Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Author: Lora Diane Peppers

  • Col. Clayton Hale: Commander of the Union Occupational Forces during Reconstruction

    I found the above etching several months ago online. If you have done a bit of research on Reconstruction in Ouachita Parish, you are familiar with his name. Col. Hale…

  • Dr. Leonidas Barkdull Faulk

    Leonidas Barkdull Faulk was born November 21, 1889 in Monroe. He was the son of Robert Williams and Florence Stratton Faulk. He received his undergrad degree from the University of…

  • Preservation workshop.

    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10218840569108290&id=1323351680&sfnsn=mo Would you like to know how to properly preserve your family papers and heirlooms? Click on the above link to learn about a workshop next week that will teach…

  • Guide to Materials in the Special Collections Department, Ouachita Parish Public Library

    Many people who come to the Main branch library on 18th street, do not know about one of our hidden treasures on the second floor, the India King Stubbs Special…

  • Boley Elementary School

    The news from West Monroe Saturday afternoon was devastating. Boley Elementary School was on fire. It appears the fire was started by lightning from a major spring storm that had…

  • Steamboat America docked in West Monroe

    Picture of a bygone era. The Steamboat America (piloted by Captain Cooley) docked on the West Monroe side of the Ouachita River. You can see the Ouachita Parish Courthouse in…

  • A Whirlwind Romance: The Love Story of Ada and Dwight

                “Miss Ada Marx, of East Walnut Hills, is touring through the South.”  This one-line notice in the Cincinnati Enquirer’s January 4, 1891 society column, was the innocuous start of…

  • Another Iron Coffin Body Found

                Many people in the area are familiar with the story of the “Girl in the Iron Coffin” that was dug up in Lakeshore in 1955.  She was so perfectly…

  • Solving a Mystery: The Confederate Dead of Monroe City Cemetery

                Since I first became interested in Ouachita parish history, I have heard the local story that the Confederate monument in Monroe’s Old City cemetery sits on top of the…

  • The Unsolved Murders of Crawford and Harris

                   I found this article several years back in the Ouachita Telegraph.  It appeared Saturday, September 13, 1873.  I incorporated this story into my Old City Cemetery tour.  Harris was…