The College Education of Professor Frank Barrington

I have posted before about Richard Barrington, the former enslaved manservant of Senator Solomon Downs. I knew Mr. Barrington and his son Francis W. "Frank" Barrington founded one of the earliest schools for African-Americans in Monroe called Wisner Colored High School. I knew Richard sent his son north to receive his education, but until now, … Continue reading The College Education of Professor Frank Barrington →

May 2, 1979 Late News Broadcast on KNOE

I was nosing about on the Internet Archives when I found this little gem of a video! Some commercials were included. Good old Freddy is even in the weather forecast! (If you grew up in the area around this time, you know!) This aired the day Mayor Bob Powell served his first day in office … Continue reading May 2, 1979 Late News Broadcast on KNOE →

Ouachita Parish Schools and the People They Are Named For.

Do you read the Ouachita Parish Public Library's newsletter called Cattails? If you do, you know that in the back of every issue is an article about local history, written by Cyndy Robertson. The latest newsletter article is about some of the Ouachita Parish schools and the people they are named for. You can read … Continue reading Ouachita Parish Schools and the People They Are Named For. →

The Destruction of the Old Monroe Post Office

57 years ago this month, the old Monroe Post Office building, which had been used as a Health Unit in later years, was torn down. It stood at the corner of Grammont and St. John. It was built in 1891 and was opened in 1892 at a cost of $75,000. While going through some of … Continue reading The Destruction of the Old Monroe Post Office →

Prairie Du Bois

This is a great little article about Prairie Du Bois in Southeastern Ouachita Parish. Port Gibson Herald (Port Gibson, MS), August 31, 1843 PRAIRIE DU BOIS. - One of the lovely spots we have ever seen is this Prairie; Nature seems to have lavished her bounties upon it. It is of considerable extends a level … Continue reading Prairie Du Bois →

Layton Castle Blog

The other day, I found a blog run by the current owner of Layton castle, which only has a couple of posts. They are very interesting though! The first post is about a former enslaved resident of the castle named Annette. The second post is about a little girl ghost who haunts the castle. You … Continue reading Layton Castle Blog →

Downtown View of DeSiard Street in 1959

To give you an idea of where you are in this photo, the strip of buildings on the right foreground is the area where Rain the Salon is now. The crossing streets are Catalpa and North 4th. You can see the Palace, the ONB building, the Bernhardt Building and even the Paramount! At the far … Continue reading Downtown View of DeSiard Street in 1959 →

Reverend L.T. Hastings Photos

To go along with Tuesday's post, the library has two photos in our collection of Reverend Hastings and one has his wife Cora as well! https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-pho%3A667 https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-pho%3A668

Autobiography of Rev. Luther T. Hastings

Last month, I stumbled across this website, which transcribed the remembrances of former First Baptist Church pastor, the Rev. L.T. Hastings. He served Monroe between 1925 and 1949. His time in Monroe seems quite the saga! His beginnings in Monroe remind me of the opposition to Father Gergaud when he first came to Monroe! I … Continue reading Autobiography of Rev. Luther T. Hastings →

Monroe Boys March Off to War

How about this one? It shows a parade of Infantry soldiers marching off to fight in France during WWI. You can see Allen's Pharmacy and the Wexler Cigar building in the background, which would have been in the 200 block of DeSiard Street, where R & A Jewelers was. Notice the brick paving on DeSiard … Continue reading Monroe Boys March Off to War →