Friday, March 29, 2024

Texas Parks and Wildlife celebrates 100th anniversary, Mother Neff honored as first park

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This year, as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department celebrates its 100th anniversary, much of the credit for the creation of the park system can be bestowed on former Governor Pat M. Neff and Mother Neff State Park located in southeastern Coryell County.

The lady for which the park is named was Isabella Eleanor Neff, graciously referred to as “Mother Neff,” has been granted the title of the “mother of the state park system.” It was often said that she obtained the term of endearment of being called “Mother Neff” from cattle drivers who would pass through the Neff property. IIsabella would always offer the travelers food and coffee.

Born in Virginia, by the time she was 16, Isabella Shepherd was teaching school along with her father. Her young suitor, Noah Neff, had ventured off to Texas in search of land but soon returned to Roanoke, Virginia to claim his sweetheart. He wed young Isabella in 1854 when she was 24. Just 18 days following their wedding, the newlyweds began their 1,300-mile, 49-day trip to Texas by wagon. They traveled six days each week, stopping on Sundays to observe the Sabbath, honoring their deep Christian convictions.

The young couple arrived in Belton on Jan. 2, 1855. After leaving her luxuriant lifestyle in Virginia, Isabella was not impressed with the frontier life and the new surroundings she found herself in. In a letter to a relative, she wrote about her first impressions of Texas: “I cannot say that I am much pleased with Texas, I hope to be better pleased when we have become settled at a house of our own. I think this is a very pretty country, but like all new countries, has many inconveniences – everything is scarce and high, and nothing but bread and meat to eat, and cornbread at that.”

Three months after their arrival in Belton, Noah and Isabella Neff found the property they had been searching for. The land stretched across the Coryell and McLennan County lines near the Leon River. The land was good for farming and ranching and even had a spring on the, which provided them with fresh water. They also purchased a portion of land that was heavily wooded on the banks of the Leon River. That wooded parcel would help with collection of firewood and lumber for building, also provided a nice, shaded area where the family could relax.

On April 19, 1855, Noah Neff paid $800 for what would be later known as their beloved “homeplace.” Together, Noah and Isabella constructed a small log cabin near the spring where they would raise nine children including their youngest, Pat Morris Neff — who would later become the governor of Texas.

Young Pat Neff grew up in the nearby community known as Eagle Springs, where he attended school and worshipped in the small Baptist church. The Neff family became very active in the church and in the small community that was only a few short miles from their home.

In the wooded area along the banks of the Leon River, young Pat’s chore was to care for his father’s ­­­­hogs. In this wooded area, while tending the hogs, he­­ would stand on a tree stump and give “oratories” or speeches to the hogs, which he later credited for helping him gain patience and confidence while speaking to the public.

It was in that grove of trees along the shady banks of the Leon where many members of the community would often gather for reunions, picnics, and political events with the blessings of the Neff family. At that time the area was known as the “Neff Picnic Grounds” or Neff Campgrounds.

Considering that particular area to be a vital part of the community, Isabella Neff decided to leave the six acres of her riverfront property to the state of Texas so that people could continue to enjoy the site. That was the humble beginning of what is now known as Mother Neff State Park. Following her death in the Governor’s Mansion in 1921, her body was returned to her beloved Coryell County where she was buried next to her husband, Noah, at the Post Oak Cemetery near Oglesby.

In her last will and testament, she gifted the six acres to the state to be used for “religious, educational, fraternal, and political purposes.” She also insisted that there be no fee for the use of the property and that the community should make use of the land freely.  In accordance with his mother’s will, Governor Neff deeded the six acres to the state and then named it the “Mother Neff Memorial Park.” The only restriction in the deed was the understanding that the Neff family would always have the right to claim the pecan crops from the massive pecan trees along the Leon. Governor Neff would later add a sizeable amount of land to his mother’s original donation creating a 259-acre park.

At the time of Mother Neff’s passing, there was not an official state park system in existence, but with the continued perseverance of Governor Neff, who served two terms as governor, the Legislature established the Texas State Parks Board in 1923 – now celebrating 100 years.

In an interview this year with Texas Trailblazers, Mother Neff State Park superintendent Melissa Chadwick said, “Mother Neff is sometimes called the mother of the Texas State Parks. Without Pat Neff, I don’t know if there would have been that push. He was very instrumental in getting the system starting and bring in the Civilian Conservation Corps to Texas.” From 1934 to 1938, CCC Company 817 built roads, walking trails, picnic areas, campgrounds, and an iconic stove viewing tower on the land. The CCC company has also been credited with building many of the structures that remain at the park today. Although most of the historic structures in the park are closed to the public due to the continuous flooding of the Leon River, a new visitors center is now located on higher ground and the park receives hundreds of visitors each year.

As the Texas Parks and Wildlife celebrates its 100th anniversary, Governor Neff can be thanked for his contributions to promote legislation for the creation of the system. The TPWD can also thank Neff’s mother, Isabella Eleanor Shepherd Neff, who had the foresight and the compassion for her neighbors to leave a place for them to meet and commune with nature.