|
Red
River
 The
Red River gets its name from it color, which comes from the fact that
it carries large quantities of red soil during flood periods.
The river is 1,290 miles long and for about half that
distance it serves as the border between Texas and Oklahoma.
It is the second longest river associated with Texas.
The
river has a high salt content.
The Red River has played a major part in the immigration of people into Texas. Although it has variable currents and quicksand, gateways into Texas were established at Colbert's Ferry and Preston in Grayson County. In 1853 the Colbert's Ferry was opened across the river in northern Grayson County. Denison became known as the "Gateway to Texas". Near Denison the river exits the eastern end of Lake Texoma, which is a reservoir formed by the Denison Dam. The danger of the 1908 flood finally led the Federal Government to construct the Denison Dam. Then that project was authorized in 1939, army engineers considered the great flood of 1908 as the archtypical emergency that must be counteracted by the dam. Lucius D. C lay, later to be distinguished as a Lieutenant general in World War II, but at that time one of the army engineers at work on the project, predicted that such a flood as that of 1908 would recur once every hundred years. Dallas Morning News 16 June 1935 Flooding and Twisters all across Texas Special to the News Denison, Tex., June 15 - Red River rose 10 feet in as many hours when a three-inch rain registered at the Red-Tex Government station Friday night, according to Bob Steele, agent. Saturday morning the river stood at fifteen feet and was expected to rise further when tributary streams became swollen. Rainfall in Denison registered 3.38". Dallas Morning News 18 Feb 1938 "Twister, Floods Take Texas Toll" ". . . the Red River was on a rampage, rising fifteen feet at Denison and was within two feet of flood stage. it is expected to be out of its banks there Friday morning, as it was rising rapidly as a result of a four-inch rain there and drainage from the Wichita Falls area where more than five inches fell and families were driven from their homes by floods Wednesday. Paris News
Friday Afternoon, April 19, 1940 Backward Glances by A.W. Neville Red River Navigation Urged Early in this Century Red River Valley People Worked to That End Denison, Texas and Durant, Oklahoma are growing because of the building of the Red River dam. Durant has had to employ 2 additional policemen, because of the dam and the oil discovery near there. Thirty-five years ago Denison was interested in Red River navigation, with other towns in the Red River valley. Some stories in the newspapers of March and April 1905, have been reprinted in the Denison Press recently and are paraphrased here: "Denison people have negotiated purchase of a steamboat at Shreveport to run on upper Red River. The boat is 22 feet wide and 115 feet long and will carry 75 passengers. The price is to be $3,000. It is the intention of the buyers to open Red River navigation to Denison by bringing up on this boat a cargo of 37 tons of merchandise for a Denison grocery house the latter part of April. April 10 - "The Red River Transportation Company has been organized. Great things are promised by this party of promoters which will push Red River navigation to the front. R.S. Legate was elected president of the company. Congressman C.R. Randell is in Washington working in the interest of Red River navigation. April 11 - "The Gainesville Signal is advocating Red River navigation for their town and say if their Congressman would manifest the same energy in that direction as is being done by C.B. Randall they would get it. The Signal says the river is just as capable of navigation to Gainesville as to Denison and it wants their people to wake up and get a boat to visit their town. When Denison navigates Red River, Waco does business with the Brazos and Dallas has a maritime fleet on the Trinity, water rates in Texas will cause a considerable reduction in freight charges. April 12 - "The whistle of the government snag boat at work on Red River can easily be heard at Garvin, 75 miles east of Durant, Indian Territory, on the Frisco and 6 miles north of the river. The boat is working its way in the direction of this city. If Denison can get water rates her future is assured. It will be better than half a dozen new railroad connections." Red River was in flood at this time and steamboats could easily have gone to Denison. Congressman Randell's farm on the river was badly washed and gullied and a number of pigs were drowned, as was a pair of mules he valued at $300. A farmer on the Pottsboro road west of Denison lost a 4 acre field of oats and his promising crops of oats and onions. He said it was the most water he had ever seen. View of Red River Looking eastward from the Dam   Red River History Red River Ferry Teacher Resources  "Red River at Lock & Dam 5" "The Red River" Waterways Elaine Nall Bay ©2013 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |