The preservation of our local and regional history is important for the residents of our area in order for them to have an understanding of their surroundings and to take pride in where they live and work. It can also be utilized as an economic benefit for the many tourists coming to Toledo Bend Lake.
To serve this preservation purpose, the Friends of the Toledo Bend/Zwolle Museum has been formed as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to renovate the Historic KCS Depot to house a museum in which the story can be told. See the planned exhibits.
In this year of the 50th Anniversary of Toledo Bend Lake, much history needs to be preserved before it is lost. It will include who persevered to get it built, the families that gave up their land, the history of lake development, and the story of how it became the number one fishing lake in the nation. The museum will be used to tell this story plus local and regional history, KCS’s development of the parish, and the evolution and importance of timber and logging to the region and specifically to the Zwolle area. It will cover the Sabine River being used for transportation of logs to the southern mills and markets, the period of family and company sawmills, and the current period of Boise and Weyerhaeuser and their relevance to the community. Download Overview.