A Private Dock and Two Shaded Lots on Lake Amanda
$295,000
Lake Amanda sits in Tyler County, in the pine country of deep East Texas near Colmesneil. It's a private, man-made lake — dug in the 1950s and '60s by a man named James Haralson on his family's old homestead, and named for his daughter. The lots around it started life as fish camps, places families came to spend a weekend and catch something, and about 165 families own property around the water today. That history still sets the tone.
Here's what the photos make obvious: the dock is the heart of this property. It's a real structure, not a plank into the water — a covered seating area with lamp posts, a picnic table, room to tie up a pontoon, and a separate fishing pier alongside it. The cabin sits back under mature oaks, painted barn red, with a covered porch running its front and arched windows facing the trees. Inside, the primary bedroom has walls of windows framing the lake, and the kitchen opens straight into the living area. Outside there are multi-level decks, landscaped grounds, covered parking, and a workshop. The listing counts this as two lots, roughly 0.6 acres, two bedrooms and two baths at about 1,536 square feet.
At $295,000, this is priced as a turnkey lake place rather than a project, and the setup supports that — the dock, pier, decks, and workshop are all built and in use. Two things the listing leaves open: it gives no year built at all, and it flags its own measurements as approximate, so confirm both with the agent rather than working from the numbers as printed. Listing courtesy of Gina Fowler, Fowler Realty.
Life at the Water
Water Access & Depth
This is direct lakefront with a private boat dock and a separate fishing pier, both already built and clearly in regular use. The dock doubles as an outdoor room — covered seating, lighting, and space for a picnic table — which is a different proposition than a bare mooring. Launches on Lake Amanda are restricted to designated areas under the property owners' association rules, so confirm with the agent what launching and mooring rights come with these particular lots.
Recreation & Boating
Lake Amanda runs about 112 acres and is known locally for largemouth bass — it began as a fish camp community and still fishes that way. The important thing to understand before you buy: the association enforces no-wake boating and prohibits water skiing entirely. That's why you see a pontoon at the dock rather than a ski boat, and it shapes the whole character of the lake toward fishing, paddling, and slow evening cruises. If you're picturing towing a skier behind the house, this isn't that lake — but if you want water that stays quiet, that restriction is the reason it does.
Dock & Waterfront Features
The private dock and fishing pier are both in place and appear well maintained in the photos, with covered seating and lighting already run out to the structure. Because Lake Amanda is privately held and managed by a property owners' association rather than a state or federal agency, any dock modification or rebuild goes through the association rather than a public permitting process — get a copy of the current rules and confirm the existing structures are compliant and transferable before closing.
Flood & Insurance Considerations
This one deserves a straight answer: Lake Amanda lost its dam in the Memorial Day flood of May 2016. In response, Tyler County Commissioners formed the Lake Amanda Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 at the petition of the property owners, specifically to govern the dam and water control going forward. That history is worth understanding rather than discovering later — ask about the current condition of the dam, what the district's assessment structure looks like, and whether any future capital work is anticipated. Pull the FEMA flood zone designation for the parcel and get a real quote from a Texas-licensed agent who understands private-lake dam risk, which prices differently than ordinary lakefront.
Beyond the Property Line
Local Flavor & Small-Town Character
Colmesneil is a small Tyler County town of a few hundred people, and Woodville, the county seat about ten miles south, handles most everyday errands. The area's signature event is the Tyler County Dogwood Festival in Woodville each spring — one of the oldest festivals in Texas, running since the 1930s, with a parade, a queen's coronation, and the Western Weekend rodeo. Lake Amanda itself functions as its own small community, with an active property owners' association and a set of families who have held lots here for generations.
Outdoor Recreation & Natural Surroundings
The Big Thicket National Preserve spreads across this part of East Texas — a genuinely unusual patchwork of ecosystems protected as one of the country's first national preserves, with hiking trails through swamp, pine savanna, and hardwood forest. Martin Dies Jr. State Park, on B.A. Steinhagen Lake about half an hour east, adds camping, paddling trails, and bigger open water when you want it. Closer in, the Neches River corridor offers some of the best flatwater paddling in the region, with the Angelina National Forest north of it for longer trips.
Listed on Zillow
Waterlines at Home is not a real estate agency and does not represent any property or agency. Waterlines at Home is an informational blog based on our own editorial point of view. All properties are subject to prior sale, change, or withdrawal. Waterlines at Home is not responsible for any misinformation, including but not limited to price, status, or condition. All information must be independently verified by the buyer.
Links to other websites:
Waterlines at Home includes links to third-party listing platforms. These sites have separate and independent privacy policies. Waterlines at Home does not guarantee and has no liability for their content, information, or privacy policies when accessed via links on our site.
Google Advertising provides a positive experience for users. Google AdSense Advertising is placed on our website in order to place ads regarding users’ historical visits on our and other websites. Data is collected and used for advertising purposes. Find more about Google AdSense privacy policy on the link https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/1348695?hl=en
We analyze data via Google Analytics. Cookies are used as a way of gathering information in order to create reports. It’s a matter of your own choice to accept or decline cookies when they pop up on our website. All browsers have instructions for enabling and disabling cookies. Stored personal information on the website may have correlation to the stored information in cookies. In general, cookies do not have data for user’s personal identification. Click on the link for Google Analytics’ privacy policy https://policies.google.com/privacy