Lake Bistineau
Lake Bistineau is a long, narrow waterway of 15,550 acres (62.9 km2), 1.25 miles (2.01 km) wide and 14 miles (23 km) long located in Webster, Bossier, and Bienville parishes in northwestern Louisiana. The lake is fed by Dorcheat Bayou, Clark’s Bayou, and other smaller streams. Bistineau is connected to the Red River and hence the Mississippi through Loggy Bayou. The name “Bistineau”, derived from the Caddo Indians, means “big broth”, a reference to the variety of plant life found in the water, often on the surface of the lake.
Bistineau was formed in 1800, when several thousand acres of land flooded because of a major log jam in the Red River, a hindrance later eliminated by Captain Henry Miller Shreve, for whom Shreveport is named. As the area was dredged, the lake began to drain.
During the American Civil War, King's Salt Works, located on Lake Bistineau, employed up to 1,500 men in salt-making. According to the historian John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana: "Water was taken from the brine wells and springs and boiled in huge pots and pans, and the wet salt further dried in the sun. As the war continued, the price of salt increased, and more and more people engaged in the salt industry."
Early settlers used Loggy Bayou, Lake Bistineau, and Dorcheat Bayou as a route to a new home, often having remained temporarily on the banks of the streams before planting permanent habitations. The Dorcheat was primarily populated by yeoman farmers seeking fertile soil in which to plant their crops. Few adventure seekers came into the back country. In 1935, a permanent dam built across Loggy Bayou created the modern lake. The dam has since been enlarged. The reservoir has a surface area of 26.9 square miles (70 km2), with an average depth of seven feet ranging to a maximum of twenty-five feet.
...
Wikipedia