The Caddo Lake History Page http://www.caddolake.com/history.htmCaddo Lake has been called the most beautiful lake in America by most who have seen
it. It is also a lake of mystery and lots of history. Caddo Lake is the largest natural
lake of fresh water in the south, covering about 26,800 acres at 168.5 ft (sea level).
The acreage can fluctuate easily to over 35,000 acres at times of high water levels.
Half the lake is in Texas and half in Louisiana and within 20 miles of southwest Arkansas.
There are 4 watersheds that supply Caddo Lake with water: Little Cypress Bayou,
Big Cypress Bayou, Black Cypress Bayou, and Jeems Bayou.
There are a couple of
opinions on how the Lake was formed. The first is that the1811-1812 Madrid
earthquakes was the key to forming Caddo Lake such as it did Reelfoot Lake The
other is that the lake was formed from the Great Raft, which was a large mass of fallen
trees in the Red River. This was discovered by the Freeman-Custis Expedition, who
were exploring the Red River for the U.S. government. They reported the Great Raft
was above and below the present location of Shreveport. In1806 they reported that
the raft had completely obstructed the channel of the Red River and had caused major
flooding on all sides. This was 5 years prior to the Madrid quakes. Even with the flooding,
Caddo Lake had actually been forming for many hundreds of years prior to the quakes.
There was Fairy Lake ( today we call it Ferry Lake) and Sodo Lake (today it is called
Soda Lake) and both were below and above the town of Mooringsport. They were
both backing up with flood waters. Ferry Lake was where the present Caddo Lake is
now. Another couple of indicators is that the growth rings on the present day cypress
trees have as many as 400-600 years worth of rings on them which shows us they were
here hundreds of years before the quakes. A cypress seed will not take root on dry
ground, only in the water. Also, drillers and geologists report that no evidence of
earthquakes have shown up in their core samples that come from around and under
Caddo Lake. So as you can see the physical and documented evidence shows us that
the formation of Caddo Lake has been a long process of many events over hundreds of
years.
The Caddo Indians were the first settlers on Caddo Lake. They were a friendly and
peaceful tribe who hunted, fished, made pottery and weapons. In 1835 the land of and around
present day Caddo Lake was purchased from the Indians for $80,000 by the U.S.
government, and within a year the Caddo Indians were moved away from this region.
Caddo Lake was also a haven for outlaws of all types. A region of the lake known as
Old Monterey was the center for this type of activity. It was noted for its racetrack, rooster fights,
saloons, and brothels, and boasted that it averaged at least one violent death per a day. Travelers
were ambushed, robbed, and murdered. Jean Lafitte, the well known pirate, had close connections
in Monterey and may have visited there on several occasions. With law abiding citizens becoming
more and more tired of the situation they formed a vigilante group and called themselves the
Regulators. As time would have it, the Regulators became so abusive themselves that an
opposing group, the Moderators, was formed in order to maintain the Regulators. Real war broke
out between the two groups where pitched battles, armed forts, and cannon fire was common.
Paddleboat and steamboat traffic through Caddo Lake was in full swing by the1830's - 1840's
and was used for everything from commerce trade of iron ore, cotton, leather goods, and many
other trade items to the transportation of people. During the civil war, steamers were used to move
both military and civilian supplies to the rest of the confederacy. In 1873, after the civil war, the
remaining portion of the Great Raft of the Red River above Shreveport was removed. The water
level in Caddo Lake and the Soda lakes gradually became lower and lower. This was irreparable
damage for navigation on Caddo Lake by the end of the century. With the booming economy from
the boats now gone from the lowered waters on Caddo this gave way for a new economy boom
for Caddo Lake which was pearls. At the height of of the pearl boom, campfires could be seen
for miles around the shores of the Big Lake of Caddo. But the pearling industry had a short life
also. It ended when the first dam on Caddo Lake was built. With the higher water flooding the
mussel beds that were harvested by wading, this gave way to another destroyed way of life on
Caddo Lake.
At the turn of the century oil was discovered on and around Caddo Lake and this
is where the first over the water drilling platform was built in the U.S. Even to this day there is
still wells pumping from the black waters of Caddo Lake. Today oil, fishing, and lodging is the
life of Caddo Lake and looks to stay that way for a long time to come...
