A Ouachita Settlement Before Fort Miro?

I was reading a thesis called, "Study of landscape changes in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana" by Danny Allen. It was all about the effects of human settlement in Ouachita Parish on the landscape (read the whole thing here: https://openresearch.okstate.edu/entities/publication/830ea04f-026d-428a-a54a-fd0fc0626485 ) when I found something I hadn't heard before. This thesis claimed that in 1719, France decided … Continue reading A Ouachita Settlement Before Fort Miro? →

Map of the Small Communities of Ouachita Parish

Wednesday, my boss found a map of Ouachita Parish pasted in the front cover of one of our Peters Funeral Home Records books. It appears to be hand drawn and shows all the little communities that were here in the early 20th century. Did you know where Breard Springs was? I didn't either, but it … Continue reading Map of the Small Communities of Ouachita Parish →

A Panther Upsets a Family Meal

Ballou's Pictorial, Boston, MA, January 20, 1855, Page 46, "Editorial Melange." A panther entered the dining room of a house in Ouachita Parish, La. a short time since, while the family were seated at their meal, and after upsetting the table and nearly killing two dogs, made good his retreat. He was followed, however, and … Continue reading A Panther Upsets a Family Meal →

A Lost Methodist Preacher

I have seemed to come to a dead end in this wild goose chase. I happened to stumble across a book digitized on Archive.org entitled, "Minutes of the Louisiana Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church South, Held in Waterproof, Louisiana February 4, 1857". On page 7 of the booklet is a report from a committee called Monuments … Continue reading A Lost Methodist Preacher →

A Steel Bridge at Travelers Rest Stock Farm

How about this photo of a bridge at Travelers Rest in West Monroe? Wonder which bridge it was?

Ingleside Plantation Circa 1910

I found this online in a book published in 1912 by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Immigration called, "A hand-book of Louisiana". I'll be posting a couple more photos from it over the next few days. The front yard of Ingleside looks very different today!

Horse Racing in Monroe

This ad for a local horse race meet, appeared in the Ouachitta Banner in October, 1839. It is not known where this race course was, but the stakes were pretty high in 1839 money. A rich man's sport to be sure!

The P.M. Atkins Bridge

Postcard of the P.M. Atkins Bridge shortly after it was built. Did you know that the Lea Joyner bridge was actually originally named for someone else? In 1931, Monroe and West Monroe decided they needed a new bridge across the Ouachita to connect the two cities. On April 30, 1936, Governor James A. Noe declared … Continue reading The P.M. Atkins Bridge →

A History of Mardi Gras in Monroe

The week previous to last week's ice storm, I was asked by Vantage Health to be filmed giving a lecture on the history of Mardi Gras in Monroe. It premiered last Friday on Facebook and was placed on their YouTube channel as well. Check it out! https://youtu.be/rcPIgIGRJig

From Indian Trails to Modern Highways: A History of (the) Ouachita Parish Road System

In 1939, a little informational magazine was put together about the history of Ouachita Parish roads and their development. Sprinkled throughout the document are Griffin photos taken all over the parish. You will be amazed at what once passed for roads here! This is another part of the Library's collection that was added to the … Continue reading From Indian Trails to Modern Highways: A History of (the) Ouachita Parish Road System →