Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Author: Lora Diane Peppers

  • Painting of Isaac Henry Bry

    This painting hangs in Layton Castle. It is the only known portrait of Henry. I love it, due to the slight smile he has. According to the book, “Louisiana Portraits”…

  • A New Genealogy Page for the Ouachita Parish Public Library

    A few weeks ago, the library launched a new webpage at http://www.oplib.org. If you look at the top right section of the home page, you will see a link to…

  • Fidelity Bottling Works

    On one of my history Facebook groups I am a member of, someone posted a picture of bottles they had from the Fidelity Bottling Works in Monroe. I only found…

  • Ouachita Parish High School

    This is a photo of young women posed outside the old Ouachita Parish High School in white smocks and caps. It is included in the Henry Camp Collection of OPPL…

  • Steamboat Ouachita

    I love this picture of the Cooley boat Ouachita on the Louisiana Digital Library. This boat steamed up and down the Ouachita hauling cotton for years. This gives you a…

  • Monroe Residents Assured of Life After Death.

    The Richland Beacon-News, October 5, 1895, Page 1 MYSTERIES. Gail Hamilton declares that recently she fell on the floor in her room in a deadly swoon and felt that she…

  • Army Day Parade, circa 1945

    Every year on Army day in the 1940’s, the military would parade down DeSiard Street. This is a photo from the Digital Library That I think shows one of those…

  • A Documentation of a Movement.

    Back in 1967, Ms. Shirley Cross Russ wrote a thesis for her study at Atlanta University, documenting the movement in Monroe to give library service to the African American community.…

  • The 1948 Water Carnival Parade

    This is a photo of a parade entry in Monroe’s Water Carnival Parade held by the Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1948: https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-pho%3A246 I wish I knew the gentleman driving…

  • Monroe City High School Photo

    I just love this photo from our Digital Collection. Only a few names are listed, but we can tell it dates to the first decade of 1900. The Leiber girl…