Historical Marker Trail

LA Highway 3049

As you drive along LA Highway 3049 and US Highway 71, take note of the many Historical Markers that denote many of the historical locations and achievements that have been part of making the culture of northern Caddo Parish.

You'll find them at:

  1. Twelve Mile Bayou
    • Twelve Mile Bayou is the main tributary of the Red River to the lakes and bayous of North Caddo Parish and East Texas. From the 1830s to the early 20th century it was the passage for steamboats going from the Red River to communities and farms along Caddo Lake, Cypress Bayou, Jeems Bayou, Black Bayou, Red Bayou and other streams. It also served as a passageway for steamboats to bypass the upper Red River Raft until it was removed in the 1870s.
  2. Bayou Point Plantation
    • In the period following the succession of the Caddo Indian lands in 1835, this property became important because of its proximity to the old Twelve Mile Bayou canal, the waterway steamboats navigated to Jefferson, Texas. The canal flowing on the south side had a turning basin to allow steam boats to either turn, or pass, and off-load cargo on trips from Shreveport to Jefferson. After 1839 there were successive owners until the 1920s when Elias Adrian Connell purchased it, and for fifty years it was known as the Connell Place. The Duggan family bought the property and built the present house in 1970. Valerie and Michael John Hoogland acquired this property in 2010 and named it Bayou Point, because of its location as a turning point on this historic waterway.
  3. Cuba Plantation
    • Cuba, 120 acres on the north bank of Twelve Mile Bayou, was established circa 1839. In 1893, John Mercer Sentell acquired Cuba. Sentell, a planter, had four other plantations including Cairo. The Cuba commissary served steamboat travelers. Sentell’s grandson, Kenneth Sentell Marshall, inherited Cuba in 1948. He and his wife Jonnie Sandifer Marshall built a farmhouse at Cuba, planted multiple crops, and raised farm animals. Their daughter, Margaret Marshall John and her son, Marshall Kenneth John, are the fourth and fifth generations residing at Cuba today.
  4. Pandora Plantation
    • Pandora was first owned by David Vawter, a riverboat captain, who purchased 510 acres protruding out of the Red River. Thomas M. Gilmer acquired the property in 1846 and expanded the holdings to 1,240 acres. In 1958, Gilmer heirs sold the plantation to Charles R. Griswold, who made Pandora a successful plantation. The War Between the States caused Griswold to lose Pandora. William E. Hamilton bought the plantation in 1875 at a sheriff’s sale. Pandora had three river landings, referred to as “Pandora Store Hamilton’s”, “Pandora Gin”, and “Upper Pandora”. In 1886, a post office was established at Pandora. Pandora had a succession of owners until 1996, when it was purchased by Joe E. Withrow. Today, it functions primarily as a cattle ranch and is owned and operated by Gary S. Withrow.
  5. Cash Point Plantation
    • Established 1839. Typical of the large river plantation of the mid 19th century, the 1,647 acres were located on both the Caddo and Bossier sides of the Red River. Cash Point Plantation was successively owned by several large land owners of the region: Pickett, Gilmer, and Sentell. In 1893, Mattie Sentell came into possession of the 960 acres in Caddo Parish. It remained in the Sentell family until 1967, when portions were sold to the Franks- Duggan interests and the Steve Prator family. The 100 acre pecan orchard was purchased by Judy and Bill McColgan in 2010.
  6. Cash Point School – a Rosenwald School
    • The former Rosenwald School at Cash Point was built in 1923-24 for a cost of $2,300 as a two-teacher frame school. The Rosenwald Fund was developed by Julius Rosenwald, CEO of Sears, Roebuck & Company, and educator, Booker T. Washington, in response to the need for improved schools and education for African-American children in the South. The matching fund grants were established in the 1920s and when they were stopped in 1932, there were 5,357 school buildings in 15 southern states, including 435 in Louisiana. The matching grants required that the local African-American community raise a portion of the funds for the school, and the local school board provide teachers and manage the school. There were additional Rosenwald schools in the area, and, over the years, as larger brick schools were built, the wooden Rosenwald schools were either torn down or converted into homes, schools, churches, etc.
  7. Cash Point, Gold Point & Buckhall Plantation
    • Three historic plantations, Cash Point, Gold Point, and Buckhall Plantations, date back to 1839, when they were purchased by James Belton Pickett, Paulina de Graffenried, and James Blair Gilmer. The Buckhall portion located on the north and east side was owned by Whitfield Vance. The plantations are now owned by the Pittman and Volentine families, and the Crow-McColgan interests.
  8. Pittman Plantation Home
    • In 1899, the large landholdings of James Pickett, one of the founders of Shreveport, began a series of ownership changes. In 1912, Samuel S. Pittman and his wife, Pattie, purchased land in Section 14, formerly held by James Pickett. The house, built in 1913, had four rooms and a center hall. In 1920, a second story was added with two bedrooms, a trunk room and a large room for parties and dancing. The one-story porch was replaced with a two-story porch and a porte-cochere was added in the late 1930s. The house has been the home of the Pittman and Volentine families since it was built in 1913. It is currently owned by Leah and Ray Volentine.
