Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Author: Lora Diane Peppers

  • Zadoc Harman

    Here is another article I wrote for Louisiana Road Trips magazine in June, 2001.  Zadoc Harmon was a fascinating Ouachita Parish character! Zadoc Harman:  Free Man of Color in Colonial…

  • The Legend of the Trent Brothers

    I wrote this article for Road Trips Magazine October, 2009.  This legend is still circulating as fact! The Legend of the Trent Brothers             The following tale of how Old…

  • Monroe Post Office Staff, 1916.

    Found in the photo collection of the Ouachita Parish Public Library.  Written on the back were the following words: In photograph, left to right, – Eddie (R.E.) Bynum George Andrew…

  • The Castle

    When I say the Castle, most people think about Layton Castle. Believe me, Monroe once had two castles.  The second rivaled Layton’s in opulence and grandeur.  The spot where it…

  • Ouachita Parish Public Library is much older than we think!

    Last week, while researching the old Monroe City High School, I stumbled across this article in the New Orleans Times-Democrat.  I knew that Louisa Lamy McGuire had donated her husband’s…

  • Ouachita Female Academy 1840 – 1900

    What you are looking at is one of the ancestors of Monroe/Ouachita Parish schools.  It was known as the Ouachita Female Academy.  It sat where Anna Grey Noe Park is,…

  • Gardenia the Library Cat

    Back in 2012, I wrote the following article about Gardenia the library cat for Louisiana Road Trips Magazine. In this day and age, when so many are allergic to cats,…

  • Forsythe Park Racetrack

    Did you know Forsythe Park once had a horse racing track?  This clear photo was found in the photo archives of Ouachita Parish Public Library.  Before this clear photo, I…

  • 300 Block of DeSiard Street, circa 1922

    This breaks my heart and fascinates me at the same time.  Using the 1924 city directory, I was able to determine that the wallpaper store on the right was located…

  • Faculty of Monroe City High School 1909 – 1910

    I love this photo!  Most of them I do not know, but the man on the back row, far left is Ernest L. Neville, who Neville High School was named…