No More Free Ferry at Mooringsport!

A letter by Charles Anderson, identified as being from Black Bayou, La. appears in The (Shreveport) Progress (newspaper) 13-Mar-1897 regarding Caddo Parish's continued spending of $600/year to provide the free ferry across Caddo Lake at Mooringsport. He opposes it, which he views as subsidizing that town and points out that the (Kansas City Southern) railroad (at the time only a couple of years old) runs close to most Ward 2 homes and it only costs a dime to ride from Ananias (now Oil City) to Mooringsport. He thinks citizens who wish to cross the lake otherwise should pay their own way. Also interesting is his observation of the decline of Mooringsport as a shipping point, as he cites more cotton is being shipped then from Vivian and Rodessa.

Ten cents in 1897 would be the equivalent of around $2.50 today. Despite Mr. Anderson's protest, the free ferry continued until it was replaced in 1914 by the Caddo Lake drawbridge; itself now replaced (though designated a historic landmark) by a modern structure.