Navigation of the Colorado River

Navigation of the Colorado River (HMJYI)

Location: Eagle Lake, TX 77434 Colorado County
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Country: United States of America
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N 29° 35.357', W 96° 22.735'

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Inscription
Because overland travel in early Texas was an enterprise often fraught with hardship, frustration, and danger, many individuals looked to rivers for a solution to the problem. From 1829 to the Civil War, optimistic Texans attempted to ply the area's long, meandering rivers, but met repeated disappointment.

The most serious drawback to navigation of the Colorado was "the raft." This was a series of timber masses - some floating, some sunken - choking off the river about 10-25 miles above its mouth. The length was variously given as 3-8 miles. In spite of this, the keelboat "David Crockett" became the first boat to navigate the river, in 1838. After that, flatboats brought cotton, hides, lumber, and pecans down as far as the raft, but there the goods had to be taken off and hauled laboriously by wagon to Matagorda.

The Republic of Texas incorporated 2 companies to clear the river and the State authorized the construction of a new channel around the raft, but the obstruction remained an impediment and hazard.

Although shallow-draft boats managed occasional trips, the more-efficient railroads eventually took away much business. After the Civil War, Texas Rivers ceased to be an important factor in transportation.
Details
HM NumberHMJYI
Tags
Year Placed1969
Placed ByTexas State Historical Survey Committee
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, September 30th, 2014 at 1:17pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)14R E 753877 N 3276144
Decimal Degrees29.58928333, -96.37891667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 29° 35.357', W 96° 22.735'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds29° 35' 21.42" N, 96° 22' 44.10" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)979
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1016 Old Altair Rd, Eagle Lake TX 77434, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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