Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Tag: African-American History

  • First African-American Firefighters in Monroe – 1874

    Did you know that Monroe had an all-black Fire Company crew during Reconstruction? They organized in early 1874 and since the Ouachita Fire Company, No 1 had just gotten a…

  • Five Children Die in a Fire

    This is probably one of the most tragic newspaper articles I have ever read about our history. The article doesn’t say that the family were slaves, but you can probably…

  • Zephemiah Liles frees his slave Ralph

    This was found in an old Ouachita Parish newspaper called “The Ouachitta Standard”. The issue was dated April 5, 1839. In this ad, Zephemiah announced that he was intending to…

  • Slave Market in West Monroe

    And to go along with yesterday’s post, here is another from the same newspaper, different day, for a slave market in the town of Trenton, which is now part of…

  • Slave sale in Monroe.

    This just makes me shiver. Notice how Granville and Lucinda were husband and wife. Five years later, they all would be free. Did Granville and Lucinda get sold together or…

  • Talking Headstones: Richard Barrington

    Robert Tanzy has acted in many plays locally. He had retired from the library but was convinced to come back and help us by playing Richard Barrington. He even grew…

  • May Day, 1951

    I love the top photo, because I have never seen a photo of Mr. Carroll looking so casual! The May Queen, Miss Della Rosalynne Boughton, was a senior.

  • Ringing of the Liberty Bell, 1950

    I like this page, since it shows all of the grades that attended the school. MCHS had all twelve grades. This happened May 15, 1950, when the liberty bell was…

  • Voice of the South, 1951

    Mr. Carroll is of course, Morris Henry Carroll. He was principal of Monroe Colored High School. “The Voice of the South” was the first African-American radio program aired in Ouachita…

  • Dedication Page, 1951

    This page was another jaw dropper! Looking out from this page is probably one of the biggest names in Ouachita Parish educational history. Professor M.J. Foster. WOW! Mrs. H.W. Johnson…