Green Lake (Texas)

Green Lake
Location	Calhoun County, Texas
Coordinates	28.5287°N 96.8397°W / 28.5287; -96.8397
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	10,000 acres (40 km2)

Green Lake is a natural tidal lake in Calhoun County, Texas, on the Guadalupe River flood basin, known for its greenish waters, from which its name derives. The lake is 12 miles (19 km) west of Port Lavaca and 22 miles (35 km) south of Victoria on the Gulf Coastal Plain, and although less than 3 miles (4.8 km) from the coast of San Antonio Bay, its waters are fresh. Covering an area of 10,000 acres (40 km²), it is the largest freshwater lake entirely in Texas. A wetland ecosystem supporting a wide variety of waterfowl has developed along the lake and near the Guadalupe River delta.

The lake shore was once home to an affluent 19th-century agricultural community of the same name, which dwindled in size and status during the 20th century. It was strategically important during the early stages of the American Civil War because of its proximity to fresh water and the sea. The town was virtually abandoned in the aftermath of the war, but was somewhat revitalized after oil was discovered near the lake in 1947. A fictional lake of the same name and with similar qualities is featured in the 1998 novel Holes.

History

1917 drawing from the Welder case, showing the property owners around Green Lake

Green Lake was originally a northern inlet of San Antonio Bay, but became separated about 2,200 years ago after the Guadalupe River delta discharge extended into the bay and cut off its northern reaches. Pottery and burial grounds discovered near the lake suggest that the Karankawa Indians had a presence in the area.

Wealthy cotton farmers from Kentucky established plantations and settled the fertile lands near the lake during the 1850s. Early in the American Civil War, Federal troops under Colonel Carlos Waite, who had replaced General David E. Twiggs, were stationed near the lake while they waited for ships to evacuate Texas from the coast. During their stay, Texas seceded from the Union, and called for the capture of all Federal military companies remaining in the state to be given the choice of either joining the Confederacy or being imprisoned. Some of the remaining uncaptured companies elsewhere in the state attempted to flee to Green Lake, where they could safely wait to depart near an adequate source of freshwater. Several regiments camped by the lake later in the war, and complained about mosquitos.

After the war, returning residents found that their slaves, livestock and farm equipment had been taken. Most residents moved elsewhere, however, in the early 20th century, farmers returned and the town of Green Lake began to grow, with an approximate population of 300 in 1914. From about 1900 to 1915, it was estimated that $100,000 of fish were caught in the lake. This was revealed during the proceedings of the Texas Courts of Appeals' 1917 Welder v. State case, which ultimately found that dried areas of the lake belonged to the Game, Fish and Oyster Commission, and could not be sold. Two decades later, in the midst of the Great Depression, the population of Green Lake dwindled to 25, until oil was discovered near the lake in 1947. Twenty wells were constructed at the Green Lake oilfield, although as of 1984, only one still operated. By 2000, the population was 51, the same number that was reported in 1970 and 1990.

Geography

Green Lake is about 13 miles (21 km) in circumference and about 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. It is oval-shaped from west to east with a large circular protuberance stretching to the south. The western shore is generally linear, slanted to the southeast until it reaches the West Point peninsula halfway through. Below this point forms the western shore of the circular extension. The shore circles along to the bay's southwest, and forms a point midway on the southern bank of the original oval. The southern shore continues eastward, until reaching the southeastern extreme, from here the shore circles back to the north, forming the eastern shore. When it reaches the northernmost point, the shore continues on an almost straight southwestern path, until meeting the western shore at near right angle.

The water level is shallow near the shoreline, but begins to fall to a maximum depth, a hundred feet from the shore. At this point the bottom is generally flat and averages about 4 feet (1.2 m) in depth. The nearby Guadalupe River frequently floods the plain, and is the main source of fresh water renewal. The shoreline is naturally grassy and poorly drained with coastal marshes between the lake and San Antonio Bay. To improve drainage, a levee was constructed, separating the lake from the Victoria Barge Canal built in 1967, which runs along the bay's northern and eastern shore, and cuts off several bayous from entering the lake. The canal begins north at an industrial plant outside Victoria and empties in San Antonio Bay, in Seadrift. The Hog Bayou runs along the western shore of Green Lake, through the Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area to the south, before its confluence with Mission Lake. The nearest community is the rural settlement of Green Lake, whose residents use the lake for fishing, hunting waterfowl and water sports. The town of Tivoli is 4 miles (6.4 km) to the southwest.

Flora and fauna

In the area around Green Lake there are forests of pecan, black willow, cedar, American elm, hackberry and green ash. To the south, the Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area serves as a wetland habitat for thousands of permanent egrets, and other birds, including the endangered Brown Pelican, Reddish Egret, White-faced Ibis, Wood Stork, Bald Eagle, White-tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, and the Whooping Crane. American Alligators reside in the area as well.

Redfish and trout were once the main species of fish living in the lake, until the construction of an embankment reduced their populations. A large quantity of silt is now deposited in the lake from the Guadalupe River, after the dredging of a freshwater channel that supplies farmers and the Union Carbide plant in Seadrift. The channel has negatively affected the delta ecosystem by diminishing the river's nutritional input.

In popular culture

Green Lake, Texas is the setting for Louis Sachar's 1998 novel Holes, and the 2003 film adaptation. It is described as a dry lake that had once been the largest in the state, surrounded by an affluent community. After a long drought, the lake dried up and the area became a ghost town. Juvenile delinquents were sent to Camp Green Lake to dig holes in the lakebed as punishment.

Bibliography

• Penn, Lyon William (July 2009). Reminiscences of the Civil War. BiblioBazaar, LLC. ISBN 9781113214980.
• Sachar, Louis (1998). Holes. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). ISBN 0-374-33266-5.
• Speer, Lonnie R. (November 1, 2005). Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803293427.
• "Texas Independence Trail". Texas Monthly. 19 (4). Emmis Communications. April 1991. ISSN 0148-7736.
• "Welder v. State". The Southwestern reporter. West Pub. Co. 1917.