Lake Tawakoni
West Tawakoni, Hunt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of the largest lakes wholly within Texas. Completed 1960, it covers 36,700 acres. Impounded by 5.5-mile-long iron bridge dam on Sabine River, it has a shore line of 200 miles. Constructed and owned by the Sabine River Authority of Texas. Financed by city of Dallas under terms of a water supply contract. Other towns also buy lake's water. Prehistoric animal bones and remains of a Tawakoni Indian village were discovered here. Lake is operated under Iron Bridge Division, S. R. A. of Texas. It embraces Wind Point Park, a public recreational resort.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Completed in 1960, Lake Tawakoni is among the largest reservoirs lying wholly within Texas, spreading across some 36,700 acres behind a 5.5-mile Iron Bridge dam on the Sabine River. Built and owned by the Sabine River Authority and financed through a water-supply contract with Dallas, it was engineered to slake the thirst of a growing region. During its creation, prehistoric animal bones and remains of a Tawakoni Indian village were unearthed, recalling the Native people whose name the lake carries.
Why it matters
The lake reflects the mid-twentieth-century push to secure water for booming Texas cities, while preserving in its name the memory of the Tawakoni who lived here long before.
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Themes & tags
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