Communities along Cypress Creek and Caddo Lake

Continued from the Spring 2011 Heritage News.

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The shores of Caddo Lake and Cypress Bayou were home to many towns dating back to the Republic of Texas period. Swanson’s Landing on Broad Lake was near the burning of the steamboak, the “Mittie Stephens,” that took around sixty lives. Port Caddo served as the port of entry for the Republic of Texas in the northeast. A short distance from Port Caddo, stood the town of Macon, referred to as the “Lost Colony” after its settlers abandoned the site to move to Port Caddo.

Uncertain Landing Uncertain’s unusual name originated in the town’s early days when steamboats transporting goods and materials across nearby Caddo Lake en route to Jefferson often found docking difficult due to fluctuating water levels in the lake. These “uncertain” depths gave the town the name Uncertain Landing, which was shortened to Uncertain. Another theory to the name’s origin came from early residents not being assured of their citizenship when the boundary between Louisiana and the Republic of Texas had not been firmly established. Uncertain Unlike most cities in Harrison County, Uncertain’s economy was not based on cotton, the railroads, lumber, or oil and gas, but on tourism due to its proximity to Caddo Lake. By 1900, camping lodges to accommodate fisherman and campers were built and the area’s natural beauty drew visitors from across the country. For a brief period in the 1920s, the lake’s mussels provided a substantial pearl harvesting business, but the tourism remained the major economic engine. A small airport was built to encourage campers and fishermen to fly into the area, and it was tourism that led to the town’s incorporation in 1961. Uncertain’s population rarely topped 200 and today, there are approximately 150 residents. Swanson’s Landing Swanson’s Landing was one of the first inland ports in Texas, and sat on the south shore of Caddo Lake in Harrison County. The landing was named after Peter Swanson, a civil engineer and surveyor, who settled on the twenty acre tract of land that adjoined the boundary between Texas and the United States.. As the starting point for the Southern Pacific Railroad, Swanson’s Landing became more accessible, and became a recreational attraction where people could swim, picnic, dance, and go boating. By 1873, with the clearing of the Great Raft and the removal of the rail line, Swanson’s Landing fell into decline.

Port Caddo When Obediah Hendrick, Jr. was granted 660 acres of land by the Republic of Texas in 1838, he established Port Caddo. The land, later part of Harrison County, sat on the southern part of Shelby County next to Taylor’s Bluff. Port Caddo was incorporated, and by 1839, wagons and boats began to arrive. As the settlers moved westward, Port Caddo began to thrive. Violent conflicts over taxes and tariffs culminated when the Congress of the Republic of Texas passed an act of establishing a collection district. Shortly before the Civil War when Big Cypress Bayou opened to Jefferson, Port Caddo began to decline. The site of Port Caddo became part of the Caddo Lake State Park in the 1930s. Karnack Karnack was established in the late 1890s and was named for the Egyptian town of Karnak, known for its collection of temples and other buildings. Its location near Caddo Lake and its waterways made the town prosper as a center for shipping cotton and later for the oil and gas industry. Karnack is best known as the hometown of Lady Bird Johnson who was born there in 1912 and whose father was a local merchant and owner of a large cotton concern. Its population peaked during World War II when the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant was located nearby.