Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Author: Lora Diane Peppers

  • The Ritz Theater

    The below photo shows a rare view of the old Ritz theater, which was the only African American theater in town during segregation. It was located at 911 DeSiard street,…

  • Ouachita Parish High School Homecoming Parade, circa 1959

    I found this photo in the 1960 Roarer yearbook. I think it was probably the homecoming parade, since the float has something about “Ski Bearkats…” Ruston perhaps? The float and…

  • Oldest Camellia Trees in Ouachita Parish

    I found a fun little article in the September 29, 1963 Monroe Morning World, describing the oldest known Camellia plants in the parish. Three were documented. The oldest was a…

  • Early 20th Century Ouachita Parish Ward Map

    I was given this little Ward map back in late October. There is no date on it, but Mr. J. Wilbur Kilbourne, written on the top left of the map,…

  • A Street Fight In Monroe

    My eyes widened a bit when I read this! It seems two Civil War vets had a beef (um…literally) which lead to one trying to kill the other in downtown…

  • 1955 Les Martiniques Debutantes

    Debutante balls were still a thing well into the 20th century. I think Les Martiniques still has them today! Above are the beautiful debutantes of 1955, sixty eight years ago. According…

  • The First African-American That Tried to Integrate ULM

    The first African-Americans to integrate ULM were Sarah McCoy (Abakwue) and Bobby Saucier in 1964, and the first to graduate was Donald Wayne Smith in 1967, but did you know…

  • The March King Comes to Monroe

    I am continually surprised at the national (and world!) level talent that made appearances in Monroe. On December 22, 1925, 98 years ago today, the man known as the “March…

  • Drag Show at Forsythe Park?

    I had to share one more random photo from that 1966 Gator yearbook. This was at the back of the book, just before the ads section. It looks like it…

  • A History of Swartz School – Part 3

    And here are the final pages about the history of the Swartz schools from the 1966 Swartz Elementary Gator yearbook.