Citizens of Fairfield Lake State Park - Part 2
Sandy Bates Emmons and the rich cultural history of Fairfield Lake State Park
This is the final part in the series showcasing two folks who have been important in the fight to save Fairfield Lake State Park from a developer. Sandy Bates Emmons is probably the one who has put in the most on-the-ground effort in getting this state park onto the statewide news stage. Her work showcasing the cultural heritage of the area the state park encompasses and adjacent areas should be of interest to anyone wanting to keep Fairfield Lake State Park preserved for public use. As it was the last time, I asked the questions and the answers are from Sandy herself, lightly edited for punctuation or grammar.
Who are you and how did you come to love Fairfield Lake State Park?
I'm a proud half-Texan (my mom's roots are deep East Texas) but spent my formative years in Mexico, Venezuela, and Brazil (my dad worked internationally my entire life). I married my rancher/artist/business owner husband, Andy Don Emmons, who is from a 5th-generation Fairfield family. I lived full-time for 6 years on the ranch, during that time I became the Freestone County Historical Museum Curator and immersed myself in the very colorful and unique history of Fairfield and Freestone County.
Part of my job as curator was conducting walking tours with many visitors from Fairfield Lake State Park who made up the majority of foot traffic to the museum. We had visitors from all over the country who would spend time at Fairfield Lake State Park, enjoying the camping facilities, fishing, and many nature trails, then come into town to shop, eat, and learn about the history of the area.
I took a deep interest in the area where the park and lake are now after a group of archaeologists visited the museum multiple times in 2008 and 2009. They were working for the Center of Archaeological Studies in conjunction with TPWD conducting a cultural resources survey of Fairfield Lake State Park as a follow-up to other surveys that had been done in 1996 and 2002. At the time over 34 historic sites had been identified, and they were researching a 35th site that was identified as an "abandoned historic cemetery", and indications were that this was a freedmen descendant community cemetery, contacting slaves or immediate descendants of freed slaves.
As part of their recommendation to capture the historical significance of the find, they asked for the museum's help in finding descendants. We were able to find several, and a subcontractor for Luminant in conjunction with the National Register of Historic Places, and I think PBS, came to the museum and we conducted the oral histories that included stories of slavery, plantations, post-civil war life, bootlegging operations, nefarious land dealings, and everyday life in the area that is now occupied by the lake, the park, and the former mine.
How does visitor traffic to the state park affect your business and other businesses on the town square in Fairfield? What would change if the state park went away?
I think that almost all the businesses in Fairfield will be affected by the loss of over 80K visitors a year to the area. We have no other big tourist destination in the area that brings in that amount of out-of-town traffic. The numbers have plummeted already since no overnight camping is available. All the reservations were canceled in February for the next three months. We felt the hit immediately. My husband, Andy, and his sister, Julee Emmons, own the Armadillo Emporium which heavily catered to the camping and lake crowd. They just suffered through their first Spring Break and Easter in twelve years with sales down by 75% during those normally high-traffic times. I don't know how many places can make it long-term when possibly 50% to 75% of business may not return.
I think that an economic impact study should have been done to see the value of Fairfield Lake State Park to the local economy.
Some locals may be banking on this new, exclusive, gated community bringing in the missing dollars but from what we have seen in the slick Todd Interests brochure, his estimated 400 homes will be second homes, not used year around and his occupants will have no reason to leave because he plans to build restaurants, a general store, bars, gyms, spas, firing range, golf club, and other amenities to keep them within their gates.
Do you have a favorite part of the park you love to visit?
We own a Casita Travel Trailer and we love Texas State Parks in general. They are vital to the quality of life here in Texas for millions of Texans, not just for a select few. Over 8 million people visit Texas State Parks a year. It's proven that outdoor wonder walks, being one with nature, is vital to well-being. Texans cannot afford to lose one acre of accessible land, much less 1,460 acres of the heavily wooded park and 2,400 acres of lake. Fairfield Lake State Park provides multiple activities to all visitors including the opportunity to sleep under the stars and tree canopy, cook meals and share stories around a campfire, kayaking, fishing, hiking, bike riding, horseback trails, swimming, bird and animal watching, and learning about the history of the land and of Texas.
Fairfield Lake State Park is unique in many ways because there is a population of Texas otters who call it home, bald eagles who nest and rear their young there, pelicans who thrive during winter months there inland, horseback trails (which many parks do not have), and so many more habitats of flora and fauna for all to observe and learn about. There is also the opportunity to do a deeper dive into the history of the area and develop an interpretive trail important to Native American, African American, and the early settlements of Texas.
So to me, there is not one favorite area of the park but many.
You have done a lot of investigation into bringing to light the historic cemeteries within the park, particularly some previously unknown Freedman’s graves. What was the impetus to investigate protecting the park and surrounding land for sale from this historical and cultural angle?
