Dredging of Bogue Falaya River

In 1926, citizens of Covington met with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives at the Southern Hotel asking them to do something about the Tchefuncte and Bogue Falaya Rivers to make it possible for schooners and steamers to once again navigate from the lake to the town. The rivers had gotten clogged to the point where boat service had been all but halted.

Here is a newspaper article telling of that meeting. Click on the image to make it larger. 

Dredging the Bogue Falaya River from Covington down to the Tchefuncte River was a constant concern. Area residents and business people wanted to insure passenger and cargo boats could make it all the way up to Columbia Landing, but to make that happen, dredging was necessary. The annual floods brought tons of sand (literally) down the river and deposited it along the banks, in sand bars, and generally along the bottom to make the river shallower. Many times boats would run aground and the call for dredging would again be heard.

 

 

A dredge boat working on Columbia Landing

 

 

 

In January 1922, dredging became even more  of a concern

 

 

A Farmer editorial about the issue