Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Category: Uncategorized

  • The Lyceum Theater

    This movie theater was opened in 1909 in the 100 block of DeSiard Street and was torn down around 1928. The building was only a couple of years old when…

  • The Interior of the Steamboat Bob Blanks

    My jaw dropped when I saw this photo! I have never seen an interior shot of the Bob Blanks. The Blanks was one of the most important steamboats on the…

  • Monroe Sanitarium

    No, this is not St. Francis Hospital! I think this is Riverside Sanitarium, which was on South Grand street. St. Francis was a few years away when the above photo…

  • Fannie May Trousdale

    This lady was a real go getter in her time! She was a writer of books, magazines and newspaper articles at a time when few women did such things! She…

  • E.C. Drew Home, circa 1910

    Last month, a patron brought in a magazine published in 1911, showing photos of Monroe I have never seen before. The patron let us digitize it and I took photos…

  • Forsythe Park Racetrack – circa 1907

    My latest purchase is a colorized postcard of the Forsythe Park racetrack and grandstand. The postcard was dated January 21, 1908. The racetrack encircled a ballpark where some of the…

  • Ouachita Veterans of the War of 1812

    I was browsing through Dr. Williams’ book, “Founding Families of the Ouachita Valley” Part Three and there was a section about Col. William Wood. He was the grandfather of William…

  • By-Laws of Ouachita Rebekah Lodge No. 84 I.O.O.F. Monroe, LA

    This one is interesting. I got this little booklet from eBay earlier this year and I still don’t know how old it is. There is no date on it. Mr.…

  • Saltwater Natatorium – Circa 1912

    Here is another postcard I bought off of eBay earlier this month. It was postmarked 1912. It is a view of the Natatorium I have never seen before! I would…

  • Ouachita Parish Rosenwald Schools

    Just after the Civil War, the Freedmen’s Bureau, along with local African American churches, established the first schools in the south for the formerly enslaved. After Reconstruction ended, education for…