Until 1835, the Red River was jammed for nearly 165 miles of its course with driftwood, snags, and tree trunks; then Henry Miller Shreve, river captain and steamboat inventor, bulled his way through this "Great Raft" to cut a channel. He founded Shreveport, which thrived as a river town until the river silted up and steamboats could no longer navigate it. The river is in the process of being rehabilitated to allow barge traffic to travel from the Gulf to Shreveport. Oil and gas were discovered in the area in 1905. Now Shreveport is a heavily industrialized city and lumber-producing center.