The photo archive of historic images from the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas (NFGT) has been digitized, and the images are available for download under a Creative Commons License in ScholarWorks – https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/nfgt_general/
Using modern tools, a composite image of the grounds where the current NFGT Supervisor’s Office resides was assembled, providing a view of that landscape from 1938 (below and header). By using the embedded Google Map, and clicking on show satellite imagery at the bottom left of that map, you can see just how much this site has changed through the years.
There are some important images associated with regional history that are included in the gallery. A great example of this an image of the El Camino Real that passed through the Sabine National Forest (click on the images below to learn more, including the option to download them at multiple resolutions).
El Camino Real – Sabine National Forest.
Photographer: Unknown
Another important moment in history for the NFGT was the introduction of prescribed burns. There are a few great images of prescribed fires included in the gallery; however, it appears that they may have a photograph of the first prescribed fire on the Angelina National Forest, along with some of the Civilian Conservation Corps volunteers who were learning how to conduct the burns.

Photographer: Erwin A. Heers

Photographer: Unknown
Another noteworthy image is of the first house that was built in Shelby County, Texas. There are several other images of local architecture that are included in the gallery, to include the interior of the first Protestant Church in East Texas, examples of special use cabins, and some images of the Aldridge Saw Mill ruins in 1935.

Photographer: Muir, Bluford
For the archaeologists and historians, there is even an early (ca. 1938) image of Mound C at the George C. Davis site included in the gallery, which is not restricted only to the forests, but also includes additional historic images from the surrounding area.

Photographer: Muir, Bluford
In total, there are over 1500 images included in the digital gallery. The images are organized chronologically (earliest images will be in the last pages), and those images without a date appear in the first few pages. I encourage you to browse the gallery, and share or download some of these important records of local regional heritage.
This project was funded through Participating Agreement 15-PA-11081300-32 between the Center for Regional Heritage Research at Stephen F. Austin State University, and the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. All images are available for download on ScholarWorks, and are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.