Dawdy's Ferry

Duane's take

Here's what the official marker has to say, and I'm gonna do it justice. Now, picture a young man out of Illinois, twenty-one years old, making his way down to Dallas County in 1847. His name was Alanson Dawdy, born 1826, and whatever he was looking for when he crossed into Texas, he found something worth staying for.

Seven years after he arrived, in 1854, the county saw fit to hand him a license. A license to run a ferry. Right here, on the Trinity River.

And not just any crossing; this was the southernmost crossing on the Trinity at the time. Think about that for a moment. Everything south of this point, you were on your own with that river.

Now, Dawdy ran that ferry for folks on both sides, and I mean that literally. Citizens living on the east bank, citizens living on the west bank, all of them depending on Alanson Dawdy and whatever vessel he was poling across those muddy Trinity waters. The ferry kept running, year after year, all the way until about 1876.

That's over two decades of crossings. And the man had his rates worked out to the penny. You showed up with a wagon and four or more animals; that'd cost you a dollar.

Reasonable, when you consider what you're getting. A man and his horse together? Ten cents.

And if you were just a person on foot, five cents got you to the other side. Simple as that. The ferry closed up around 1876, but this site wasn't done yet.

In 1888, twelve years later, the first permanent bridge was installed right here at this crossing. The same spot where Dawdy had been ferrying people across for a generation. Oh, and one more thing about Alanson Dawdy.

The ferryman, the license holder, the man who made himself indispensable to two sides of a river; he was also a veteran. Not of one war, but two. The Mexican War and the Civil War both have his name somewhere in their ledgers.

He lived until 1901. Long enough to watch that bridge stand where his ferry once floated. I'd like to think he crossed it at least once, just to see how the other half traveled.

What the marker says

Illinois native Alanson Dawdy (1826 - 1901) came to Dallas County in 1847. In 1854, he was granted a license to operate a ferry at this site on the Trinity River, the southernmost crossing at the time. An important route for citizens living on both sides of the river, the ferry continued in operation until about 1876. Ferry charges included one dollar for a wagon with four or more animals, ten cents for a man and horse, and five cents for a person on foot. The first permanent bridge was installed at this site in 1888. Dawdy was a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986