Richard E. Jackson, born August 12, 1880, in Leary, Georgia, moved with his parents to Jasper, Texas, in 1886, where they opened a general mercantile store. As a teenager he worked in the family store and carried mail from Jasper to Woodville, and in 1896 he became the first ticket agent for the GB & KC Railroad at Silsbee Junction. By 1904 he was working as a conductor for the Santa Fe, carrying freight to sawmills and oilfields, and in 1907 he married Velma Ophelia Byrum of Gainesville and settled in Silsbee. Admiring the Big Thicket, he began leasing land there as the region faced development, timber activity, and oil explorations. His leases exceeded 18,000 acres, and he formed the Hardin County Co-operative Pasture and Game Preserve Group. In 1929 he began an effort to preserve the area and drew wide support for a park and hunting club, and in 1936 he organized the East Texas Big Thicket Association with 52 members at a meeting in the offices of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce. He hosted field studies for scientists, gave tours to public leaders, used his leases to display the Big Thicket, and delivered speeches publicizing it across the state and region. Although the Great Depression and World War II helped bring about the collapse of this early organization, Jackson continued his conservation work until his death in 1957. Many of his followers later joined in establishing the Big Thicket Association, and his early initiative and vision eventually contributed to the creation of a national preserve there in 1974. Because of his dedication, R.E. Jackson became widely recognized as the Father of the Big Thicket.