"A History of Navigation on Cypress Bayou and the Lakes" examines water transportation and the natural and socioeconomic factors that affected it in Northwest Louisiana, East Texas, and the Red River. Jacques Bagur explains how the natural logjam called The Great Raft, a unique phenomenon on the Red River, formed a continuous waterbody west of Shreveport. In the 1800s, enterprising steamboat captains traveled east on the route--known as Cypress Bayou and the Lakes--and developed a system of ports and landings. Jefferson became the most important of these, tapping market areas to the north,...
"A History of Navigation on Cypress Bayou and the Lakes" examines water transportation and the natural and socioeconomic factors that affected it in N...
Founded in 1845 as a steamboat port at the entryway to western markets from the Red River, Jefferson was a thriving center of trade until the steamboat traffic dried up in the 1870s. During its heyday, the town monopolized the shipping of cotton from all points west for 150 miles. Jefferson was the unofficial capital of East Texas, but it was also typical of boom towns in general.
For this topical examination of a frontier town, Bagur draws from many government documents, but also from newspaper ads and plats. These sources provide intimate details of the lives of the early citizens of...
Founded in 1845 as a steamboat port at the entryway to western markets from the Red River, Jefferson was a thriving center of trade until the steam...
W. W. Withenbury was a famous river boat captain during the mid-1800s. In retirement, he wrote a series of letters for the "Cincinnati Commercial," under the title "Red River Reminiscences." Jacques Bagur has selected and annotated 39 letters describing three steamboat voyages on the upper Red River from 1838 to 1842. Withenbury was a master of character and incident, and his profiles of persons, including three signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, reflect years of acquaintance. The beauty of his writing ranks this among the best of the reminiscences that were written as the...
W. W. Withenbury was a famous river boat captain during the mid-1800s. In retirement, he wrote a series of letters for the "Cincinnati Commercial," un...
