the preserve for fifteen years. Her work was vital in identifying the ecosystems within the preserve, cataloging plant life, and establishing a network of trails throughout the preserve. In addition to her work for the National Park Service, she wrote two books about the Big Thicket in her free time. The first is about her journey floating down the Neches River which told the tale of her travels as well as the natural history and folklore about the area, and the second is about the plant ecology of the region.

Further, she bought her own land to restore native plants and ecosystems. This eleven acre plot in Warren, Texas, was originally called the Watson Pinelands Preserve and displayed a diverse example of the region’s flora and fauna. Her preserve included the four carnivorous plants present in Big Thicket as well as orchids, azaleas, and longleaf pine trees. The preserve, now known as the Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve is still open to the public today, free of charge.

Geraldine Watson died in April 2012, but her hard work and dedication to the Big Thicket region lives on. Watson grew up enjoying the outdoors with her parents who encouraged her passion. As an adult, she was continually drawn to the flora of southeast Texas and worked towards the preservation of the Big Thicket region. She went on to work in the Big Thicket Association and once the national preserve was established, as a park ranger and ecologist. Her legacy is felt in Big Thicket National Preserve and the Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve, both of which would look much different than they do today without her care and protection.

 

Geraldine Watson surveying a dead cypress, 1973

Photographer unknown

 

Bibliography

Clark, Penny. “Watson, Geraldine Ellis (1925-2012).” Texas State Historical Association. (March 2021). https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/watson-geraldine-ellis.

Dembling, Sophia. “Preserving the Preserve of Naturalist and Activist Geraldine Watson.” National Trust for Historic Preservation. https://savingplaces.org/stories/preserving-the-preserve-of-naturalist-and-activist-geraldine-watson.

Kabele, Ron. “Unconquerable Soul: Armed with passion and tennis shoes, Geraldine Watson helped preserve the Big Thicket.” Texas Parks and Wildlife. (April 2012). https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2012/apr/LLL-Watson/.

Watson, Geraldine. “Geraldine Watson.” Interview by David Todd and David Weisman. Texas Legacy Project. October 12, 1999. https://texaslegacy.org/transcript/geraldine-watson/.

 

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