The 2025 HARVEST & HERITAGE TOUR is Saturday 9/20/2025 - 10am till 3pm LA Hwy 3049 & US Hwy 71
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A Day in the Country
The 2025 tour will focus on the village of Belcher, but will also highlight businesses in Ida, Hosston, Gilliam and Dixie. This tour is sponsored by the Red River Historical & Cultural Association (RRCHCA), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history and culture of our farming communities in north Caddo Parish.
Belcher
Highway 3049 - The village of Belcher began in 1899 when steamboat landings at Rush Point and Briarfield on the Red River were largely abandoned and shipping traffic moved over to the railroad. A new community was named "Horseshoe" and later renamed "Belcher" in honor of John Belcher who owned the land. Mayor - Jennifer Fant.
Meet locals with memories and stories to tell. See interesting artifacts telling of bygone days. Maps and photos of past years keep our history preserved for future generations.
Belcher Townhall – start of the Walking Map, showing of the Twin Blends video on Belcher History and other photos
Purchase Tickets for the house tours at the Belcher Town Hall ($10 for age 18 and up). Renew or get a new RRCHCA membership for $10 and get a Sunflower t-shirt for $10!
Sunflower Photo & Art Contest Winners displayed!
Items for sale: RRHCA books (Crossroads Cuisine Cookbook, Plantations Along the Upper Red River of Louisiana, and Historical Marker Guides) and Sunflower T-Shirts (new and old)
Presbyterian Church - Music, talks with locals, artifacts
Belcher Baptist Church - 100 year anniversary, music, talk with locals
Kids "Archeological dig" experience outside (south of Church)
Wild Petunia will be open with refreshments for sale
D&I Grocery will be open with lunch items. Meet local artist, Kristi Cavett Jones, inside D&I and shop her artwork
See the NEW road signs in the old Railroad bed West of D&I Grocery. NEW Boom & Bust Byway Belcher sign!! NEW RRCHCA Belcher History Pavilion with four signs!!
Highway 3049 - In the 1880s R. L. Gilliam came to the area and bought land. In 1898, when the railroad came through the area, Mr. Gilliam donated a right of way on the agreement that the railroad put a depot on the land and name it Gilliam. A post office was established in 1900. In the aftermath of a cyclone in 1908 which killed 40 people, the TS&N Railroad sent carloads of emergency supplies and provided railcars for temporary storage for belongings of the survivors. Mayor - Adam Oliver
Remember to stop by the Red River Crossroads Museum at 12797 Main Street in Gilliam which will also be open. This museum is sponsored by the Red River Historical & Cultural Association (RRCHCA).
Gilliam Shreve Memorial Library & Red River Crossroads Museum, 12797 Main St. Normal Hours M, T, TH 11-5. 318-296-4227. Linda Ashton, Librarian.
Gilliam Gin Company - Highway 3049 South of Gilliam. View a modern cotton gin in operation (outside views only).
Main Street Restaurant 318-296-4400
James Country Store 318-507-9567
Hosston
Highway 71 North - The area was settled between 1830 and 1850 by George Hale. Just east of Hosston, a steamboat landing was used for selling wood to steamboat captains. A ferry was operated on Black Bayou for the distribution of mail up and down North Caddo Parish and into Arkansas until Hale Post Office was chartered in 1890. The Post Office was moved to Hosston in 1901.
Big Mama's Antiques & Restoration, 6403 Parkway Dr, 318-573-2127.
The Old Church House event venue, 15615 Hwy 71, 318-243-1638 by appt.
Former Hosston Elementary School and Singing Pines Recreational Complex event center 318-287-3360. An Art Deco design by Shreveport architect Edward F. Neild in 1931 now owned by the Kirby family.
Hosston History Museum in the Hosston Town Hall, 15669 US Hwy 71, 318-287-3225.
Mira
Highway 71 North - The area was settled around 1872. The village originally was called Loma, and was later named Mira, after the daughter of an early settler
Travel Plaza Exxon Station, 6950 Mira Myrtis Rd, Mira
Designs by Carol Quilt Shop, 17558 Hwy 71, 318-287-3380
Ida
Highway 71 North - The area was settled in the 1800's and named Ida after the daughter of the postmaster, Jonathan Chandler, when the Post Office was established in 1897. Mayor - Kenny Shaw.
Secluded Magnolia Event Venue, 7024 E. Magnolia Lane, 318-525-6981
Capt. Fletcher E. Adams 357th Fighter Group Museum & Car Museum, 18876 Alabama Ave, Will be Open 9-4, Sept 20! 318-469-1060
