Orr Branch facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Orr Branch
An undeveloped stretch of the northern tributary of Orr Branch.
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Orr Branch is a small creek about 2 miles (3.22 km) long in eastern Texas. It's part of the larger Trinity River system. This creek starts near Tibbs and West Ricks Circle streets. It flows northeast through parts of Dallas and eventually joins White Rock Creek. From there, its water flows into White Rock Lake.

The History of Orr Branch and Dallas

Ancient Times: Bison and Native American Tribes

For a very long time, even after the Ice Age, the land around Orr Branch was a prairie. This area is known as the Texas Blackland Prairie. Large herds of bison lived here. Native American tribes also lived in this region. They used the bison for food and other resources.

Before Europeans arrived, tribes like the Kitikiti'sh (Wichita), Comanche, Caddo, and Cherokee lived in North Central Texas. They were part of the natural world around Orr Branch.

Ranching and Farming in the 1800s

By the mid-1800s, cattle and other farm animals replaced the bison. The rich prairie grasses were perfect for feeding Texas Longhorn cattle. These cattle were moved north along an old path called Preston Trail. Today, this path is known as Preston Road. This route was good because it followed a natural ridge. This ridge separated the eastern and western parts of the Blackland Prairie.

Over time, too many animals grazed the land. This made the land less useful for feeding livestock. Then, new plows were invented. These plows could break through the tough "black waxy" soil of the prairie. This allowed European-style farming to begin in the area. Farmers grew lots of cotton, corn, and other crops. Some parts of the prairie that weren't plowed were used for hay. A few of these old hayfields still exist today. You can also find some old farmhouses from the late 1800s and early 1900s in Dallas.

Modern Changes: From Farms to Neighborhoods

Farming cotton and dealing with droughts were hard on the blackland soil. By the mid-1900s, many farms began to be sold. The land was then used for new developments. In 1947, a developer named Rick Strong bought land around Orr Branch. This area became a new part of Dallas called "Hillcrest Estates."

These old pastures and farms were divided into smaller lots. Many of these lots were 300 feet deep. Some even had horse corrals. The rules for the neighborhood said that homes had to be at least 2,300 square feet. People often used native plants for landscaping their new homes.

By the end of the 1900s, the land around Orr Branch changed a lot again. Land values in North Dallas went up very quickly. What used to be middle class homes were bought, torn down, and replaced with very large, fancy houses. The landscaping was completely redone, and many native plants were removed. Today, the areas along creeks like Orr Branch are some of the last places where you can still see the original Blackland Prairie environment.

The Path of Orr Branch

Water in Orr Branch flows northeast. It starts in the Hillcrest Estates/Northaven Road area. It then flows into White Rock Creek. This meeting point is just north of Forest Lane. It's also south of Bonner Park and west of North Central Expressway (US Highway 75).

Orr Branch has two smaller streams, called tributaries, to its north. The one farthest west starts about half a mile north of Forest Lane and Preston Road. Water in this tributary flows through several small ponds. It then goes under Forest Lane. Finally, it joins the main Orr Branch stream where it flows east under Hillcrest Road.

The Orr Branch Watershed Area

Orr Branch drains an area of just over 2 square miles. The western parts of this area are mostly flat. The land along the stream channel changes in height. It goes from about 600 feet above sea level at the edges to about 500 feet at White Rock Creek. The weather in this area is similar to the general climate of Dallas.

When there's a strong thunderstorm, the channels of Orr Branch fill up quickly with fast-moving water. Big floods happened in the White Rock Creek area in 1962 and 1964. During these floods, the water spread out far from White Rock Creek. However, along Orr Branch, the flooding was much more limited. This suggests that water flows very quickly through Orr Branch during floods.

Since the 1950s, the flat lands west of the stream have been covered by paved streets and homes. This means that a lot of pollution can be carried into the creek by stormwater runoff. This pollution can include things like motor oil, lawn fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste. This can harm the plants and animals living in the water.

How Orr Branch Has Been Changed

Getting enough water was a big challenge for farming in the Blackland Prairie. Small streams like Orr Branch often dried up during hot summers or long droughts. So, people built dams and stock tanks (small ponds) to hold water. Early settlers often relied on cisterns or ponds for water, which wasn't always healthy.

As roads improved and Dallas grew, homes were connected to city water and sewer systems. The Orr Branch area also became part of the city's storm water system. More bridges and underground pipes (called culverts) were built. In the Hillcrest Estates area, south of Northaven Road, there's a series of small ponds along Orr Branch. Some of these ponds came from the old stock tanks used by farms. Over time, the dams on these ponds have been made taller. Bridges and retaining walls have also been built. This was done to make the ponds deeper, control erosion, or make them look nicer.

Wildlife and Plants of Orr Branch

Discovering North Texas Plants

An English scientist named Thomas Nuttall was one of the first people to describe the plants of the North American Great Plains. In 1819, he traveled west from Arkansas. He saw parts of the Blackland Prairie in Oklahoma. He wrote about many woody and herbaceous plant species. These are still found in prairie areas today.

Rich Biodiversity of the Blackland Prairie

The prairies of North Central Texas have rich topsoils and many creeks like Orr Branch. This makes them home to over 2,000 different plant species. That's about 46% of all plant species found in Texas!

When you add in insects, birds (both those that live here and those that migrate), mammals, and other animals, the Blackland Prairie is one of the most diverse places in the central North American prairies. You can find a list of plants and animals seen around Orr Branch by looking at observations from citizen scientists. Check out the INaturalist website: Orr Branch: a tributary of White Rock Creek, Dallas, TX, US.

The Geology of the Orr Branch Area

Understanding the Land's Shape

The natural landscape around Orr Branch is mostly flat or gently rolling prairie. This flat land is broken up by stream channels that cut downwards. You can usually only see the natural rock layers in the stream beds and lower parts of the stream banks. Above these areas, the rock is covered by the special soil of the Blackland Prairie.

In 1901, a geologist named R. T. Hill wrote about the "Black Land and Grand Prairies" of North Texas. He explained that a ridge of limestone divides the largest part of these black lands from north to south. He called this ridge "White Rock" or "Austin Chalk".

The Austin Chalk Ridge

In some places, like southern Dallas County and south to Austin, this limestone forms a clear cliff, or escarpment. But in North Dallas, this feature is much less noticeable. However, it still has a west-facing fault and a gentle slope to the east. This forms a landform called a cuesta.

Hill pointed out that most major rivers in this region flow southeast towards the Gulf of Mexico. But smaller streams near the Austin Chalk escarpment often flow in a different direction. They tend to flow somewhat perpendicular to the larger rivers and parallel to the escarpment. This explains why Orr Branch flows northeast.

Rocks and Fossils in the Creek Bed

West of the escarpment, the bedrock is dark Eagle Ford shale. This rock is what created the thickest soils of the prairie. In the past, when farming was common along Preston Trail, these Eagle Ford Prairie soils were very noticeable. The eastern slope of the cuesta has shallower soil that is brighter in color. Hill called this the White Rock Prairie.

The Austin limestone found in the beds of the Orr Branch stream channels formed in the ocean. It dates back to the Cretaceous period, which was the time of the dinosaurs. While it doesn't always have fossils, you might sometimes find preserved remains of Inoceramus clams, ammonites (ancient shelled creatures), and large fish like Xiphactinus.