Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Author: Lora Diane Peppers

  • Endom Bridge

    This is a great shot of the Monroe Traffic Bridge (now known as Endom Bridge) which opened April 27, 1899.  Notice the toll booth on the right!

  • Grace Episcopal Church

    This very beautiful church stood on the corner of St. John and Oak streets, right across the street from the Courthouse.  The cornerstone was laid with great pomp and ceremony…

  • Confederate Reunion in Monroe, 1913

    Very long photo, and unfortunately, I had to make it very small to get the whole thing in!  This was taken at the state confederate reunion in Monroe, September, 1913. …

  • Jackson Street at the Turn of the Century

    This is one of my favorite old photos of Monroe!  What you are looking at, is a shot down Jackson street.  On the left you can see the Jewish Temple…

  • Roof Garden at the Virginia

    Did you know the Virginia Hotel once had a rooftop garden?  The Virginia (now the Vantage State Office Building) boasted that you could dance right out of the ballroom into…

  • McLain Monument

    The McLain Monument rests in Monroe’s Old City Cemetery.  Next to the Saunders Monument, it is probably the most well known memorial in the cemetery.  The angel’s hand points up…

  • Five Things to Know to be a Good Researcher

    Many years ago, a colleague asked me, “What are some important things to know to be a good researcher?”  I sat down, thought it out, and wrote the following: Five…

  • The Life of John Ray

    The Ouachita Telegraph Saturday, August 25, 1888 Page 1, Column 1 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF OUACHITA PARISH. Sketch of the Life of Hon. John Ray.             John Ray…

  • Louisiana Freedmen’s Bureau Office Records, Monroe, LA Indentures, Mar.-Nov., 1867

    Right after the Civil War, orphaned African-Americans were “apprenticed” to local white families to learn a trade.  The Louisiana Freedmen’s Bureau took care of writing up the contracts and were…

  • The Girl in the Iron Coffin

    On February 3, 1955, an iron coffin was unearthed.  Workers were laying a water line to a construction site on Lakeshore Drive in Monroe when they dug into an underground…