Press Road, Nacogdoches, Texas

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I was driving North to Nacogdoches and wanted to avoid the big traffic-jam at the South Nacogdoches Loop 224. The construction costing many millions of dollars was offset by very bad engineering that I call rickie parries folly. The sign on US Hwy 59 said County Road 525, but I knew it was Press Road. This is a dirt road with little traffic that follows the railroad to Lone Star Feed. There is mostly private property with some nice places to pull of the old road. There are some nice people there that would chat with me usually at the two railroad crossings. They told me that trains still use these old tracts, but they do not often see a train.

I passed several pipeline (ROW) right of ways I got to the first railroad crossing where Press Road follows the railroad North to Nacogdoches and Lone Star Feed. After this first RR crossing Press Road get more interesting.

I soon got to an abandoned sawmill. With everything still in place it looked like they just walked away from the sawmill. Still people still lived on that private property. I yelled out loud from their driveway to let them know that I just wanted a few photos.

There were other private RR crossings on the left (West) side. I walked over to see a nice private lake, but did not pass the RR Right of Way. I liked somebodies mailbox made from a beer keg. The keg opened in front for the mail, and the fishing pole raised as a flag to tell the US mail person that there was outgoing mail to be picked up.

Just before I crossed the RR for the second time I found the dirt road going to the Moore Cemetery. I did a side trip to see the cemetery. I quickly got to a private homestead (with a ROW to the cemetery). The whole family living there outside on both sides of my access road and none said a word to me. I just drove by slowly by them and a mile later I reached the Moore Cemetery. I walked around the Moore Cemetery and only found three Moore stone markers with lots of Faires markers. I then drove a backtrack to get to the second RR crossing on Press Road.

The second (North) railroad crossing had changed since my college days long ago. Behind me was the dirt road (County Road 525) and Northbound I started on the paved FM 2863. Long ago Press Road had no paved surfaces and followed the RR tracts ending at Lone Star Feed. The RR tracts took a short private RR easement to where it crosses under the South Street overpass then on to the current (non-functional museum) Nacogdoches RR Station on West Main Street near the downtown Nacogdoches Square.

I drove the paved FM 2863 to where it intersected (and ended) at the South Loop 224. This got interesting cuz on the West side of the Loop intersection was a very nice free private park (Larry Drewery Construction) that had very nicer landscaping. Their landscaping (especially azaleas) was very well done and part of the Nacogdoches Azaleas trail coming up soon. I walked through the park and their chief landscaper greeted me and walked with me in the park. He informed me that Drewery Construction had its address on New Press Road, and there was more of Press road that I have not found. Still, I have to do more thinking on what happened to the old Press Road.

This is a little off topic but after Hurricane Harvey Drewery Construction was a major collection point and distribution center for hurricane relief supplies. Their large dump trucks rolled day and night to get supplies to the Texas coast in high water before cars and small trucks could get through. So many individual citizens, churches, and companies took their supplies to Drewery Construction or the Nacogdoches Civic Center.

I drove to Lone Star Feeds where Press Road used to start to go South. I found railroad tracks running through the middle of this large feed plant but no press road by the tracts. At least there was train service from Lone Star Feeds (on a private railroad right of way) to the South Street overpass and a short distance to the old Nacogdoches Depot Museum. Later I went to The History Center to find some clues.

Another day I was returning northbound to Nacogdoches and drove on the South end of Press Road. After passing the South railroad crossing I found the Christian Cemetery offset on the East side of this dirt road where I have not seen it before. I got out and walked across a field to the marker stones in this cemetery. There were a bunch of stones for the Moore family. This must be why there are few Moore stones in the Moore Cemetery.

I drove northbound and found a train coming at the North railroad crossing. (The locals told me that few trains pass this way to Lone Star Feeds.) The main railroad has a different route to cross the Angelina River and on to the Nacogdoches RR Depot museum.

I drove northbound on Press Road and saw the clay road to nowhere. (Not to be driven when real wet out.) After a short drive I was by the old railroad tracks and I knew that I was on the Old Press Road. Just before I reached the SE Loop 224 the dirt road was paved, but poorly done for little traffic.

I passed several houses after Loop 224 with the railroad tracks next to Old Press Road. There was a non-functional railroad control light but with little RR traffic it did not matter. I got to the back entry to the nice Pioneer Park and parked for a while in the shade.

Then I drove a short distance where I could see Lone Star Feeds looking to the North.. The smaller structure on the left is the oldest building in the facility.

I saw the road turn left on a hill so I got out and walked about 150 KM on the tracts to get a better view. At the Lone Star Feeds property line was a fence with a walking trail up to the end of Press Road. In that photo the road turning bottom right the road turns into the start of East Seale Street.

I drove around Seale St. (and Fredonia St.) to the front of Lone Star Feeds looking South. The feed facility has expanded greatly with larger newer structures. The thin structure with a big sign on top was all there was long ago during my college years with the railroad tracts and Press Road just to the right. The large structure on the right is where Press road used to be; but was ended short for Lone Star Feeds expansion.

completed

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Photos

Press Road
private homes on Press Road

elecric ROW
(Right of Way)

natural gas pig station
(Pipeline comes out of ground so they can send football shaped "pigs" through pipeline to clean the inside.)

marked pipeline
marked by color coding so responders to incident know owner and product