E. O. SIECKE STATE FOREST. E. O. Siecke State Forest is on U.S. Highway 96 and Farm Road 82, five miles southeast of Kirbyville in Newton County (at 30°38' N, 93°50' W). It is a 1,722-acre forest established by the Texas legislature in 1924 and named for E. O. Siecke, Texas state forester from 1918 to 1942. A 100-acre adjunct area, two miles to the west, is leased for research and demonstration. Timber was harvested in the area before 1924, but the oldest plantation of slash pine in Texas, planted in 1926, remains just inside the entrance to the forest. Other pine plantations were established, and roads, bridges, buildings, and other improvements were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the mid-1930s. The forest provides swimming, picnic shelters, fishing, and fireplaces year-round.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Newton County Historical Commission, Glimpses of Newton County History (Burnet, Texas: Nortex, 1982). Texas State Travel Guide (Austin: State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, 1990).
