History of Kickapoo Creek and Water
Falls.
The Creek
Kickapoo Creek in its upper reaches, rises west of Lipan in
extreme southeast Palo Pinto County and flows northeast for
twenty-three miles, through northwest Hood and southwest Parker
counties, to its mouth on the Brazos River, at Horseshoe Bend,
eight miles northwest of Albany Along its course, the stream forms
Kickapoo Falls and Bailey's Lake. It flows through flat terrain,
with local shallow depressions, surfaced by clay and sandy loams
that support water-tolerant hardwoods, conifers, and grasses.
The Area
Early settlers of Hood County designated the
name 'Kickapoo' to a creek that meanders the landscape of the Lipan
area. Three miles northeast of Lipan a beautiful water falls runs
most of the year on Kickapoo Creek, thus the name Kickapoo Falls
was adapted.
There are verbal records that can be substantiated, dating back to
1859, that claim the early settlers named the creek and the water
falls after the Kickapoo Indians. The Kickapoo Indians were
recognized as citizens of Spain in 1765 and given land grants in
parts of Mexico that later became Texas. The Kickapoo Indians are
still in other parts of Texas.
In July of 1859, Malachi Gregory purchased the land known as
Kickapoo Falls from the State of Texas, making him the original
recorded land owner. His brother, Absalom Gregory, purchased the
adjoining property. Malachi was a mule skinner, meaning he drove a
team of mules. His primary freight was animal hides from the cattle
and buffalo trails of West Texas. It is recorded in the Hood County
archives that Malachi paid taxes on animal skins. Malachi died and
was buried along the trail somewhere near Dallas around 1890.
Today Kickapoo Falls retains a rustic beauty that has not been
disturbed by modernity. There is a current movement to make the
area a park.
A waterfall is usually a
geological formation resulting from water, often in the form of a
stream, flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms
a sudden break in elevation or
nickpoint.
Kickapoo falls was created
as the spring fed Kickapoo creek flowed over this nickpoint into
the softer sand and clay. Kickapoo Falls, while not quite as
spectacular as most falls is seasonal. This means there is not
water flowing over the falls at all times.
Some waterfalls form in mountain environments where the erosive
water force is high and stream courses may be subject to sudden and
catastrophic change. In such cases, the waterfall may not be the
end product of many years of water action over a region, but rather
the result of relatively sudden geological processes such as
landslides, faults or volcanic action.
Block: Water descends from a relatively wide stream
or river.
Cascade: Water descends a series of rock steps.
Cataract: A large, powerful waterfall.
Fan: Water spreads horizontally as it descends while remaining in
contact with bedrock.
Horsetail: Descending water maintains some contact with
bedrock.
Plunge: Water descends vertically, losing contact with the bedrock
surface.
Punchbowl: Water descends in a constricted form, then spreads out
in a wider pool.
Segmented: Distinctly separate flows of water form as it
descends.
Tiered: Water drops in a series of distinct steps or falls.
Multi-step: A series of waterfalls one after another of roughly
the same size each with its own sunken plunge
pool.
The Cache :
To claim this is an earthcache find, you must go to the posted
coordinates and;
1 Take a photo with you and your GPSR in the background. Any
previous photos will not apply.
2 Please estimate how wide the surface of the top of the fall
is.
3 Using the terms above, please describe the type of waterfall you
think this is.
4 Please send your answers via email.
Please remember that waterfalls take thousands of years to create.
Be be respectful of the area do not climb on the falls, and
practice the "leave no trace policy."