Roads and Rivers

Roads and Rivers. 19th-Century Transportation and Doaksville.

"The famous old military road came in from Arkansas to Fort Towson near Doaksville, thence in a westerly direction to Armstrong Academy to Washita, Tishomingo, thence west to Fort Arbuckle." Matthew Walton James, 1937 , [In 1879] "We crossed Red River at the mouth of Kiamichi River at Captain Wright's ferry and travelled up the old military trail to Doaksville." William McClead Patterson, 1937

, Doaksville was at the center of a major crossroads in the Choctaw Nation. Military roads running north-south and east-west passed through the center of the town. The Central national Road of the Republic of Texas, created by the Texas Congress in 1844, ran from Dallas northeast through Lamar County to the Red River. There it connected with the military road that ran to Fort Towson and Doaksville and then north to Fort Gibson and beyond to Fort Smith. , The Red River connected Doaksville with New Orleans and was a major route for transportation and trade. Ferries and steamboats carrying travelers, supplies, and other goods unloaded their cargo at the public landing just a few miles to the south of Doaksville to be transported up the military road to stores, hotels, and homes. Fort Towson was considered the headwater for steamboat navigation on the Red River. , [Captions:] , A map of a contemplated road through the Choctaw Country (courtesy of the National Archives) , This early map of military roads through the Choctaw Nation shows the location of Doaksville and Fort Towson. (courtesy of the National Archives) , A map showing the route from Washington, Arkansas, to Doaksville, Choctaw Nation (courtesy of the National Archives) , Riverboats steamed up the Red River carrying cargo from New Orleans to Doaksville. , The Riverboat Heroine sank in the Red River in 1838, just before reaching the public landing serving Fort Towson and Doaksville. , The wreck of the Heroine was rediscovered in 1999 when the Red River changed course.