pre-1840

Southlake sits in a geographic region thick with blackjack and post oak trees and artesian springs. It was acknowledged by 19th century cartographers as the Cross Timbers. This 2004 photo was taken at the Bob Jones Nature Center. Courtesy Bob Koonz

In the 1830s, American writer Washington Irving visited the now-Irving area and described the Cross Timbers as "forests of cast iron."