Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Author: Lora Diane Peppers

  • The Lamy Family

    I wrote this for LA Road Trips back in 2011:             Everyone is familiar with Lamy Lane and Louisville Avenue in Monroe, but very few know anything about the family…

  • DeSiard Street circa 1910

    It seems DeSiard Street was a popular focus of many Monroe postcards. This one shows DeSiard street from the Endom bridge. To give you an idea as to where you…

  • Monroe Civic Center

    Written on the back of this rare postcard (Ouachita Parish Public Library Photo Collection, Photo No. 803): Monroe Civic Center Monroe, Louisiana Largest conference and entertainment complex in Louisiana. To…

  • Always Pay Attention to What You Are Drinking!

    I wrote this back in 2010 for Louisiana Road Trips Magazine: The place where I work is currently indexing Ouachita Parish newspapers for deaths and marriages.  Over the years, I’ve…

  • The Third Masonic Temple

    The Masons have a long history in Ouachita Parish. One of the prettiest buildings in it’s time was the Masonic Temple on the corner of 4th and DeSiard Streets. This…

  • Jackson Street Residences

    This is a copy of an old postcard from the collection of the Ouachita Parish Public Library. I don’t know exactly where on Jackson street this was. I can tell…

  • The First Mardi Gras Parade in Monroe

    Happy Mardi Gras! It is parade day in Monroe! I’ll be on one of the floats tonight, but I’ll be in disguise! If you recognize me, yell, “Throw me something!”…

  • The V. S. & T. Railroad Depot

    Monroe has had a few streets that are no longer in existence. Take for instance this view up Jefferson street around 1900. This was the first Railroad depot in Monroe,…

  • The Love Story of Roland and Inez

    I thought this would be a very appropriate story for Valentine’s Day! Back in 2008, I found a forbidden love story, involving one of the most important families in Ouachita…

  • Shootout in Downtown Monroe

    Written for a 2010 article in Louisiana Road Trips Magazine: Reading through Monroe’s history, one begins to wonder if Monroe was more like a frontier town than the thriving center…