Water Rails & Oil - Historic Mid & South Jefferson County

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Left: The S.S. Saint Oswald being
loaded at Port Arthur docks August
13, 1899. The Saint Oswald was the
first steamer to dock in the new port
after the canal was completed from
Sabine Pass. The captain was W. P.
Curtis of South Shields, England. This
photograph was taken by Frank Trost
who became known world wide for his
photo of the Lucas Gusher at
Spindletop on January 10, 1901.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST,
PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS.
Below: Rice farming in Jefferson
County. Note the intricate levee
system used to control water levels
for various growth stages of the rice.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF THE GULF COAST,
PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS.
delayed and then halted construction of the
canal. They claimed that the canal would
cause greater silting from the Sabine and
Neches rivers, especially at their end of
Sabine Pass. So Stilwell abandoned the original
plan to dredge on the west side of Lake
Sabine and instead moved inland to land
already controlled by the Port Arthur Canal and
Dock Company.
Work on the canal began at Taylor Bayou
with the intention of constructing the canal all
the way to Sabine Pass, but another injunction
Chapter II ✦ 17