Bay History

When Lake Bridgeport was completed in 1931, the land that would one day become Runaway Bay looked very different from the community we know today. The southern shoreline was remote, rugged, and quiet. Just a stretch of ranchland broken up only by scattered fish camps and the winding dirt roads locals used to navigate the hills. For nearly three decades, access to the south side of the lake was limited. Travelers from Bridgeport or beyond had only a few choices: take long deto

When most folks think of Lake Bridgeport today, they picture fishing boats, jet skis, and peaceful evenings along the water. But during the 1940s, this same lake echoed with the rumble of aircraft engines and played a surprising role in World War II. Training for the Skies of War During World War II, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps used Lake Bridgeport as an auxiliary training area. Its wide-open waters and remote setting made it the perfect place for pilots to practice maneuv

How a River Became the Heart of Wise County Before the lake sparkled under the Texas sun, the West Fork of the Trinity River wound quietly through ranchland and cedar breaks. It was a wild stretch of country that flooded often and dried hard in drought. The story of Lake Bridgeport began with a dream to tame that unpredictable river and bring reliable water to a growing North Texas. A Vision for Water and Power In the 1920s, Dallas was booming. The city’s population had tripl

Before there was a lake - or even the town of Bridgeport - there was the bridge. In the mid-1800s, travelers heading west faced a major obstacle: crossing the West Fork of the Trinity River. Stagecoaches, wagons, and cattle drives all needed a reliable way to get across and that’s where the story of Bridgeport begins. A Mail Route and a Mission From 1858 to 1861, the famous Butterfield Overland Mail route stretched from St. Louis to San Francisco, carrying passengers, freigh

Before GPS or Google Earth, there was Col. William Hudson Hunt. A man with a compass, a keen eye, and a mission to chart the wild Texas frontier. Born in 1800 in Tennessee, Hunt arrived in North Texas by the 1840s, when the region was still untamed prairie and dense oak country. Mapping the Future As a surveyor for the Peters Colony and the Republic of Texas, Hunt played a major role in establishing early boundaries and settlements across what would become Wise County. Using