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Snagboat Dallas Of Dallas Photo Framed The Port Dream
- A photograph from 1892 shows men in bowler hats on the snagboat Dallas of Dallas hauling a tree stump from a muddy river.
- Julia Barton uses this image to introduce Dallas's long campaign to make the Trinity River navigable and the dream of a Port of Dallas.
Trinity River Was Technically Navigable But Practically Impossible
- Dallas sits on the Trinity River which technically flows to the Gulf, but the river near Dallas is low, narrow, and meandering, making ocean navigation effectively 700 river miles.
- Early steamboats took nearly a year to reach Dallas, so river navigation was impractical without massive engineering like locks, dredging, and snag removal.
Kessler Plan Dug A 26 Mile Straight Channel
- Starting in 1928 Dallas dug a 26-mile straight channel with high levees to replace the meandering downtown course under the Kessler plan.
- A 1930 ceremony smashed a bottle of Gulf water on a dredge, symbolizing the city's renewed hope for a Port of Dallas.