Gary L. Pinkerton
When: November 13, 2012, 7pm
Where: The Magnolia Room, second floor of the Reynolds Center on the SAU Campus, Magnolia, AR
Our November speaker will be Gary L. Pinkerton who will talk about his work reconstructing the route of Trammel’s Trace. Across the Pinkerton family farm near Mt. Enterprise, Texas, an old roadbed is visible through the woods on both sides of a pasture. The road is a remaining section of the old Trammel’s Trace, the first north-south road into Texas, traveled by thousands of families on their way into Texas. Trammel’s Trace ran from Fulton, Arkansas and Pecan Point on the Red River north of Clarksville, to Nacogdoches. There it connected with the El Camino Real, also called the Old San Antonio Road, running east and west. With origins shaded by its use for smuggling horses and contraband through the Neutral Ground, Trammel’s Trace was also the path into Texas for heroes like Sam Houston, David Crockett, Stephen F. Austin, and James Bowie. Its history from the early 1800’s through Texas’ statehood, is the history of migration, lawlessness, and conflict that defined that period.
Gary’s passion for learning about Trammel’s Trace has become a book nearing completion. This book will fill a broad gap for researchers and genealogists by collecting all available information on Trammel’s Trace and the man for which it was named, Nicholas Trammell Jr., into one source. In addition to his historical research, Gary and other “rut nuts” continue to work on locating and mapping its remaining pathways. Gary’s vision of the outcome of his research on Trammel’s Trace includes the founding of a non-profit organization to preserve the history, additional publications, photographs, and a 180-mile walk down the historical route.
In his professional career, Gary has adapted his talents to a range of businesses that include non-profit organizations, small business start-ups, and a Fortune 200 corporation. In addition to serving organizations in human resources and training, Gary is an outstanding presenter and speaker. Gary earned his Master of Social Work (MSW) degree at the University of Houston. His undergraduate degree in Social Work and Psychology was conferred by Texas A&M University – Commerce.
In 2003, Gary won the South Carolina Sierra Club Award for Fiction and has been recognized for both his writing and photography. He has been a presenter on multiple occasions for the East Texas Historical Association, and an article on Trammel’s Trace treasure hunters appears in the East Texas Historical Journal where Gary is a member of the Editorial Board. A summary of his work on Trammel’s Trace appears in the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. In 2005, a weekly series of excerpts from his research appeared in the Trammel Trace Tribune, the local paper in Tatum, Texas.
Information about Trammel’s Trace is available at http://www.trammelstrace.org
Also see the entry on Trammel’s Trace at:
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/
Come learn about this important, historic route in our region—Tuesday, November 13, 7:00pm in the Magnolia Room on the second floor of the Reynolds Center on the campus of Southern Arkansas University.
