Hand-pulled ferries across the Sabine and Rio Grande

Los Ebanos Ferry

At certain places on the Sabine River, I try to keep an eye out for evidence of the ferries that once allowed people (and wagons and livestock) to cross the river before bridges became an option.

If the water in the Sabine wasn’t so brown and murky, you could probably locate some of the old ferries decaying on the riverbed, where they sank after being abandoned in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I heard about them from my friend and collaborator Jacob Botter, whose ancestors operated a ferry at the end of what is now Waldons Ferry Road, a dirt trail in rural Harrison County. His great-great-great-great-grandpa (give or take a great or two) ran a rope from one side of the river to the other and used the rope to pull himself across whenever a paying customer wanted passage.

I’m not sure when that ferry ceased to exist, but Gaines Ferry, the last ferry on the Sabine River, operated until 1937. It transported travelers along the old Camino Real, where Texas Highway 21 meets Louisiana Highway 6. The ferry was replaced by a bridge, which was inundated by the creation of Toledo Bend Reservoir a little more than half a century ago.

I was reminded of the Sabine River ferries when my friend Sean Kimmons shared photos from his recent crossing of the Rio Grande. Sean and his parents loaded their car onto a ferry in Los Ebanos, Texas, and were pulled across the river by a team of men tugging a rope stretched from one bank to the other.

11045840_10152737844064639_8285343147670787036_n
Photo by Sean Kimmons
988896_10152737843829639_2848637590997078739_n
Photo by Sean Kimmons
1505130_10152737843979639_4919310892235105657_n
Photo by Sean Kimmons

 

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the Los Ebanos Ferry is the only remaining hand-pulled ferry on the Texas-Mexico border.

The Los Ebanos Ferry is a popular tourist attraction since it is the only remaining hand-pulled ferry on the U.S.-Mexico border. It can accommodate only three cars and 12 pedestrians at one time.

The crossing is also known locally as Los Ebanos-San Miguel Camargo, Ferry Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and Ferry Díaz Ordaz-Los Ebanos.

Although the crossing has been in operation since the 1950s, the current ferry has been operating since 1979. It was recognized with a state historical marker in 1975.

And here’s a photo of a Sabine River ferry taken in 1916.

sabtnferry

 

Here’s a random video that shows how the Los Ebanos Ferry works.


22,184 responses to “Hand-pulled ferries across the Sabine and Rio Grande”

  1. Aw, this was a really nice post. In concept I wish to put in writing like this moreover ? taking time and precise effort to make an excellent article? however what can I say? I procrastinate alot and certainly not seem to get one thing done.

  2. I have been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or
    blog posts in this sort of area . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this site.
    Reading this information So i’m glad to show that
    I have an incredibly just right uncanny feeling I discovered just what
    I needed. I so much unquestionably will make certain to don?t put out
    of your mind this web site and provides it a look
    regularly.

  3. I have figured out some new elements from your site about desktops. Another thing I have always presumed is that computer systems have become a specific thing that each household must have for many reasons. They offer convenient ways to organize homes, pay bills, go shopping, study, pay attention to music and perhaps watch tv series. An innovative solution to complete most of these tasks is to use a laptop. These pc’s are mobile, small, effective and transportable.

  4. Hi there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Many thanks!

  5. This is the proper blog for anybody who desires to seek out out about this topic. You understand a lot its almost onerous to argue with you (not that I actually would need?HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply nice!

  6. There are certainly numerous details like that to take into consideration. That is a great level to carry up. I provide the ideas above as normal inspiration but clearly there are questions just like the one you bring up where crucial factor will likely be working in sincere good faith. I don?t know if greatest practices have emerged around things like that, however I am sure that your job is clearly recognized as a fair game. Each girls and boys really feel the influence of just a second?s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

  7. Thanks for your writing. I would also love to say that your health insurance brokerage service also works best for the benefit of the particular coordinators of a group insurance policy. The health broker is given an index of benefits desired by individuals or a group coordinator. What a broker does indeed is seek out individuals and also coordinators which best match up those requirements. Then he reveals his advice and if both sides agree, the broker formulates a binding agreement between the two parties.

  8. I used to be more than happy to find this internet-site.I wanted to thanks in your time for this glorious learn!! I positively enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you weblog post.

  9. We stumbled over here by a different website and thought I should check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward to checking out your web page repeatedly.