  9. Pickett Plantation
    • One of the many properties acquired by James Belton Pickett in the period following the succession of the Caddo Indian lands to the United States, circa 1837. Pickett, of South Carolina, came to this area circa 1836. He became one of the founders of Shreveport, and owner of 13 plantations. In 1922, Lilla Cavett and Walter Lee Sibley acquired Pickett Place which remained in the Sibley Family for 83 years. In 2005, William Gordon Boogaerts acquired Pickett Place from the Sibley Family.
  10. Dixie Gin
    • The first cotton gin on this site was built by John M. Sentell circa 1895. It was a wooden structure painted red and known as The Red Gin. It burned and was replaced by the current structure circa 1933. In 1953 Lowry and Wash Sentell modernized the gin with new machinery and steel wagon sheds with Butler Dodson as a partner during this period. Later the gin was bought by Jimmy Lee Sloan, Jim Adger and Moulton Storey and renamed Dixie Gin. The present owner is Sandy Saunders who leases the gin for social occasions.
  11. Mounds Plantation
    • This is the largest ceremonial center of the Caddo Indians in Louisiana. The Mounds Plantation site originally included seven mounds arranged around a large plaza with at least three more located on the peripheries. Some of the mounds contain human burials; others were used as platforms for sacred buildings. The Caddo Indians, descendants of the Troyville-Coles Creeks, lived at the Mounds Plantation site between A.D. 900 and 1200 as dated by Dr. Clarence Webb and other archaeologists. They returned during the 17th century and made additional burials. The site remains sacred to members of the modern Caddo Nation. Caddo Indian Ceremonial Temple Mounds are dated in the Mississippian Cultural period. Originally, there were ten mounds in the area south of Dixie.
  12. North Plantation
    • The W. H. North Plantation dates back to 1886. The original home was moved with mules and wagons from the bank of the Red River in 1903 to the present site on Cottonwood Bayou. After being destroyed by fire in 1923, the home was rebuilt on the original foundation. Dr. and Mrs. Frank Harmon purchased the home in 2000 and did extensive renovations in keeping with the original design. It was sold again in 2021 and is used as a wedding venue.
  13. Dixie Presbyterian Church
    • The church began in 1902 as the Presbyterian-Methodist Church of Dixie as a result of an agreement between the minister, Mr. Ziegler, and Mr. Ivey, who donated the land on North Road for the church. In 1904, the Red River Presbytery organized the church as the Dixie Presbyterian Church. In 1934, they purchased from the Caddo Parish School Board a two-story brick school building in Dixie which had been built in 1913 and renovated the first floor for church services. In 1964, a tornado destroyed the entire roof and it was restored as a one-story building. In 1996, the Dixie congregation merged with the Belcher Presbyterian Church to form the Belcher-Dixie Presbyterian Church. The Dixie building was then purchased by the current owners Ebenezer Baptist Church.
  14. Dickson Plantation Home - "Woodlawn"
    • Typical of the large river plantations of the mid-nineteenth century, land was owned on both the Caddo and Bossier sides of the Red River. Beginning in 1849 Woodlawn was successively owned by several large land owners of the region, the A. D. Palmer & Michael Dickson families. The Dickson family built a one-story "dogtrot" house in the middle 1800s. In 1899, M.A. Dickson came into possession of the property in Caddo Parish and built the large white two story Colonial home that stands today. It remained in the Dickson family until 1926, when portions were sold off. The house and part of the land was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. P.J. Cush in 1972. Woodlawn was passed down to Eleanor Margaret "Penny" Cush & Mary C. Mancini in 2012.
  15. Cairo Plantation
    • Cairo Plantation was established in 1893 by John M. Sentell. The plantation home was partially destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1950 by Lowery and Antionette Sentell. The other original buildings include the white frame home, which also was the farm office, a commissary, and a corn crib. The farm has been owned and operated by the same family for over 100 years.
  16. Soda Fount Plantation
    • This property was first owned by A.D. Palmer in 1839. It was passed on to Mary C. Palmer Worthy in 1855. Hanna Palmer, widow of Michael Dickson, inherited the property in 1867 when it was first known as Red River Plantation. The name was changed to Soda Fount in 1892. From 1898 on there were several successive owners until 1947 when Claudius Bickham Dickson, Sr. sold his interest of 870 acres to Floyd Volentine. A home was built by the Volentine family in the 1950s. Of the original 1,740 acres the Volentine family owns 870 acres. The remaining acres are still owned by the heirs of Dr. S.A. Dickson.
