Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Author: Lora Diane Peppers

  • 1939 Christmas Fiesta Queens and their Maids

    https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-pho%3A556 This photo looks to be taken on the steps of the old Ouachita Parish City Hall on St. John. It shows all the local school queens and their maids…

  • St. Matthew’s High School and the Christmas Fiesta Parade

    I found this little booklet in an antique shop last month and knew we had to add it to our collection! Apparently, the city issued booklet invitations to the schools…

  • Monroe Hill Citys Baseball Team

    A couple of years ago, I found a photo for sale on Ebay of a Monroe team called the “Monroe Outlaws”. I posted the photo and then the next day…

  • 1915 Monroe Shriners Initiation

    Another magazine photo I found shows some local men being hazed as they are initiated into the Shriners. The News-Star’s front page article on that date was about the Shriner’s…

  • 1961 Rodeo Parade on DeSiard Street.

    I found this photo in an old magazine. It shows some area Shriners riding horseback down DeSiard Street in the 1961 Monroe Rodeo Parade. The man with his back to…

  • Cemeteries of Ouachita Parish

    The last map from the book I would like to highlight shows the location of all known cemeteries (at that time) in Ouachita Parish. None are labeled, but you could…

  • Plantation Homes of Ouachita Parish

    Another map to come out of the 1976-77 Historical Preservation Study, showed the plantation homes that stood along the Ouachita River. A lot of them are still standing.

  • River Landings and Ferry Locations Along the Ouachita River

    Have you ever been curious as to where some of the steamboat landings were along the Ouachita river? Back in 1976, the Ouachita Council of Governments and the Monroe-Ouachita Regional…

  • A List of Monroe’s African-American Newspapers

    I was browsing through the Genealogy Department’s collection, when I found a book called “Bibliographic Checklist of African American Newspapers” by Barbara K. Henritze. It was published in 1995. It…

  • Daughters of the American Revolution Yearbook 1929-1930

    A few weeks ago, a member of the Fort Miro Chapter DAR brought to us a yearbook they had found for the organization that was over 90 years old. It…