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.


22,130 responses to “Hand-pulled ferries across the Sabine and Rio Grande”

  1. Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Thank you, However I am experiencing problems with your RSS. I don’t understand the reason why I can’t subscribe to it. Is there anyone else having similar RSS issues? Anybody who knows the answer can you kindly respond? Thanks!

  2. Good day! 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. Cheers!|

  3. Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to this web site before but after going through a few of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m certainly pleased I discovered it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!

  4. I like the helpful info you provide in your articles.
    I’ll bookmark your weblog and check again here frequently.
    I’m quite sure I’ll learn a lot of new stuff right here!
    Best of luck for the next!

  5. What you said made a great deal of sense. However, what about this? what if you added a little information? I am not suggesting your content isn’t solid, but suppose you added a title to possibly get folk’s attention? I mean BLOG_TITLE is kinda boring. You could glance at Yahoo’s front page and see how they create article titles to get viewers to click. You might add a video or a related picture or two to get people interested about what you’ve written. In my opinion, it could bring your blog a little livelier.|

  6. An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a co-worker who had been conducting a little research on this. And he in fact ordered me lunch due to the fact that I discovered it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this topic here on your web page.

  7. Thanks for any other informative site. Where else could I get that kind of info written in such a perfect way? I’ve a challenge that I’m just now running on, and I’ve been on the look out for such info.|

  8. I personally find that morgan here — I’ve tried checking analytics and the great support impressed me. The dashboard gives a complete view of my holdings.

  9. I would like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I am hoping to check out the same high-grade blog posts by you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own blog now 😉

  10. Can I simply just say what a comfort to find someone that truly understands what they’re discussing on the web. You definitely realize how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people need to look at this and understand this side of your story. I can’t believe you’re not more popular because you most certainly possess the gift.

  11. This is the perfect site for everyone who would like to understand this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a fresh spin on a subject that has been written about for many years. Great stuff, just wonderful.

  12. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is magnificent blog. A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.|

  13. Right here is the perfect web site for anyone who hopes to understand this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic that’s been discussed for a long time. Great stuff, just excellent.

  14. Hi, I do believe this is a great blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I may return once again since I bookmarked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide other people.

Leave a Reply to oppatoto Cancel reply

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