1954 Map of Salter Creek

About this map

The Sabine River meanders through this borderland, its course defining the boundary between Texas and Louisiana during a period of significant environmental transition. This 1954 survey, updated with 1969 photorevisions, captures the landscape just as the Toledo Bend Reservoir project began to alter the river valley. The eastern Louisiana side is dominated by the La Nana Grant and the settlement of Shinetown, while the Sabine National Forest covers much of the western Texas bank. Local history is deeply rooted in the small communities and rural religious sites like Pendleton Church, Beulah Church, and Harpers Chapel. Notable geographical features such as Goodlow Bluff and the sharp turn at Edison Camp Bend document the river's original character before inundation, while Negreet Bayou and Palo Gaucho Bayou feed into the main channel through dense bottomlands.