Luecke Farm In Texas Has A Three-Mile-Long Tree Signature That's Visible From Space
By Katie Lawrence|Published May 07, 2020
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Katie Lawrence
Author
Katie Lawrence is a Southeast Texas native who graduated 18th in her high school class with a GPA of 4.25. She attended college in the Houston area and began writing for OnlyInYourState in 2015.
Today, Katie writes, edits, and performs several other tasks for OnlyInYourState and has never been more passionate about a job before. Outside of work, you can likely find her curled up on with a hot cup of coffee, practicing yoga, baking, or exploring the beautiful Lone Star State (in particular, the vast and mystical West Texas desert).
We all know that everything is bigger in Texas, and one small Hill Country town only further proves the sentiment. In the tiny community of Smithville, a three-mile-long stretch of farmland spelling out the land owner’s name is visible from space. NASA has even used it to assist in analyzing satellite imagery!
Smithville, a small town of fewer than 5,000 residents, is located in the Greater Austin metropolitan area just southeast of Bastrop.
A sleepy community frozen in time, Smithville has a railroad history that began in the late 1800s. Despite its small size, the town has been used to film numerous movies starring famous actors such as Sandra Bullock, Brad Pitt, Dennis Quaid, and Jack Black. The world's largest edible gingerbread man was also located here at one time before getting eclipsed by a Norwegian IKEA!
Relics dot the town, like this through truss Union-Pacific railroad bridge over Cedar Creek. So not only does Smithville have quite a claim to fame despite its small size, but the town is also a hub for history buffs. And that's not all -- in fact, there's one additional thing that makes this blip on the map more special than anywhere else on earth.
If you ever happen to fly over Smithville, don't look away from the ground under any circumstances. Impossible to miss, the word "Luecke" is spelled out using over three miles of trees.
Jimmie Luecke, a local farm owner, is behind the impressive geoglyph. It's the single-largest signature in the world, with each letter spanning thousands of feet.
Luecke was simply trying to make a name for himself, but unknowingly became part of something much bigger. NASA has actually used the signature to analyze its satellite imagery by "evaluating spatial resolution of astronaut photographs."
The glyph potentially serves an agricultural purpose, as well. Alley cropping, which is a process that uses strips of trees to divide farmland, helps protect the soil against erosion.
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