Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Tag: Monroe History

  • Dedication Program for the Monroe Civic Center

    On September 2, 1967, the Monroe Civic Center formally opened to the public. I found the following program for sale on Ebay and bought it. The small strips were flaps…

  • The Excavation of the Fort Miro Site and a Forgotten Grave

    I don’t know why this stuck out for me. Maybe it is because I have such a deep interest in cemeteries. I have loved them since I was a kid.…

  • The Tragic Death of George Purvis and his Children

    George Purvis was a native of England but settled in the Ouachita Parish area before the Civil War. He married Carolyn K. Morrison (from a very old Ouachita Parish family)…

  • Willie’s Birth Certificate?

    Last week, a hint popped up on my Ancestry tree I have created for Sidney and Annie Saunders’ son Willie. It stated there was a birth record in New Orleans…

  • Welcome to Monroe Packet.

    If you moved to Monroe around 1961, you would probably be given a little welcome to the town magazine, compiled by the Letter Service Bureau. It was filled with letters…

  • The First Telephone in Ouachita Parish

    I wrote this for Louisiana Road Trips Magazine back in 2013: In late spring of 1878, Monroe experimented with a new invention called the telephone.  The April 26th edition of…

  • The Salt Water Natatorium right after it was built.

    This next photo is the Salt Water Natatorium from an angle I have never seen before. You can clearly see the Pavilion off to the right. I think in the…

  • The Daily Electric Letter

    What you are looking at is page three of a four page newspaper called the Daily Electric Letter, published at Monroe November 13, 1877. This is the local news section.…

  • Monroe Roads and Ditches Maintained in 1825.

    I found the above article in an 1825 Washita Gazette. It basically ordered Monroe citizens owning town lots to maintain the roads and ditches around their lots. Kinda wish they…

  • List of Letters in 1825

    Back in the early days of many cities, no one really had individual mailboxes for postal delivery. Your mail was sent to the local post office and it was up…