As soon as I heard that the park was closing due to an impending sale to Todd Interests for private development, and negotiations had broken down between TPWD, Vistra, and Todd Interests to retain the lease or buy just the parkland, I knew I had to come forward with the information about the historical findings within the park, especially the "forgotten" burial area. Sellers should always disclose this information to the buyers due to all the legalities that exist once a cemetery has been identified on the property, especially a historically significant one like a freedmen's cemetery. In regards to Easter Miles and her headstone inside the park, there were at least 8 to 10 other possible gravesites around her that had not been properly platted with the county and Luminent (the owners of the land in 2008 - 2009 had never filed the proper paperwork after these findings). I also knew that this site was important enough to receive a Level 1 Site Designation (which is a High Management Priority) and should be avoided and protected. The site could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places and a SAL designation (state archeologists landmark designation). I seriously question why Luminent (the landowner at the time) did not do any of the steps it was required to do once a site like this had been identified.
I knew that if I could find the old burial grounds with the help of another historian who had done a lot of research and the current curator of the Freestone County Museum, we could possibly delay or possibly stop any destruction and subsequent construction within that part of the park.
I also knew that we had to make it public knowledge and alert the House committee of its existence. Andy and I jumped in the truck and drove to Austin to protest the closing of Fairfield Lake State Park and to advance the story of Easter's final resting place.
I wanted to involve an investigative reporter, and one of the best in DFW and all of Texas is Brett Shipp. I worked in media sales for many years and was laid off from NBCUniversal, KXAS 5 in DFW during Covid and I know how newsrooms work. I knew Brett would be interested in this story and would take the time necessary to bring it to light and not let go till it gets a resolution. I called him on the way to Austin and he called me back a few hours later, we have been researching and working to keep the story alive ever since.
My goal is to save the park through history and preservation, for future generations to interpret and learn of our past. There is a rich history in the area as I've stated before, it deserves to be told. TPWD can do that if they can own the park and surrounding land. A private gated community for the ultra-wealthy would not be the best use of the land, nor would they be keen to preserve it.
What other culturally significant sites or historically important areas are nearby that support protecting the state park for the public?
I know of 18 locations of high or moderate importance that were identified during these surveys (there were actually 35+ but of Level 1 and Level II significance there are 18). They are listed as follows: 19th to early 20th historic homestead, 19th-century historic structure, historic dump, prehistoric campsite, prehistoric lithic scatter and historic artifacts (paleo), early 20th-century historic special use, and historic cemetery. I don't know how many of these have been preserved, if any, but it tells us that this area was rich in many histories.
Have you been active in the community in this way before? How has it affected your outlook on how our public agencies are run and what we as citizens can do to keep their feet to the fire on important issues?
I've never been afraid to speak my mind or ruffle feathers. I've always stood up for what I believe in. It's easy to sit back, do nothing, and hope things will change, but no real progress would be made if everyone thought that way.
We have made the trek to the Capitol on several occasions for causes we believe in. We fought Gov. Rick Perry in 2011 when he wanted to suspend funding to Texas Commission on the Arts and The Texas Historical Commission.
We also went to the Capitol in 2013 to support Wendy Davis and her filibuster to deny the abortion bill passage restricting abortions in front of the Texas legislature for 13 hours.
We protested in the Women's March of 2017 when Trump took office as we knew there would be a war on women's rights, Mexican immigrants, Muslims, the disabled, and environmentalists.
When I say "we", it's because my husband, Andy Don Emmons, has always supported my efforts and been by my side protesting, creating compelling signs, and being just as active.
Why save the state park? What would you like our representatives to know?
I want our elected representatives to know that the citizens of Texas are watching and are tired of our politicians being bought by big corporations, big energy, big developers, and other special interests to the detriment of our well-being and the health of our State.
We are tired of seeing State Reps and Senators getting into politics for the wrong reasons, either for ego, status, or insider information to make themselves richer. I actually witnessed this firsthand a few weeks ago attending the sub-committee hearings.
I won't mention names, you have to go back and watch the footage, but there are elected reps who are habitually late, or not there at all, and when they are there, they pay absolutely no attention to the people testifying, and instead scroll on their phones, or get up and leave the room for several minutes at a time. If this was the corporate world they would be fired, but sadly there is no HR to complain to about their behavior. We, the voters are their "HR" and we need to vote these people out. They get voted in because of their party affiliation, not because of their accomplishments, or altruism.
Of course, there are other Reps and Senators who are there that do care, and do their jobs, but they are consistently roadblocked or sidelined by the ones who are there for their own interests.
There has to be a stand or a line drawn somewhere. I want to do my part in standing up for what's right. Even if I lose, I know that I tried my hardest to do the right thing.
In this case, the right thing is to save Fairfield Lake State Park from a developer who wants to take something that has been enjoyed by generations of Texans and out-of-state visitors and fence and gate it off for a select few. It's the ultimate showdown between the 1% and the 99%.
If there were ever a clearer case for eminent domain than this one, I would like to hear it. "Eminent Domain" is the inherent right of the government to use or take private property for public use. Compensation must be given for the land that is to be taken. This land has been "public use" for over 50 years and has had over $80 million dollars in improvements from taxpayers.
The Texas legislators need to act fast and do the right thing before the park is destroyed forever.
Thank you Sandy for bringing these issues to light and getting the public informed about what is at stake if we lose the state park from park system. We all appreciate the hard work you’ve put in to have these folks’ stories told and preserved, and not be carelessly forgotten.