Cypress trees on Caddo Lake have been ring dated to 400 years
of age. These majestic trees are draped with Spanish Moss and when a gentle wind
gracefully bends the trees the moss flows like the hair of an angle in the breeze.
In the spring, this lovely canopy is accented below
by yellow Lotus Blooms, purple Hyacinth blooms, white Water Lilly blooms and the yellow
buds of the Spatterdock.
More than 216 species of birds, 47 mammals, 90
reptiles, and 77 species of fish make their home here.
There are also 290 plant species. Everywhere you
look, there is life. Caddo is a living lake!
The upper 1/3 of the lake is a 10,000 acre pristine
cypress swamp crisscrossed by a maze of boat roads.
The Caddo Indians that gave us our Texas name,
"tejas" or friend, made Caddo their home until 1836 when they were displaced by
aggressive settlers.
One such settler was Robert Potter, the first
Secretary of the Texas Navy. He fell in love with the lake and the natural beauty here and
immediately made it his home. Many others, even to this day, come to the lake and never
leave.
John Cruse came to Crip's Camp to deliver milk more
than twenty years ago. He quit his milk route and took a job at Crip's for a lot less
money. He's still here today.
Between 1845 and 1875 more than 200 steamboats
traveled between Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jefferson, Texas, making more than 2,500
documented trips. Their route took them through Caddo Lake where stops were made at
Mooringsport Landing, Swanson's Landing, Montery Landing, and others. Cotton and Beef were
the main exports.
Jefferson, Texas, had a population of 66,000 when
Dallas was still an Indian trading post.
Port Caddo, located on Big Cypress Bayou which is
one of the major waterways feeding Caddo Lake, was a major Port of entry into the Texas
Territory and played a significant role in the development of the West. The Spanish -
American trail came thorough the Port in the 1500s. Later the Trammel Trace and the
Harrison Trail became major routes to the Port. The Port played a major part in the Civil
War by supplying shot to the Confederacy.
Caddo was the site of the first inland over water
oil well ever drilled, "Ferry Lake No. 1." It was the site of the first
Powerboat Mail route.
It supported a pearl industry when the waters
subsided after the removal of a 150 mile long log jam on the Red River.
There have been a number of motion pictures made on
Caddo including Big Bad John; Southern Comfort; Soggy Bottom, USA; The Long Hot Summer;
The Man who Broke a Thousand Chains; and Gator Bait I and II. Disney films include The
Ghost of Cypress Swamp, The Secret of the Pond, Bayou Boy, The Boy from Dead Man's Pond,
and Weakfoot. A segment from Walker, Texas Ranger was done here as well as many other
similar shorts.
For more information on Caddo Lake call the Marion
County Chamber of Commerce in Jefferson, Texas, (903) 665-2672 or the Cypress Valley
Alliance, also in Jefferson, at (903) 665-2700 or e-mail at cva@clover.cleaf.com
To hire a fishing guide to fish Caddo Lake, contact
Paul Keith at 318-309-FISH
or e-mail Caddo
Lake Guide Service
