Receiver Bridge
Burkburnett, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A natural border of the Louisiana Territory when it was acquired by the United States in 1803. The Red River later served as a boundary between the states of Texas and Oklahoma. The exact location for the line of separation was challenged in 1920 soon after an extension of the Burkburnett oil field led to increased drilling activity in the area, including the banks and the bed of the stream. Since the Red River meandered, causing wide flood plains, the state of Oklahoma initiated a suit to determine ownership of the land. By authority of the United States Supreme Court, the disputed land was temporarily placed under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Frederick A. Delano, whose nephew Franklin Delano Roosevelt later became president of the United States, was named as the receiver in charge of the property. As part of his plan of supervision, he had a one-lane wooden bridge (2.5 miles North) built to the center of the river, providing access to the drilling sites. The boundary between the two states was set as the south bank of the Red River in 1923. It was not until four years later that a special commission completed the actual survey work. The bridge was partially destroyed later during a 1935 flood. (1981)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the Burkburnett oil boom sent drillers into the bed of the meandering Red River around 1920, it reignited an old question: exactly where did Texas end and Oklahoma begin? The U.S. Supreme Court placed the disputed land under federal control, naming Frederick A. Delano — uncle of future president Franklin Delano Roosevelt — as receiver. To reach the derricks he ordered a one-lane wooden bridge built to midstream; the boundary was fixed at the river's south bank in 1923, and a 1935 flood later wrecked the span.
Why it matters
The bridge marks the moment an oil rush forced two states and the nation's highest court to settle a shifting river border, a peculiarly American collision of resources, law, and geography.
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Related people
- · Frederick A. Delano
- · Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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