The Light of Saratoga is a legend located in the
Big Thicket
The Big Thicket is the name given to a somewhat imprecise region of a heavily-forested area of Southeast Texas in the United States. This area represents a portion of the mixed pine-hardwood forests of southeast US. The National Park Service esta ...
of Southeast
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. This legend of a mysterious light is also known as the Ghost Road of Saratoga, the Saratoga Light, and Bragg Light by local residents. Located on a dirt road, it is a light that may appear and disappear at random during the dark of night without explanation.
Witness observations
There are different beliefs as far as what the ghostly light could be, such as
swamp gas and similar natural occurrences. The most popular story surrounding this legend is that a railroad worker was decapitated in a railway accident, and the light is that of his lantern as his
ghost searches endlessly for his head.
Two similar phenomena are the
Paulding Light in Michigan's Upper Peninsula just north of Watersmeet and the
Maco light in south-eastern North Carolina. Coincidentally, the same story of a headless railroad conductor also is offered as the explanation for these mysterious lights.
Geography
Located in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
between Beaumont and Livingston, approximately 16 miles west of
Kountze, Texas. The dirt road runs north-south starting at the south end at a bend on Farm-to-Market Road 787 that is 1.7 miles north of the intersection of FM 787-770, near
Saratoga and ending at the north end at Farm-to-Market Road 1293 near the
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
of
Bragg Station.
The cause of the light has not been established but one common explanation is that the light is the result of car lights from a nearby highway, however the light is usually seen when facing north and the highway can only be seen while facing south.
History
In 1902,
Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway
The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway was a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. From its starting point in Galveston, Texas, the railroad eventually extended northwestwards across the state to Sweetwater and northwards via ...
hacked a survey line from Bragg to Saratoga, bought right-of-way and opened the Big Thicket forest with a railroad, and the Saratoga train began its daily trips to Beaumont, carrying people, cattle, oil and logs. When the area's oil booms and virgin pine gave out, road crews pulled up the rails in 1934, the right-of-way was purchased by the county and the tram road became a county road.
City and villages
*
Kountze, Texas
*
Bragg, Texas
Bragg is a ghost town in Hardin County, Texas, United States, in the Big Thicket forest area of the southeastern part of the state. Sometimes referred to as "Bragg Station", this small community that flourished in the early 1900s lies ten miles w ...
(
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
)
See also
*
Ghost light
Gallery
Image:Entrance of Ghost Road of Hardin County TX.JPG, Entrance of the "Ghost Road" of Hardin County TX
Image:Bragg Road Hardin County Texas.JPG, ''Bragg Road'' of Hardin County, Texas (looking south)
Image:Bragg Road Hardin County TX Looking North.JPG, ''Bragg Road'' of Hardin County, Texas (looking north)
Image:Bragg Station-old junction point GCSF Railroad.JPG, Bragg Station, Texas where GCSF railroad used to run south to Saratoga.
References
{{refend
External links
Bragg Road - The Ghost Road of Hardin County''Big Thicket Light''
- From the Handbook of Texas Online
- Historical article with photo of the light and map of the area
- From www.texasescapes.com
- From www.texasescapes.com
Atmospheric ghost lights
Weather lore
Reportedly haunted locations in Texas
American ghosts
Texas culture
UFO-related phenomena