The Biggest Lake In Texas Is Beautiful And Holds Many Sunken Secrets

Texas is a massive state that is an outdoors enthusiast's dream. We've got it all, from beaches to deserts. When it comes to lakes, Texas has an insane number to choose from. Every time you turn around, it seems like you're within driving distance of a lake. In a state where everything is already bigger, the biggest lake is truly massive. It also has quite the "sunken history".

Toledo Bend Reservoir; The Biggest Lake In The Lone Star State

Toledo Bend Reservoir is the biggest lake in Texas, which means it's gargantuan. This lake covers 182,490 acres. There are 1,200 miles of shoreline. For the outdoorsy types, it's a great spot for fishing, camping, hiking, and even exploring trails on horseback.

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The max depth of Toledo Bend Reservoir is 110 feet. It's 65 miles long and 10 miles wide. It's the largest man-made body of water that is partially in both Texas and Louisiana. It's the fifth largest in the nation; exactly what you would expect of a massive lake in the state where everything is bigger.

Toledo Bend Reservoir; A Texas-Louisiana Double Team

The Toledo Bend Reservoir was a project tackled by officials in both Texas and Louisiana. It sits along the Sabine River in an area that supposedly had a real bad habit of getting flooded. All that flooding inspired the creation of an agency in Texas, and another in Louisiana. Those agencies basically talked things out and formed a compact, which led to the creation of the reservoir.

That's the extremely short version of the story.

Part of the creation of the reservoir was the destruction of some small towns in the area. These towns now sit at the bottom of the lake, giving it a sunken history that many are fighting to keep alive.

Sunken History: The Towns At The Bottom Of The Toledo Bend Reservoir

Across Texas, there are stories of reservoirs being made and towns getting swept under the waters. Toledo Bend Reservoir is no exception. Given its truly massive size, there's more than one town that met its watery end in the 1960s.

The towns at the bottom of Toledo Bend Reservoir that I've seen mentioned include:

• Pine Flat
• Barlake
• Richard Neck
• Kites Landing
• Robinson Bend
• Fairdale
• Six Mile
• Hickory Hill

Towns in both Louisiana and Texas were lost to the waters once they began to flow. Descendants of families who were displaced by the construction of the reservoir are trying to keep the memories of these communities alive. They share stories, photos, and memories of life before the waters.

It's sobering when you think about the possibility of treading water in a lake above what used to be a tight-knit community. If you make the trip out to the biggest lake in Texas, think back on the sunken history beneath the water.