Dear Mr. Rawles,
In answer to your query, let me share a few observations:
1. Gillespie and Kerr Counties are a paradise. The Guadalupe is a good river, and there is a lot of fertile and secluded canyon-bottom where folk can live their lives in peace. Those secluded canyons are frequently bordered by godless rocky outcrops. The other good thing about that part of the world is that the Germans that populate the area don’t tolerate lawlessness. Period. Fredericksburg in Gillespie is so German that municipal politics is still Protestant-Catholic. Kerville is little different. New Braunfels is similar, but is too close to the Interstate.
2. Other than the undesirable proximity to San Antonio, Atascosa county is a good pick. Farmland is exceptionally fertile. Most notable crop is Poteet strawberries.
3. McMullen is pretty country, but you’re a touch closer to Mexico than you might want. In the period of the Republic, the original border of Texas was the Nueces river. There was something of a no-man’s land between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. I’d be a touch sensitive about moving down there.
4. Van Zandt is a touch too close to Dallas. If I were going to East Texas, which is generally the most fertile part of the state, I’d move further south and East toward Palestine and Rusk. Note that the state prison population is concentrated in East Texas, and this may have an adverse impact on social stability. In Texas, the pre-industrial pattern of settlement was entirely water dependent. Generally speaking, I-35 represents a major (inactive) fault-line, the Balcones Fault. There is a dormant volcano in Austin, about 11 miles from I-35 (pilot knob). Each of the major towns (San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Dallas) along I-35 is located at the point of highest navigation, where planes and forests of East Texas break into rockier and more arid ground. Each was the site of Indian encampment prior to white settlement. The buffalo and the Indian followed the fault line for 5,000 years before we got here.
Generally speaking, there is a lot of incredibly fertile farmland (the blackland prairie and the piney woods in East Texas, and, in the West, the usable land is almost entirely within stream beds. The Hill Country West of I-35 from Lampasas to San Antonio has great aquifers. The land is can be really hard and arid if you are far enough west of 35 to be removed from the major centers of population, but, if you get in a good valley, it’s beautiful.
If I had to make this decision from the hip, I would recommend counties where you find a lot of German town names in central Texas. There are still people down there that speak a German accent with a trace of English. [JWR Adds: I agree. Those German immigrants had a good eye for water sources and fertile ground.]
Just so you’ll know, I abundantly resented of one of your plot choices in “Patriots”. Your decision that Texas would be one of the states pacified by the UN Goon Squad is not in touch with the mentality and level of armament of the people of Texas. To put this in perspective for you, I had lunch today with a member of the state legislature who has a ‘Secede’ bumper sticker on the back of his truck. Otherwise, I thought the book was quite compelling. Keep up the good work. Best Regards, – K.A.D.
Letter Re: Retreat Locale Recommendations in Texas
