Gaines Memorial Bridge

The crossing was a ferry long before it was a bridge. The Handbook of Texas says it was probably first called Chabanan Ferry and ran almost continuously from about 1795 until 1937. The town of Pendleton, surveyed here in 1837 and possibly named for Edmund Pendleton Gaines, served as a customs port of entry under the Republic of Texas. The ferry lost importance in the late 1800s as railroads replaced riverboats and other bridges crossed the Sabine. The Pendleton-Gaines bridge opened in 1937 and ended the ferry. State Highway 21 now crosses Toledo Bend Reservoir near the site.

What the plaque says

Gaines Memorial Bridge Named by the highway departments of Louisiana and Texas in honor of 2 brothers: JAMES GAINES, who owned and operated a ferry here 1819 to 1844 and was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and GENERAL PENDLETON GAINES, an officer in the U. S. Army, prominent in Louisiana history, and who was stationed near here in 1836 to observe the campaign in Texas. Texas Highway Department 1936

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• James Taylor Gaines — 0.4 mi
• Sabine Town Cemetery — 4.7 mi
• John C. Hale — 5.8 mi
• Milam — 5.9 mi