Louisiana’s Neutral Strip, an area of pine forests, squats between the Calcasieu and Sabine Rivers on the border of East Texas. Originally a lawless buffer zone between Spain and the United States, its hardy residents formed tight-knit communities for protection and developed a reliance on self, kin, and neighbor. In the early 1900s, the timber boom sliced through the forests and disrupted these dense communities. Mill towns sprang up, and the promise of money lured land speculators, timber workers, unionists, and a host of other characters, such as the outlaw Leather Britches Smith. That moment continues to shape the place’s cultural consciousness, and people today fashion a lore connected to this time. In a fascinating exploration of the region, Keagan LeJeune unveils the legend of Leather Britches, paralleling the stages of the outlaw’s life to the Neutral Strip’s formation. LeJeune retells each stage of Smith’s life: his notorious past, his audacious deeds of robbery and even generosity, his rumored connection to a local union strike—the Grabow War—significant in the annals of labor history, and his eventual death. As the outlaw’s life vividly unfolds, Always for the Underdog also reveals the area’s history and cultural landscape. Often using the particulars of …

This website served as the focal point for the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command, a group of organizations that had involvement with the British Petroleum (BP) explosion and oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. The website includes news feeds and information about health concerns, volunteer opportunities, contact information, and ongoing plans for the area. Various maps of the event and other resources are also available, chronicling the problem and the steps taken by the member organizations to deal with the effects.

Book about Ernst Hermann Altgelt, the founder of Comfort, Texas. It includes information about Altgelt and his family, and information about the establishment of the city.

Report examining evacuation procedures using existing forecasting models in the gulf coast states and discusses ways to improve the use of forecasting models by government officials.

Index map for Newton County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:178,089.

Parent map for Newton County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:29,000.

Parent map for Harrison County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:18,000.

Parent map for Newton County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:29,000.

Parent map for Panola County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:22,000.

Index map for Jefferson County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:114,632.

Index map for Panola County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:90,068.

Index map for Harrison County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:92,115.

Parent map for Orange County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:10,000.

Parent map for Newton County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:29,000.

Parent map for Marion County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:17,000.

Index map for Harrison County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:92,115.

Parent map for Newton County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:29,000.

Parent map for Newton County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:29,000.

Inset map for Newton County, Texas showing detail within a census block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:2,030.

Parent map for Newton County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:29,000.

Parent map for Shelby County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:20,000.

Parent map for Marion County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:17,000.

Parent map for Newton County, Texas showing the area of one geographic block for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:29,000.

Index map for Shelby County, Texas showing the distribution of census blocks and smaller inset areas for which the U.S. Census Bureau collected data. The plotted map scale is 1:102,350.