REGULATOR-MODERATOR WAR 
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jcr01 The Regulator-Moderator War was a feud in Harrison and Shelby counties in the Redlands of East Texas from 1839 to 1844. The principal leaders of the Regulators were Charles W. Jackson and Charles W. Moorman, and the principal leaders of the Moderators were Edward Merchant, John M. Bradley, and Deputy Sheriff James J. Cravens. The roots of the conflict lay in the frauds and land swindling that had been rife in the Neutral Ground, the lawless area between the American and Mexican borders. One such dispute involved Joseph Goodbread and Sheriff Alfred George, who summoned Charles W. Jackson to his assistance. Jackson, a former Mississippi riverboat captain and a fugitive from Louisiana justice, shot Goodbread at Shelbyville in 1840. Jackson then organized the Regulators to prevent "cattle rustling." In turn, the Moderators were organized by Edward Merchant to moderate the Regulators. The first major confrontation between the groups came on July 12, 1841, at Jackson's trial before Judge John M. Hansford, a friend of the Moderators and Goodbread. The Regulators intimidated the court so much that the trial could not proceed. They also exacerbated the situation by burning the homes of the McFadden family and "Tiger Jim" Strickland. The hostilities escalated; Sam Houston reportedly stated, "I think it advisable to declare Shelby County, Tenaha, and Terrapin Neck free and independent governments, and let them fight it out." Jackson and an "innocent Dutchman named Lauer" were ambushed and killed by the Moderators, and Moorman replaced Jackson as leader of the Shelby County Regulators. Moorman, who may have been wanted for forgery in Mississippi, led a party to avenge Jackson and Lauer. They surprised the assassins twenty-five miles north of Crockett. The McFaddens were tried in Shelbyville in October 1841 for the Jackson-Lauer killing, and all were hanged with the exception of the youngest brother.
The quarrel reopened with a dispute between Runnells, a Regulator, Hall, an ex-Regulator, and Stanfield, a boarder at the Runnells house. Stanfield accused Hall of hog theft and shot him dead in Shelbyville, and Hall's friends called upon the Moderators for revenge. Although Stanfield escaped from the Shelbyville jail, he was pursued by the Halls, who also ambushed Runnells. At this point Moorman's archenemy, John M. Bradley, became leader of the Moderators. Bradley and Moorman went to court, where Regulator judge John Ingram nullified charges against Moorman, and Moderator judge S. F. Lester dismissed the murder charges against Bradley and Hall. James Hall was shot and killed while he was plowing. The Moderators met at Bells Springs in the summer of 1844 and renamed themselves the Reformers. They excluded Bradley and elected James J. Cravens as their leader. They determined to occupy Shelbyville. The Regulators decided to dispose of Bradley and plotted to extend their control throughout Texas. The feuding groups signed a truce on July 24, 1844, which protected "good and unoffending citizens." Bradley, presumably beyond the pale of such protection, was "regulated permanently" at a Baptist camp meeting near San Augustine on July 28, 1844. Retaliation came in the form of the murder of Louis Watkins. The struggle was again renewed in August 1844. About 225 Moderators attacked sixty-two Regulators near Shelbyville. The Regulators were reinforced by prominent citizens from Harrison County, one of whom was killed. The Moderators then occupied a log meetinghouse four miles from Hilliard's Bridge, and Moorman and the Regulators launched a surprise attack. The skirmish was known as the Church Hill Battle to the Regulators and Helen's Defeat to the Moderators, in reference to Helen Mar Daggett Moorman's ride to spy on the enemy camp. There were few casualties, and the action was indecisive.
On August 15, 1844, President Houston ordered Travis G. Broocks and Alexander Horton to take the militia and make peace in East Texas. They arrested ten leaders from both sides and brought them to San Augustine. The Regulators stampeded, but the Moderators stood firm and arrested Broocks, who was soon released. A committee consisting of Judge William B. Ochiltree, Isaac Van Zandt, and Senator David S. Kaufman, among others, drafted an agreement disbanding both factions. The document was accepted by James Truitt and John Dial for the Moderators and Middleton T. Johnson and John McNairy for the Regulators. Truitt and Dial had just defeated their cosigners in an election for the Texas Congress. Watt Moorman was later arrested by Horton and was eventually shot by Dr. Robert Burns. Both Regulators and Moderators amicably joined Capt. L. H. Mabbitt's company to serve in the Mexican War, presumably much to the relief of Sam Houston and much to the ire of Gen. Zachary Taylor.
