Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Tag: African-American History

  • Tabernacle Baptist Church Burns

    I have been told that these fires had been set by Klan members as intimidation tactics. Tabernacle would rebuild and is still a thriving church today! The Monroe News-Star, February…

  • Interesting Ouachita related information.

    Want to see a map of the Ouachita river way before even Fort Miro was founded? Go here: https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/6560 . The site marked “P. des canots” would be the eventual…

  • Richardson Funeral Home

    As well as Burton/Good Citizen records, Ouachita Parish Public Library has records for the Richardson Funeral Home from 1954 – 1976. They are contained in three volumes and have been…

  • Burton/Good Citizen Funeral Home Index

    Part of the collection of the Ouachita Parish Public Library’s Genealogy Department are copies of funeral home records. Included are records for the above two funeral homes, from 1954 –…

  • The Pre Civil War Murder of Jailer Abram Williams and the hanging of “Tennessee Jack”

                 I found the following article one day while I was browsing pre Civil War newspaper of Monroe.  This crime was shocking and brutal by even today’s standards.  What drove…

  • Jim May: West Monroe’s Own Holt Collier

    Many people know of Holt Collier, who led Teddy Roosevelt on his famous area bear hunt, which gave birth to the Teddy Bear.  Did you ever hear of West Monroe’s…

  • Some Ouachita Parish History sites

    I have recently found a great blog on WordPress, where the author has posted items from her personal family history collection: https://okellyfamily.wordpress.com/ The O’Kelly family has deep roots in Ouachita…

  • The Shooting of W.S. Wade

    Written for Louisiana Road Trips back in 2013:             August 22nd of 1909 was an exciting day in the little town of Monroe.  A fire burned down Capt. L.D. McLain’s…

  • The First Mardi Gras Parade in Monroe

    Happy Mardi Gras! It is parade day in Monroe! I’ll be on one of the floats tonight, but I’ll be in disguise! If you recognize me, yell, “Throw me something!”…

  • The Love Story of Roland and Inez

    I thought this would be a very appropriate story for Valentine’s Day! Back in 2008, I found a forbidden love story, involving one of the most important families in Ouachita…