MOSS LAKE
Mr. Hubert Moss, teacher, geologist, County School Superintendent, observed in the early 1950’s, a natural site for a dam creating a lake by closing two bluffs on fish creek.

Adopting this idea, the City of Gainesville built Moss Lake in the Fish Creek-Sivells Bend area as a city reservoir and recreational area. The dam was built, closing Fish Creek, which had opened to the Red River. Construction was begun in 1945.

Again landowners were required to sell their property as in the Camp Howze acquisition. They were: Cleo Butcher, Rufus Lynch, Haskell Burkhart, Henry D. Harrell, D.A. Thompson, Ira Ward, John Monroe, Don Monroe, M.P. Russell, H.G. Thompson, H.G. Perry, John Rivoire, Tina Hickman, and D.J. Dresser.

Highway right-of-way was also required because the Sivells Bend Road was to be inundated by the lake.

Buckner Construction Co. of Jacksonville, Texas and Hoople Jordan Construction Co. of Lufkin, Texas, were awarded the project with the bid of $670,000. Boyd Ware Ready Mix Co., a local firm, did all the concrete work for the dam and the spillway.

Moss Lake covers about 1150 acres with the waterline over 2200 acres and a shoreline of about 15 miles. The earthen dam is about 1500 feet with water depth at the dam of 70 feet and average reservoir depth of 21.6 feet.

The lake filled in 1968 and since that time many homes and weekend homes have been built. The first development for Moss Lake was the Moss Lake Estates with a total of 129 lots. Many residents commute to jobs in the county and beyond to the metroplex. The children attend Sivells Bend School.

The Moss Lake-Sivells Bend Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1978 with Robert Richey as President. The first truck was bought with help from the Forestry Service.