Toledo Bend

The Sabine River's Toledo Bend has played a major role in the history of East Texas. An area initially inhabited by Indians and buffalo, it was a landmark for Spanish explorers and missionaries. The latter possibly named it for a similar bend in the River Tagus at Toledo, Spain. It might also have been named for Gen. Jose Alvarez de Toledo, who camped here after his defeat in the 1813 Battle of the Medina.

Toledo Bend was located on the western edge of the Neutral Territory, the border area disputed by the United States and Spain during the early 1800s. Situated a few miles south of El Camino Real, the King's Highway, it became a major route of trade and migration. It was also the site of steamboat landings and a crossing of the Old Beef Trail.

Anglo-Americans arrived before 1820 and the bend became known as Bevil's Crossing and later Hadden's Ferry. It developed under such leaders as W. C. Lenahan, farmer, merchant, ferry operator and postmaster. The area became a center of the southeast Texas pecan industry through the work of Mrs. W. A. Steele, who planted the first trees, and R. L. Odom, who patented several varieties of pecans. A region rich in history, Toledo Bend is now a major resort area of Texas.