The Receiver Bridge

The Red River, a natural border of the Louisiana Territory when the United States acquired it in 1803, later served as a boundary between Texas and Oklahoma. In 1920, soon after an extension of the Burkburnett oil field led to increased drilling along the banks and bed of the stream, the exact location of the line of separation was challenged. Because the river meandered and created wide flood plains, Oklahoma initiated a suit to determine ownership of the land. By authority of the United States Supreme Court, the disputed land was temporarily placed under federal jurisdiction, and Frederick A. Delano was named receiver in charge of the property. As part of his supervision plan, he had a one-lane wooden bridge, 2.5 miles north, built to the center of the river to provide access to the drilling sites. In 1923, the boundary between the two states was set as the south bank of the Red River, but a special commission did not complete the actual survey work until four years later. The bridge was partially destroyed in a 1935 flood.

Texas · United States