RED RIVER WATERWAY

The Red River Waterway Commission (RRWC) works to foster economic growth and recreational development... The work of the Red River Waterway Commission represents the seven-parish Red River Waterway District that encompasses Caddo, Bossier, Red River, Natchitoches, Grant, Rapides, and Avoyelles Parishes. Commissioners are appointed from each of those parishes, plus four at-large commissioners also serve... Recognizing the growth potential for the river, a well-known inventor and engineer, Captain Henry Miller Shreve, offered the U.S. government a plan to clear the river in 1824. With a steam snag boat of his own design, Shreve eliminated the raft at a cost of $300,000, less than 10% of previous estimates. Thus, the Red River became navigable from its mouth north for several hundred miles. But despite the success, efforts to keep the river clear ended with the outbreak of the Civil War.

Primary location: Natchitoches United States