Lake Texoma
Denison, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Completed 1944, Texoma is today the second largest lake in Texas and the eleventh largest reservoir in capacity in the United States. Its main purposes are flood control, power generation, and recreation. Lake Texoma was promoted largely through the efforts of Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), noted speaker of the house who represented District 4 in Congress for 49 years. In normal operation, lake shoreline covers 550 miles, with the Red River arm (45 miles) in Texas and the Washita arm (30 miles) in Oklahoma covering 93,080 acres. The waters are impounded by Denison Dam. When Texoma was created, it caused the relocation of railroads, highways, utilities, and cemeteries. The site of Preston, historically the Red River crossing for the Butterfield Stage, was submerged, as were the sites of Hagerman and part of Cedar Mills, Texas. In 1966 numerous recreation areas on Texoma drew 8,500,000 tourists, who could also visit Eisenhower State Park at the southeast end of the lake. The park was named in honor of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the thirty-fourth president of the United States. Texoma is one of more than 200 major inland lakes and reservoirs in Texas which contribute greatly to the economic and industrial growth of the state.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Completed in 1944, Lake Texoma was formed when Denison Dam impounded the Red River, creating one of the largest reservoirs in the nation for flood control, power, and recreation. Its creation was championed by Congressman Sam Rayburn, the long-serving Speaker of the House, and it flooded historic sites including Preston, once the Red River crossing of the Butterfield Stage. Straddling Texas and Oklahoma, it drew millions of visitors and gave its name to a nearby state park honoring President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Why it matters
Texoma exemplifies the great New Deal–era public works that reshaped America's rivers for flood control, electricity, and recreation, transforming regional economies.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
The Red River has always been hard to live with. It floods, it shifts its channel, and it has marked a disputed boundary between Texas and Oklahoma. In the early twentieth century, floods along rivers like this one did serious damage to farms and towns downstream. That led the federal government toward a new idea: tame the rivers with big dams built for several purposes at once.
In the 1930s and 1940s the country built dams on an unprecedented scale. New Deal–era public works aimed to control floods, generate electricity and put people to work, while also opening up rural regions. Denison Dam, finished in 1944 while the Second World War was still being fought, belongs to that era. The result was Lake Texoma, whose name comes from the two states it straddles.
Like every large reservoir, it had costs. Railroads, highways, utility lines and even cemeteries had to be moved. Whole settlements went under the rising water, and with them places tied to the region's frontier past.
People & events
The lake owes a great deal to Sam Rayburn, who represented his North Texas district in Congress for 49 years and became one of the most powerful Speakers of the House in American history. Rayburn was known for bringing federal projects home to his largely rural district, and his backing helped turn Lake Texoma from an idea into concrete and water.
The water also covered history. The site of Preston had been the Red River crossing for the Butterfield Stage, the overland mail line that carried passengers and letters across the Southwest to California just before the Civil War. Travelers once forded or ferried across here to begin the Texas leg of a long and uncomfortable trip. That crossing now lies under the lake, along with the sites of Hagerman and part of Cedar Mills.
As the recreation areas grew, visitors arrived in huge numbers: 8.5 million in 1966 alone. A state park at the southeast end of the lake was named for Dwight D. Eisenhower, the thirty-fourth president, who was born in nearby Denison. The general who led the Allies in Europe and went on to the White House is honored beside the lake built during his war.
Its place in the American story
Lake Texoma is a strong example of how twentieth-century America rebuilt its landscape. The multipurpose dam was meant to protect farms and towns, supply electricity to the countryside, and create public recreation where none existed. It changed how millions of people lived, worked and spent their weekends.
It also shows the tradeoffs of that progress. Building the lake meant flooding towns, moving graves and erasing landmarks such as the Butterfield crossing at Preston. The same pattern played out across the country, where the benefits of great dams came at the cost of places some people had called home.
Finally, the lake reflects the political era that built it. Powerful, long-serving members of Congress like Rayburn could steer major federal investment toward their regions and permanently change the local economy. The inscription notes that Texoma is one of more than 200 major lakes and reservoirs in Texas, which together helped drive the state's twentieth-century growth.
If you visit
Try to take in the size of the place. The shoreline runs for hundreds of miles, with the Red River arm reaching into Texas and the Washita arm into Oklahoma. On a clear day the water seems to go on forever, and it is hard to believe it was river bottom and farmland within living memory.
While you are on the water or along the shore, remember what lies beneath: the old Preston crossing where Butterfield stagecoaches once rolled toward the West, and the vanished towns of Hagerman and Cedar Mills. It adds some weight to a day at the lake.
Texoma is an easy stop on a North Texas or Red River road trip. Boating, fishing and camping are the main draws. Eisenhower State Park, named for the president born in nearby Denison, makes a good base for connecting the lake to Eisenhower's own story in town.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Sam Rayburn
- · Dwight D. Eisenhower
Themes & tags
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