  10. Can I simply say what a aid to find someone who actually knows what theyre speaking about on the internet. You positively know how you can bring an issue to mild and make it important. More people need to learn this and understand this facet of the story. I cant imagine youre no more in style because you undoubtedly have the gift.

  11. I do like the way you have framed this specific difficulty plus it does provide us a lot of fodder for consideration. On the other hand, through everything that I have observed, I simply just wish as other reviews pack on that people stay on point and not embark upon a tirade of some other news of the day. Still, thank you for this fantastic piece and though I can not necessarily concur with this in totality, I value the standpoint.

  12. It’s the best time to make a few plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I’ve learn this publish and if I may I wish to counsel you few attention-grabbing issues or suggestions. Perhaps you can write next articles relating to this article. I wish to read more issues about it!

  13. In the grand design of things you get a B- for hard work. Exactly where you actually lost me was first on your particulars. You know, as the maxim goes, the devil is in the details… And it couldn’t be much more true here. Having said that, allow me tell you just what exactly did do the job. Your authoring is definitely really powerful which is most likely why I am making an effort to comment. I do not really make it a regular habit of doing that. Second, despite the fact that I can notice a leaps in reasoning you come up with, I am definitely not confident of how you seem to unite the points which inturn help to make the actual conclusion. For now I will, no doubt yield to your position but hope in the near future you link your dots much better.

  14. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this superb blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this site with my Facebook group. Chat soon!

  15. Thanks for these pointers. One thing I additionally believe is credit cards giving a 0 apr often bait consumers in zero rate, instant authorization and easy on the web balance transfers, nevertheless beware of the real factor that is going to void that 0 easy neighborhood annual percentage rate and also throw you out into the terrible house quickly.

  16. Thanks for your publish. My partner and i have continually seen that most people are desperate to lose weight simply because they wish to look slim along with attractive. However, they do not generally realize that there are many benefits for losing weight as well. Doctors claim that overweight people experience a variety of ailments that can be directly attributed to their excess weight. Fortunately that people who sadly are overweight and suffering from different diseases can help to eliminate the severity of the illnesses simply by losing weight. It is easy to see a progressive but marked improvement with health if even a slight amount of weight-loss is achieved.

  17. I have observed that of all varieties of insurance, medical insurance is the most marked by controversy because of the issue between the insurance cover company’s necessity to remain profitable and the buyer’s need to have insurance policy. Insurance companies’ commission rates on wellbeing plans are certainly low, thus some providers struggle to earn profits. Thanks for the strategies you write about through this site.

  18. I was suggested this blog via my cousin. I’m now not positive whether or not this publish is written by means of him as nobody else recognize such specific approximately my difficulty. You’re incredible! Thank you!

  19. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I’d personally also like to express that video games have been at any time evolving. Technology advances and enhancements have made it simpler to create authentic and enjoyable games. These types of entertainment video games were not actually sensible when the actual concept was first of all being tried out. Just like other designs of technologies, video games also have had to evolve through many ages. This itself is testimony for the fast continuing development of video games.

  20. Wow, marvelous weblog structure! How long have you ever been blogging for? you make blogging glance easy. The full look of your website is wonderful, let alone the content material!

  21. I think other site proprietors should take this website as an model, very clean and fantastic user friendly style and design, let alone the content. You are an expert in this topic!

  22. That is the correct weblog for anyone who needs to seek out out about this topic. You realize a lot its almost exhausting to argue with you (not that I actually would need?HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply great!

  23. I believe that avoiding packaged foods will be the first step so that you can lose weight. They can taste very good, but packaged foods contain very little nutritional value, making you eat more to have enough energy to get throughout the day. If you’re constantly eating these foods, converting to grain and other complex carbohydrates will help you have more vitality while feeding on less. Good blog post.

  24. I do agree with all the concepts you have offered in your post. They’re very convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are too short for novices. May just you please lengthen them a bit from next time? Thank you for the post.

  25. Thanks for this glorious article. One more thing to mention is that a lot of digital cameras arrive equipped with a new zoom lens that allows more or less of your scene for being included by simply ‘zooming’ in and out. These kinds of changes in {focus|focusing|concentration|target|the a**** length are reflected inside the viewfinder and on large display screen on the back of the specific camera.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *