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
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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
The Hypolite Filhiol Home
The below clipping was found in the vertical files. According to the information in the clipping, the home once stood at the corner of Jackson and DeSiard street, where the Central Bank building now stands (across the street from the park on Jackson). Vantage now owns the building. The below drawing is of the same … Continue reading The Hypolite Filhiol Home
Fort Miro
I found the above drawing of the layout for Fort Miro in our vertical files. A newspaper clipping in another file showed the same drawing and states it was found in the archives in Seville, Spain by Dr. Russ Williams. He redrew the original to better show the details.
Southern Hardware Company at the Turn of the Last Century
I wish the men in the photo were identified! This building still stands on North Grand Street.
St. Francis Sanitarium Doctors in 1929
There are some big names in the above photo. Many old time residents will remember these doctors fondly.
Ouachita Parish History Tidbits 