Caddo Lake

Caddo Lake appears in Our Towns as an example of a place defined by what it has refused to become. The book quotes Texas author Joe Nick Patoski (writing in The Texas Observer in 2005): “Caddo is almost as significant for what it is not — no condos, no high-rises, no chain motels or restaurants, no resorts, no gated, planned communities, no margarita bars, no chains, no pretension, none of the trappings of modern Texas Lake Culture.” Though it sits in northeast Texas relatively close to urban centers, those who “get Caddo” treat it as a natural jewel worth protecting. Kyle’s note distills the point: Caddo Lake is “significant for what it is not” — a counter-model to development-by-default.

Context: Caddo Lake is a large bald-cypress wetland straddling the Texas–Louisiana border near Uncertain, Texas, known for its maze of bayous and its status as a protected natural area.

Where this appears

• Our Towns — cited via Joe Nick Patoski as a place whose significance lies in what it has refused to become; Kyle flags it as “significant for what it is not.”