After 20 years of planning and four years of construction, Texas’ first major reservoir to be built in more than three decades glistens in the sun as a recreational beacon. 

The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD), based in Wylie, owns and operates Bois d’Arc Lake, which aprawls across 26 square miles (16,641 acres) in Fannin County east of Bonham. 

The lake was dedicated Oct. 14, 2022, and opened to public access on April 29, 2024, with the lake 100% full.

“We’ve been waiting three-and-a-half years for this,” said Nana of the Bois d’Arc General Store & Grill at Nana’s Place. Nana retired from the U.S. Post Office to open the store on East FM 1396.

“We’re getting more out-of-towners now; they’re starting to trickle in,” she said. Now Nana is planning to turn a walk-in cooler into a minnow bait house and maybe provide some indoor seating for customers of her home cooking.

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