For eighty years barges and steamboats traveled the river at Oakland Plantation, but after the Red River shifted course, water levels in Cane River often fell quickly and stranded boats. In the early 1900s, dams at the northern and southern ends created Cane River Lake, and boats no longer carried goods to market. Railway service reached the region with the establishment of the Natchitoches Railroad in 1887; by 1898 it was operating as the Natchitoches & Red River Valley Railway, and in 1900 it was incorporated into the Texas & Pacific Railway. Brevelle Station, built by Alphonse Prud'homme, served as a stop on the line until 1914, where freight such as cotton could be picked up for shipment. After World War I, automobiles, introduced locally as early as 1910 when Phanor Prud'homme bought his Model T Ford, became more common, and together with the completion of the Bermuda Bridge they made it easier for people to visit neighbors and family and attend social events.