HomeSoil seriesFreestone
Freestone soil series
Freestone soils cover 393,560 mapped acres, almost all of them in Texas. USDA rates shrink-swell a limit for houses without basements on 73% of that land, and a shallow water table a limit for basements on 97%.
It is the leading soil series by area in 11 of the counties and cities on this site.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2016-10
of its land: shrink-swell limits houses without basements
of its land: a shallow water table limits basements
median highest linear extensibility (6% and up is high)
median highest clay content in the top 150 cm
USDA's description
The Freestone series consists of very deep, moderately well drained, slowly permeable soils that formed in loamy and clayey alluvium derived from shale and siltstone of Eocene Age. These nearly level to gently sloping soils occur on stream terraces on inland dissected coastal plains. Slopes range from 0 to 5 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1092 mm (43 in) and the mean annual air temperature is about 19.4 degrees C (67 degrees F).
Vertic features, from the same description: "The presence of slickensides at 196 to 229 cm (77 to 90 in). (Bkss horizons)"
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Freestone, revised 2016-10. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 393,560 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 72.6% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 96.8% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 87.4% |
| Most common drainage class | Moderately well drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | C/D |
| Taxonomic class | Fine-loamy, siliceous, semiactive, thermic Glossaquic Paleudalfs |
| Type location | Anderson County, Texas |
Where Freestone is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Texas | 383,167 |
| Mississippi | 8,619 |
| Oklahoma | 1,774 |
Places where Freestone leads
Counties and cities where Freestone covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| Van, TX | 62% |
| Winfield, TX | 56% |
| Quitman, TX | 53% |
| Yantis, TX | 50% |
| Edgewood, TX | 47% |
| Sun Valley, TX | 45% |
| Mount Vernon, TX | 30% |
| Alba, TX | 30% |
| Sulphur Springs, TX | 25% |
| Blossom, TX | 20% |
| Winnsboro, TX | 14% |
Other places where Freestone is a main soil
Counties and cities where Freestone is among the six soil series covering the most mapped land, but not the first. Share of the place's mapped land.
Counties
- Titus County, TX 15%
- Rains County, TX 14%
- Van Zandt County, TX 13%
- Franklin County, TX 12%
- Hopkins County, TX 11%
- Wood County, TX 8%
- Lamar County, TX 7%
Texas and Ohio cities
- Eustace, TX 28%
- Reno (Lamar County), TX 22%
- Mount Pleasant, TX 22%
- Fruitvale, TX 21%
- Emory, TX 21%
- Como, TX 19%
- Tira, TX 18%
- Mineola, TX 18%
- Malakoff, TX 18%
- Payne Springs, TX 17%
- Canton, TX 16%
- Grand Saline, TX 15%
- Naples, TX 12%
- Seven Points, TX 12%
- Paris, TX 10%
- Detroit, TX 7%
- Tool, TX 6%
Sources
Shares and properties: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access, weighted by each component's share of its map units. Description: the USDA NRCS series description. How we count.