Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Author: Lora Diane Peppers

  • 1962 Movie Premier at the Paramount

    On June 8, 1962, a world premiere of a documentary movie called “Savage!” opened at the Paramount theater on DeSiard Street. It starred Bastrop native Bill Carpenter and followed him…

  • German Prisoner of War Camp in West Monroe

    Did you know that during World War II, there was a prisoner of war camp in Ouachita Parish? It sat where the West Monroe Convention Center is now. The facility…

  • “FRIENDS”: A weekly News-Star Column

    Back in October 1979, the News-Star decided to create a regular column where a local citizen would be profiled each day. It was called “Friends” and lasted till about 1987.…

  • Selman Field Chapel – 1941

    The above postcard came up for sale on eBay and I got it. The back has a posted date of November 9, 1941. The description at the bottom states: “Never…

  • Membership List of the United Confederate Veterans

    Here is the preliminary list of members of the United Confederate Veterans, Henry W. Allen Camp, Monroe, LA. I found the membership lists at LSU. I also used the 1892…

  • Schools of Ouachita Parish in 1969

    I found this map: https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A136 on the Louisiana Digital Library, which shows the sites of Ouachita Parish schools that were here in 1969. This was about when desegregation was beginning.…

  • The Construction of the Lea Joyner Bridge

    A couple of weeks ago, I was looking around in the Louisiana Digital Library, when I found a couple dozen photographs taken in the early 1930’s of the construction of…

  • The House of Gifts and Black Land Chinchilla Ranch

    How about this postcard I won on eBay? This building is still standing on DeSiard Street across from the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home. It looks to be a private home…

  • The Third Masonic Temple

    How about this postcard of the third Masonic Temple. It was on the corner of DeSiard and 4th. Sadly, it was torn down.

  • Monroe Businesses At the Turn of the Last Century

    Among the papers of the Americanus Willis collection were a bunch of receipts from the late 1890’s through the early 1910’s. This is a period of Monroe history we know…