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Lake LivingstonLake Livingston is a perfect place to relax, and enjoy yourself. You can fish, camp, boat, sail, or jet ski. There is abundant wildlife around the lake, so take a day and discover the local inhabitants. Located just 80 miles north of Houston and 175 miles south east of Dallas, it makes a great place for a weekend trip or year round vacation home. Lake Livingston is the 2nd largest lake located within the borders of Texas. It is 39 miles long and at it's widest point it is 7 miles. With 450 miles of shoreline, Lake Livingston is never crowded. It covers 93,000 acres and has been dubbed a "Water Wonderland". There are many beautiful homes, and campgrounds surrounding the shore's. Within the Lake Livingston area, there are 4 different counties including, Polk, Walker, San Jacinto, Trinity. Lake Livingston has several small communities located along it's shores. Making them a perfect place to live or visit. So if its a weekend cabin, or retirement hide way, that you are seeking, come and enjoy Lake Livingston. The parks on Lake Livingston offer over 5,000 campsites and 100 boat launching ramps. Lake Livingston State Park, and Trinity River Authority Parks: Wolf Creek Park, and Tigerville Park (day use only) are excellent places for camping. You will find some excellent dining and lodging facilities located around the lake in nearby communities. (The links to Lake Livingston State Park and Wolf Creek Park are provided as a courtesy. Reservations are made through the park systems and not this website.) Lake Livingston has a good climate to enjoy visiting the lake at anytime of year. During the summer it averages 92 degrees, winter averages 55 degrees, and spring and fall average 75 degrees. The lake is kept at a constant level by the Trinity River Authority. The lake has an average depth of 23 feet. Near the dam is the deepest point of the lake at 90 feet. If you travel to Lake Livingston during the spring, you will enjoy a very colorful view. Almost all of the roads coming into Lake Livingston display Texas Wild Flowers.
Historic PlaqueThanks to our website the family of Mr Dietz has been located. Due to current low water conditions, the park manager found an historic plaque that used to mark the grave of a Mr. Bruno Oscar Dietz (location of cemetery is unknown). He was born on October 24, 1874 and passed away on March 31, 1941. His family was nice enough to send us the following story: Bruno Oscar Dietz was born in Fraureuth, Germany on 24 Oct 1874. We know very little about his life in Germany except that he was a saddler by trade and that they lived in Berlin prior to their migration. We know that his parents were Ferdinand and Wilhelmine Dietz and that Wilhelmine migrated to America later. The fate of his father Ferdinand is unknown. Bruno visited Galveston Texas on October 27 1906 according to records. We know that it was rumored that there were ship building jobs and suspect there was another family member who was trying to help the family move to America. Bruno returned to Germany but later returned to Galveston on September 28, 1911. He had his wife Anna Malvenia and daughter Margarete in tow. They had two other boys born in America. Conrad Robert was born in Port Authur and and Bruno Gerhard Dietz was born in Houston. They lived in Port Authur for a few years where their oldest daughter Margarete died in 1917 of tuberculosis. She is buried in a historical cemetery in Port Authur Texas. During that time there was a land sale rush in Houston. The area now known as Magnolia Park could be purchased for as little as $5.00 down and $5.00 a month (according to a historical magazine advertisement). Bruno and his family moved to Magnolia Park and were share croppers growing strawberries. I have been told that he was one of the first successful strawberry growers in the area. I have heard stories from survivors of memories of him with white hair, blue eyes tenderly caring for his strawberries. During the depression Bruno and his family asked the land owner if they could also keep a dairy on the property and they started their own dairy. At the end of World War One Bruno was under investigation as an “Alien Enemy” of which the investigator responded, “ I enclose application of Bruno Dietz, 238-18th Street, Port Arthur, Texas, for exception from the classification of Alien Enemy…” In the application Bruno makes the following statement, “I, Bruno Dietz, want to become a citizen of the United States, because ever since I landed here, it has been my one desire to become a citizen of such a grand and glorious nation, where democracy is supreme, and everyone has a fair chance.” They must have been successful because my grandfather Conrad Dietz told me stories of how the family owned a Jenny biplane and he was a young pilot then. My father received this love for flying from my grandfather and went on to be a test pilot for the United States Air Force. Conrad also raced Indian motorcycles as a teenager on Galveston beach. He joined the Houston police department retired there and moved on to Los Fresnos, Texas before he died in 2003. My father Frederic Henri Dietz died in 1981. I am not aware of the particulars but Bruno died of a good age on 31 March 1941. I am the great grandson of Bruno Oscar Dietz, a German immigrant. My son is the last name sake of Bruno’s Dietz family line. Bruno’s descendents are spread throughout Florida, California and Texas. Robert Luther Dietz, October 1, 2011 website |
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