Commerce, Texas - Bois d'Arc Capitol

Commerce, Texas, was recently submitted as the "bois d'arc capitol" of Texas. A bois d'arc, for the uneducated, is a horseapple. A large, hard, green thing about the size of a softball. A ripe one can render you unconcious...so never nap under a bois d'arc tree.

Our official designation of "bois d'arc capitol" was dreamed up the "publisher" of the local paper Rick Vanderpool who, over a few beers with his buddies, took out a map of Texas and determined that Commerce was at the exact center of bois d'arc country. Not the left or right but smack dab in the middle. Well, Vanderpool and his buddies started working to promote our town as the "bois d'arc capitol of Texas" and took it all the way to the Texas House of Reps. The Bois d'Arc Bash is held the last weekend in September annually and is popular among locals.

Commerce has fewer than 50 large bois d'arc trees, none on its main streets or highways. Vanderpool insists that Commerce has the 2nd largest bois d'arc tree in the state, he's named it "Max", but since no one has ever cared enough to go around measuring bois d'arcs this fact is still in question. [Cathy D. Reed, 04/24/1999]