Historical home site threatened by lake, dam

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

March 14, 2002 -- Dickie Dalby has moved back to the family homestead -- acreage that lies at the Bowie and Red River County line. On the land, Dalby, a fifth generation Texan, is building his dream home.

On the land also stands the family's ancestral home, built in 1839, and which has been marked by the Texas Historical Commission.

The home still has some of the original logs in the wall, Dalby pointed out.

The Dalby homestead is at the heart of the planned Lake Marvin Nichols lake. The lake's dam could be located at the Dalby homestead which is about three miles from the river.

"Right now the dam should be approximately three miles from where the Sulphur River goes under Hwy 259,"agreed Mike Huddleston, president of the Sulphur River Basin Authority (SRBA), the group which oversees all construction and development in the river's basin or on the river. "The plans do not show where any homes will be destroyed at this point."

"I am very upset what is happening," Dalby said. "I plan on passing my land down to my three children; if I have any land to pass down."

Dalby is only one of many landowners upset over the proposed lake because it will wash away their family's land heritage.

Late last year, Dalby shared his feelings about the proposed lake at a regional water conference hosted by the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. The conference focused on water in the North Central and Northeast Texas areas.

"I was told by Mary Vogelson, who was a member of Region C (Dallas area) at the time, that they were told for the first five years to not worry about (water) conservation; just worry about getting water. Northeast Texas has the water, make a deal," he said about the conversation.

Plans for the proposed lake would be to supply water to the growing Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, as well as boost economy in the Northeast Texas area. Current plans are to build the lake within the next 20 years.