Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2011 after a lecture in Commerce by the late Dr. Fred Tarpley, Professor Emeritus of Literature and Languages at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Do you know what role a piece of bois d'arc wood played in the mini-series, Lonesome Dove?
It was an arrow made of bois d'arc that killed Gus McCrae in the TV mini-series made from Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Lonesome Dove.
Do you know where the two largest bois d'arc trees in Texas are located?
While Bowie County, Texas has bragging rights to the largest bois d'arc tree in the Lone Star State, Commerce, Texas can lay claim to "Max," the second largest bois d'arc tree in the Lone Star State, and Commerce has the largest collection of data about bois d'arc ever assembled, thanks to decades of research by Dr. Fred Tarpley.
This past winter, Bois d'arc aficionados came sailing into Commerce, Texas like an arrow slung from an Caddo Indian bow. At stake was an opportunity to hear Dr. Tarpley, one of the world's foremost authorities on this subject, share some of the knowledge he has garnered from a lifetime spent studying a most remarkable tree native only to this region.
For those unable to attend the lecture, Dr. Tarpley has compiled this information in his latest book, Wood Eternal: The Story of Osage Orange, Bois d'Arc, etc. To order a book, email Fred_Tarpley@cp.tamu-commerce.edu or write to Tarpley Books, 4540 FM1568, Campbell, TX 75422.
In his quest for data regarding bois d'arc, Tarpley visited 200 libraries in Texas, approximately 200 libraries throughout the remainder of the U.S., as well as libraries in Canada and Mexico.
"I filled 26 loose-leaf notebooks with information about bois d'arc," Tarpley told the audience that came to hear his lecture, "and I defy anyone to show me a larger collection of bois d'arc than I have."
And it was fitting that Tarpley gave this lecture on bois d'arc in the Gee Library on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce, because much of the information was compiled and assembled into Tarpley's latest book, Wood Eternal, during sessions at Gee Library.
This has become the modus operandi for Tarpley, the author of seven books.
"I'm indebted to librarians for every book I write," he says humbly.
Although Tarpley devoted much of his time during the past 25 years to bois d'arc, he was born to tell the story of the bois d'arc tree.
A native of Leonard, Texas, another city near the heart of the Bois d'Arc Kingdom, the unique characteristics of this wood were ingrained in Tarpley in his early years. In addition to all the practical uses of bois d'arc, as a child Tarpley and his sister would roll horse apples toward cans they had set up on their sidewalk in Leonard in what was surely the first bowling alley in Leonard, albeit of the al fresco variety.
Bois d'arc is known by dozens of names - everything from Osage orange to monkey brains - and in Tarpley's hometown, folks even had a slightly different way to pronounce bois d'arc; they called it "board arc." Boards are made from it, Tarpley's father had explained, so that pronunciation seemed appropriate until he enrolled at what was then East Texas State Teachers College in Commerce and learned that residents of Hunt County pronounced the name as "bowed arc."
This particular subject has shadowed Tarpley during his years at East Texas State Teachers College, which, of course, is now Texas A&M University-Commerce. As editor of East Texan, the college newspaper, Tarpley recalls interviewing Dr. L.D. Parsons and learning that Parsons had written his doctorial dissertation on bois d'arc apples.
Research continues today on medicinal uses for bois d'arc. Bois d'arc apples contain high levels of isoflavones, an organic compound that has potential to lower the risk for heart disease and cancer. Other studies indicate these bois d’arc isoflavones may even be capable of protecting brain cells from another naturally occurring compound connected to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Tarpley is also the founder of Commerce's popular Bois d'Arc Bash. In 1985, the city was contemplating a festival that connected to the heritage of the region. Tarpley drew up plans for the first Bois d'Arc Bash, only to find out later that Bonham, Texas was already hosting their own annual Bois d'Arc Festival. While the Bonham festival fizzled out, Commerce has enjoyed lasting success.
"Visitors come, local businesses get a boost, crafters get to display their work and bois d'arc addicts are developing," Tarpley says. "If you see someone out hugging a bois d'arc tree, you know they have truly been captivated."
After more than a dozen years of Bois d'Arc Bashes and tirelessly promoting the unique properties of bois d'arc and this tree's historical importance throughout this region, the City of Commerce was rewarded for its efforts.
In 1999, by decree of the 76th Texas Legislature, Commerce was declared the official Bois d'Arc Capitol of Texas.
"I hear from spies in Bonham that the leadership there regrets giving up the title," jokes Tarpley.
Thomas Jefferson was the first U.S. president to have first-hand knowledge of the bois d'arc tree. Meriwether Lewis sent President Jefferson bois d'arc apples before setting out on the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
Tarpley says that letters written by Benjamin Franklin and George Washington indicate they were in search of fast-growing hedge trees and one letter from Washington hints that news of bois d'arc trees may have finally reached him in his old age.
"Alas, I fear it is too late in the day for me," Washington wrote back.
Bois d'arc bows and clubs had long been a lucrative trade item among Indian tribes.
In the treeless prairies, before the advent of barbed wire, settlers only choice was to grow their own fences. Again, bois d'arc was a valuable commodity, only this time it was in the form of seeds and saplings.
In areas where mature bois d'arc trees were plentiful, they were often used as foundations for homes or even to pave streets. Bois d'arc "rounds" were shipped from Bonham to Dallas for streets and Tarpley discovered that the City of Greenville repaired the base of Washington Street and found two-inch thick bois d'arc rounds had originally been used to pave the street.
Once barbed wire became readily available in the late 1870s, bois d'arc hedges were rapidly replaced.
However, posts were needed to string the barbed wire on and the longest-lasting wood posts turned out to be bois d'arc.
"Historians say the very foundation of the City of Commerce rests on bois d'arc," states Tarpley, "because the oldest buildings in town sit on bois d'arc."
