Not far from present-day Hawkins, there was a once-prominent port on the Sabine River called Belzora Landing. All that exists of it now is an historical marker on FM 14.
Belzora Landing was near the present Sabine River Bridge on FM 14 and south of a ranch owned by the late Cue Russell of Hawkins. He called his property Belzora Ranch in honor of the historic river port.
According to "Wood County 1850-1900" published by the Wood County Historical Society and Commission, "The chief difficulty in early Wood County was inadequate transportation. The first roads were little more than trails cut through the woods.
In wet weather, early settlers were more or less isolated depending on their place of residence. Streams were forded, and in some sections, sand became so deep with usage it was hardly possible to haul heavy loads except by oxen. Most of the goods were transported by ox wagons. This was called ‘wagoning' or ‘freighting' and created a need for experienced teamsters.
Jefferson was the principal market, and for a period of time, was known as the second largest ‘seaport' in Texas. It took weeks to haul cotton to Jefferson and return. Some farmers hauled their own cotton and other products while other used the regular freight wagons which traveled the old Jefferson to Quitman Road."
Belzora Landing gave a boost to southern Wood County and the area that was to become Hawkins.
"Some Wood County citizens shared the advantages of Belzora, a small shipping point on the Sabine River about three miles northeast of the present Hawkins, with Smith County farmers and sawmillers.
From the 1850s to the arrival of the railroads, Belzora was the head of navigation on the Sabine River. For several months of the year, light steamers could ascend as far as Belzora and the Galveston News of that period listed the various ports between Sabine Pass and Belzora, giving mileage, rates, etc."
The book also stated that a group of Belzora area residents built a steamboat which they hoped would solve their shipping problems. Christened the "Ben Henry," the boat set out on the long journey loaded with cootn and other produce. There is no record of it ever returning.
In dry months, the river was sometimes too shallow for navigation. Boats that came upriver in high water would sometimes be stranded for days or weeks if the water level dropped while they were at Belzora.
Mrs. Reba Reese of Hawkins remembered her grandmothers telling about "huge steamboats" that came up the river and got stranded.
Harl Reese, her son and a former Hawkins mayor, said that the river was much more navigable in those days.
"The river would get out of its banks everywhere and they would float saw logs down it. The river wasn't clogged up like it is now."
Hubert Smith, another old timer, once said, "The river was larger then, before they had all the lakes on it."
According to a brief history of Hawkins published by the Chamber of Commerce years ago, "Belzora was a river port as well as a stagecoach crossing from the 1850s until the coming of the railroad. Many immigrants to Smith County and other East Texas counties came to Wood County over this crossing. Felix Wells operated a ferry at this crossing."
Apparently there was a succession of bridges at the crossing which was south of the ford. The ford was about 200 yards above the bridges.
Mrs. Reese remembered "cracks about two inches wide" in the floor of the old Belzora Bridge.
"Horses would shy," she said, "and we'd have to lead them across. We were afraid to cross it and always walked across rather than ride."
She said that sometimes the bridge and another over the slough near the river would get underwater.
"I've seen water halfway between the river and Hawkins." When that happened, the only way to cross was by boat.
Smith remembered a steel bridge with a wooden floor. "The floor would sway when you crossed it. I was almost a teenager then. I'd lead my horses across in case it collapsed."
The bridge was so narrow it could only accommodate one direction of travel at a time. However, there wasn't much traffic at the time.
The railroad came through what was to become Hawkins around 1873. Construction had begun before then with railroad crews building road beds, clearing trees and building bridges.
One of the crew is believed to have carved his name on a tree near the right of way. When, in 1873, 250 people applied to Washington for a post office, they remembered the name on the tree and gave that designation to their community.
For a short while, Hawkins was the end of the line for the Texas and Pacific Railroad.
Mrs. Reese remembered "a story they told on my grandma. When they opened the line, a big locomotive pulled into Hawkins. After unloading, it began backing up toward Big Sandy. Before it backed up, grandma asked, ‘Just how do they think they're going to turn that thing around?'"
The coming of the railroad meant the beginning of prosperity for Wood County and Hawkins, but spelled the doom of Belzora Landing.
Jefferson was able to survive the loss of river transportation but Belzora faded into the mist of history and time.
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