The same shaking up of the earth that made Reel Foot lake in Tennessee
caused the sinking of the ground and formation of Caddo Lake with its
connecting chain of lakes and Cypress Bayou in Marion County. A dam of
logs, the accumulation of years, piled up in Red River, backing the
water up into the lake and bayou so as to make them navigable by the
largest steam boats.
The fine sandy land adjacent to these lakes produced excellent crops of
cotton of the finest grade, and the planters of the Old South had long
before the war thrown it into a series of plantations of 5000 acres or
more.
Caddo Lake is said to be the most mysterious body of water in Texas.
Tourists and campers always find something delightfully unique about the
lake. The lake proper is 20 miles long and 16 miles wide. More than 400
oil derricks dot the surface of the lake with a network of pipelines
underlying its surface. Mechanics and other employees go from well to
well by motor boat.
The greater part of Caddo Lake lies in Marion County Texas with the
remainder being in Harrison County, and Caddo Parish, La.
When the first white settlers came to this locality the Indians told
them that the lake was formed overnight in 1812 by some kind of volcanic
eruption. Many Indians were said to have lost their lives in the
upheaval. The lake is fed by the waters of Cypress Bayou and in former
times most of Eastern Texas transportation was carried on by way of the
Mississippi, Red, and Cypress rivers and Caddo Lake.
The Federal Government has made several cuts, or ditches as they are
known for the purpose of straightening the channel and in these cuts are
found many fish as well as some alligators. Catfish weighing more than
fifty pounds have been taken from this stream.
Many club houses have been built along the shores of the lake and its
tributaries, among them the Dallas, the Caddo, Port Caddo, Greenville,
Jefferson-Atlanta, Meyers, Terry, and many others, both private and
commercial.