Cruisin’ on the Caddo

Caddo Lake is a really unique and special lake in so many ways, from the unique way it was formed, to it’s bi-State ownership(TPWD{TX}, CLLD{LA}, CVND, Private Landowners, & the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service), to the fact that it is actually governed by an international treaty called the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (signed in 1971 in Iran).

Snag Boat

Going on a pontoon boat tour with a guide can be an incredible glimpse into the past and how there was a massive inland port that rivalled Galveston just before the Civil War, right here in East Texas, and that was the Port of Jefferson, Texas. The ‘Great Raft’, which was a 100 or so mile natural log jam on the Red River created enough depth along the Red, in the Caddo Lake and other tributaries that the massive 3-story high, sometimes 160-foot long, 25-35 foot wide boats carrying tons of cargo could float like a cloud along the river and through Caddo Lake without getting stuck on the muddy bottom, the water levels were close to 5-10 feet higher regularly. These behemoths floated between the Port of Jefferson in Texas to New Orleans so regularly that the population of Jefferson during this era topped out around 30,000! East Texas was the place to be in the Lone Star State, why we had our own mini-version of New Orleans with our own Port—can you imagine? There were 226 steamboats that called on the Port of Jefferson in 1872, the final year that boats were able to navigate and make the trip back and forth. By the end of 1873, everything was ruined and there was no going back.

First, let us look at a couple of things that are special about Caddo Lake, and other lakes in this region. This lake is the only lake in Texas that is au naturel, not made by man. It was said that it was a massive swampy area; then in 1811-12 there were the New Madrid Earthquakes, which caused the ground level to drop a few feet and thereby the shallow lake formed. The logjam further up the Red River deepened the river channels making it even more possible for the massive paddleboats and steamboats to travel farther upriver, making inland Ports a reality. There was about a mile long area that was dredged out and many humongous bald cypresses were cut and removed to create a shortcut to move the cargo and passengers through Caddo Lake, shaving miles from the journey. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were slated to take on this monumental task and it was initiated after the first ‘Great Raft’ was cleared in 1838, sometime in the late 1860-1870s. There are no clear records as to the men that did the grueling, and what we can only assume, had to be deadly work. This could be due to many reasons: perhaps many of the records of the time burned in the fires that consumed the courthouse, law offices, civic buildings, several of the hotels, boarding houses, general stores, saloons, warehouses, a good portion of the wharves and the steamboat-related infrastructure along the Big Cypress Bayou, all burned in 1873. This massive fire coincided with the final destruction of the ‘Great Raft,’ and the exact cause was never known. It has been said that it could have been an accidental spark or careless handling of flammable goods that caused the horrible destruction of the city. Others say it was sabotage or arson, although there has never been any proof or evidence to support this claim.

The events that seemingly overlap with taking down the Port of Jefferson are a lot to look at as simply coincidental events that happened to align in time:

• Granted, the destruction of the first ‘Great Raft’ was in 1838, then it took many years to complete the ultimate clearing of the 2nd, finally culminating in November 1873 by use of nitroglycerine and brute force.

• There are no records available to us, that we are aware of, showing when dredging began on Government Ditch, any of the particulars of the project, nor when it was fully completed. We only know that it was in progress “in the 1870s”.

• There has never been any conclusive evidence explaining the cause of the fire of 1873—a blaze so devastating it effectively erased the infrastructure and economic backbone Jefferson had built. Its destruction was so thorough and complete that even the exact date remains uncertain. All that is known is that it occurred sometime in the spring.

Jefferson, Texas, and Caddo Lake are forever intertwined—past and future, inseparable. I’m sure that in the wake of the devastation of 1873, the people of the town weren’t looking ahead. But the brick-paved streets that escaped the flames, the stately plantation-style homes that withstood both war and fire—those beautiful reminders of our past would remain, virtually untouched, waiting more than a century for us to come, enjoy, and remember.

Jefferson, Texas, Caddo Lake and all of East Texas are here for you and me to step back into a gentler pace, sip a bit o’ sweet tea and take a deep breath under the Spanish Moss like time itself forgot to hurry.

For the best tour around holler at Captain Rich, in Uncertain, Texas—he does a phenomenal job! I’ve added a few photos I captured on my phone from the tour we took with him in August 2025, on our anniversary! 💕❤️

For an idea where to stay, check out our blog on the Captain’s Castle—Argh, Matey!