Whole Texas Town Moved Before It Was Flooded

Did you know a town in Texas had to be completely moved because of a giant lake? The town is called Zapata, Texas.

Back in the 1800s, Zapata was a small town near the Rio Grande River in South Texas. People lived there for generations, and it was known for ranching and its strong Mexican-American culture. Everything changed in the early 1950s when the U.S. and Mexico agreed to build a big dam called Falcon Dam. The dam would help control flooding, provide water for farming, and create electricity for both countries.

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Texas Town Zapata Was Moved to Escape Rising Lake

But here’s the problem: building that dam meant creating a huge lake behind it, which would end up flooding the original town of Zapata.

So, instead of letting the town go underwater with people still living there, the government made a decision. They bought out the land and told the people of Zapata they had to move. It was a huge deal. Families had to leave behind their homes, schools, and even graves in cemeteries. Some buildings were torn down, others were moved. The entire community had to start over a few miles away on higher ground.

By 1954, the old town was underwater, sitting beneath what is now Falcon Lake.

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Today, Zapata still exists, just in a new spot. It’s a small town with a population of around 5,000 people. It’s famous for bass fishing because Falcon Lake is a popular spot for anglers. The community still holds on to its traditions, even though the place they used to call home is now at the bottom of a lake.

Sometimes, when there’s a drought and the water level drops, people can see pieces of the old town poking out of the mud. It’s like a hidden ghost town that only shows up every once in a while.