Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc. (CRNHA) will host a brown bag lunch and learn lecture entitled, “The Great Raft of Red River” Saturday, July 14 at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Grand Ecore Visitor Center.
Before its removal by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 1800s, the Great Raft of the Red River accumulated tens of millions of cubic feet of cedar, cypress and petrified wood. The logjam blocked navigation on the Red for a distance of nearly 100 miles.
The raft removal project, initiated by Captain Henry Shreve in the 1830s, opened new territory in Louisiana and East Texas for settlement and agriculture. Its engineering audacity inadvertently reshaped the geology of the Lower Mississippi River watershed.
Historian and author Robin Cole-Jett will present an in depth look at the history and impact The Great Raft had on the Red River and the City of Natchitoches.
“Having explored and studied the history of the Red River, Cole-Jett has a wealth of knowledge about the Red River and the communities that look to it for their way of life,” said CRNHA Heritage Ranger Michael Mumaugh.
The presentation will be from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to bring their own brown bag lunch. For questions, contact Michael Mumaugh at 318-356-5555.
