In 1841, when Zacharia Westfall was granted 1280 acres of land in this area, much of northeastern Texas was covered with natural prairies, but over the years most of them were plowed or destroyed. Tridens Prairie, covering 97 acres of Westfall's original grant, is an undisturbed remnant of the Blackland Prairie that is now under preservation management. It is part of a natural grassland extending from Texas through the Midwestern United States into southern Canada, and its name comes from the native perennial bunch grass Long-Spiked Tridens. More than 150 species of grasses and wildflowers have been identified there, with dominant grasses including Sporobolus silveanus, Tridens strictus, Paspalum floridanum, and Tripsacum dactyloides. One of the few remaining native grasslands in Texas and once part of a large hay-producing region, it is an important part of the state's natural history and is being preserved by the Texas Nature Conservancy and Texas Garden Clubs, Inc.