Monroe Grammar School Band

The above parade of fifth and sixth grade boys was taken in the mid 1930's on St. John Street. The boys in the band were selected from Sherrouse, Georgia Tucker, Lida Benton and Barkdull Faulk elementary schools. You can see on the right is First Baptist Church and next to it is the old U.S. … Continue reading Monroe Grammar School Band →

The Destruction of the Old Monroe Post Office

57 years ago this month, the old Monroe Post Office building, which had been used as a Health Unit in later years, was torn down. It stood at the corner of Grammont and St. John. It was built in 1891 and was opened in 1892 at a cost of $75,000. While going through some of … Continue reading The Destruction of the Old Monroe Post Office →

U.S. Post Office in Monroe.

I don't think I have ever shared a photo of the old post office. Some old time residents remember getting their vaccines here in later years. What a beautiful building! Can you see St. Matthew without it's steeple peeking out from the side?

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 to you to check and see if you had a letter. This was kind of hard if you lived way out in the parish and … Continue reading List of Letters in 1825 →

Two Postcards showing the old U.S. Post Office

Most older folks remember coming here to get vaccinated. It was a gorgeous old building! https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A51 https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A49

Monroe Post Office – 1916

I was told that when this building was torn down, they found an old sewing machine. It was used during yellow fever epidemics to punch holes in mail so they could be disinfected!

Corner of Grammont and St. John

I love this old photo! It was taken looking up St. John street near the intersection with Grammont Street. You can see the old post office, First Baptist Church and the old City Hall.

1839 List of Letters

Back in the 1800's, people didn't have mailboxes for home delivery. You had to come to town to get your mail. Names of those who had mail waiting on them were published in local papers as a public service. Here is one such list from a Monroe paper in 1839. Maybe you had an ancestor … Continue reading 1839 List of Letters →

St. John Street Looking North

From the look of the cars, the above photo would have been taken in the 20's. On the west side of the street we can see the old City Hall, the Virginia Hotel and Ouachita National Bank building. On the East side are First Baptist Church, the Old Post Office, Monroe Office Supply/Durrett's Furniture and … Continue reading St. John Street Looking North →

St. John Street circa 1923

This is another postcard from Special Collections. It shows the old post office on St. John Street. The building is no longer there. The Knights of Pythias Building next to it (Castle Hall), is still there! It has recently been remodeled into upscale apartments.