Historical Markers in Ouachita Parish

I found a neat little database listing the historical markers to be found in Ouachita parish. Did you know we have a marker written in French? Click on each one to read more info and see pictures. https://www.hmdb.org/results.asp?County=Ouachita%20Parish&State=Louisiana

Two Unidentified Monroe Portraits

I found these on the Portal to Texas History page. One is a Mealy photo and the other is a Harper photo. This first one is the Harper photo of a middle-aged African American man. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth907704/ The second is the Mealy photo of two young African American boys in knee britches. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth907748/ I wonder who … Continue reading Two Unidentified Monroe Portraits →

1891 List of Doctors and Their Credentials

Back in 1891, doctors had to register at their local courthouse and provide their credentials. here were the ones listed for Ouachita Parish and where they got their degrees:

The End of Old Trenton

I have always wondered what happened to all the buildings that once made up the town of Trenton. The town was so important before and after the Civil War and then one day, *poof* it is gone. All that is there now are family homes and a historical marker. I happened to stumble across a … Continue reading The End of Old Trenton →

An Update to The Cold-Blooded Murder of Little Francis Winston Baker

Surprisingly, a couple of weeks ago, I found a little tidbit as to why Francis may have been shot. You may remember a Confederate soldier walked up to the little boy, placed a gun to his head and shot him. This new information came, from all places, from his Grandmother! Eliza Warfield was the mother-in-law … Continue reading An Update to The Cold-Blooded Murder of Little Francis Winston Baker →

A Description of Ouachita Valley’s Early Settlers.

I stumbled on this little article a week ago and it is a fascinating read! It was written ten years ago and published in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly. It talks about the early European hunters in the area (before and just after Filhiol) and Filhiol and his upper-class peers' views on them. It is not … Continue reading A Description of Ouachita Valley’s Early Settlers. →

OPPL Photo Collection

One of the things that my boss has done during the hiatus, was place online digital copies of our original photo collections. They are now all in one spot. There are almost four hundred individual photos in the collection. Some are unidentified. We have flood photos, building photos and photos of people. Take a look … Continue reading OPPL Photo Collection →

Jean Filhiol’s Description of the Ouachita Valley

This is kinda funny. In 1786, Filhiol was sent to this area to scout around and find a place to start a settlement. In 1935, his report on his findings was translated into English. To say the least, he seems to have not been impressed! You can read the translation of his report here: https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A1

Ouachita Parish Funeral Notices

Back in the late 1800's, Monroe's newspapers were only published weekly. As a result, if you depended on the newspaper to find out about local funerals, it would already be too late to attend. An ingenious solution was found. Flyers, called funeral notices, were created and passed out to family and friends to inform them … Continue reading Ouachita Parish Funeral Notices →

Ouachita Parish brochure

This is another Monroe booklet that I have posted photos from. It was printed circa 1930. The whole thing can now be viewed here: https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-orv%3A9 .