Gilmer, Upshur County
Once located at a strategic crossing of Big Cypress Creek, this pioneer ferry transported settlers moving west into Texas through populous Jefferson, on Big Cypress Bayou. Those going to the interior of Texas often came by horse or oxen, stopping for provisions at nearby town of Coffeeville. The ferry operator probably was James L. Tarver, who lived on Coffeeville Road, 1860s. Many years before, the Caddo Indians forded stream at this same point in their travels. By 1867 a bridge was built at the crossing and the ferry was no longer needed.