  17. KWKH Radio Station (Hwy 169)
    • Early settlers had to depend on steamboats, the mail, and word of mouth to get their news. In the late 1890s, trains would bring in newspapers. In 1922, the first radio station arrived in Shreveport, but with the “crystal” sets available then, hearing the broadcasts was difficult even for Shreveporters. The first broadcasts were made from the Shreveport home of W.E. Anthony. By the time of Shreveport’s centennial in 1935, it had two powerful broadcasting stations, one of them being KWKH. (The other was KTBS.) Mr. Anthony was the chief engineer for KWKH and the station could be heard for hundreds of miles, thus allowing citizens of north Caddo Parish to keep up with world news more easily. KWKH began operation in 1925 with the call letters of the owner and founder William Kennon Henderson, a noted local businessman. The station was established as a 50,000 watt Clear Channel station. In 1933, Henderson sold the station to the Ewing Family of Shreveport who also owned the Shreveport Times newspaper and KTBS radio.
  18. KWKH Transmitter Tower (Hwy 169))
    • The original transmitter tower was built in 1924 at Kennonwood, W.K. Henderson’s property north of Shreveport near Dixie. The studio was originally in the Henderson residence with the transmitter located in a small frame building near the tower. The station’s transmission power was among the strongest in the United States and its signal could be transmitted to approximately half of the nation. The present art deco radio transmitter building and house for the chief engineer were built in 1939 on the same site. Steadman Gunning beginning in 1932, and O.S. Drake in 1935, two of the chief engineers of KWKH, worked a combined 89 years at the station.
  19. Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church
    • Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church was started in a house on the back of the Corner Place in Dixie, Louisiana. The first prayer meeting and a revival were held there in late 1889 led by Rev. Eddie Moore, Pastor. Cornerstone Church congregation moved from the Corner Place to the present site in 1903. The first church building was a wood frame structure which was replaced by the present church building where the congregation now worships. Through the years, Cornerstone Missionary Church has had large baptismal services with baptizing performed in Cottonwood Bayou, dinner on the grounds, and many other very spiritual and anointed services. The Cornerstone Church has been known for their spiritual devotions, the rendering of the Old 100s gospel singing, and moving sermons. God is still blessing.
  20. Killarney Farm
    • Killarney was built by James Stuart Douglas in 1920. It was designed by Edward F. Neild, who was a prominent Shreveport architect in the firm of C. E. Olschner Architect Associates. Killarney was one of the first homes designed by Mr. Neild. Mr. Douglas was a planter, a civic leader, and a member of the Louisiana State Legislature. After a later period of ownership by the Carlisle family, Killarney was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Lee in 1949. The home was restored in 1978 and currently is owned by the Patrick Harrison family.
  21. Caddo Indian Dugout Canoe (ca. A.D. 1025-1260)
    • In August of 1983, a Caddo Indian dugout canoe dating to the early Caddo Period (ca A.D. 900-1200) was found in the bank of Red River on the North family property near the location of this sign. A section of the canoe was discovered protruding from the river bank by John Paul Hobbs, and it was recovered with the assistance of Rose and Kendall Kelly of Dixie and other residents. Clarence Webb, archaeologist, led in the recovery and restoration process. The canoe is 30’8’ long and 1’10” wide, with height of sides from 1’6” to 2’4”. It is on exhibit in the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport. The canoe is contemporary with the Caddo village and mounds located on Mounds Plantation in Dixie.
  22. Connell Home (225 Gray Street)
    • The home was built by Elias Adrian and Rose Connell in 1901. Elias Connell farmed two plantations, Greenwood and U.N.I., named by the owners, the Marks brothers, who referred to the property as owned by you and me, which later became U.N.I. Several years later, Thomas Dixon Connell and his wife, Effie Poole, bought the home where they raised their family of seven children. In the 1950’s Jared Dixon Connell and his wife, Mae Connell, lived in the home for several years with their family of five. The home remained in the family for 59 years before being sold to a succession of owners. The home is in the American Foursquare architectural style with a wrap-around porch and porte-cochere.
  23. Belcher Baptist Church (305 Gray Street)
    • A small group of Baptists in Belcher began collecting funds about 1918 in order to purchase a lot on which to build a sanctuary. On May 23, 1919, a lot on Gray Street was purchased from J.A. Tullus. Six years later, in 1925, the Presbyterians were moving from their frame building sanctuary on Brierfield to their new brick sanctuary in Belcher. The Baptists bought the Presbyterians’s older frame building along with its pews, the pulpit, and the Lord’s Supper table. The Baptists worshipped in that sanctuary on Brierfield until they built a sanctuary on the former J.A. Tullus lot in 1928. The original pews, pulpit and Lord’s Supper table are still in use at the Belcher Baptist Church.
  24. McDade Home (410 Gray Street)
    • The former home site of William Elias and Marah McDade was established here in the early 1900’s. During that time, he purchased land west of Belcher and developed the McDade Farms which is still in the family. W.E. McDade also founded and operated the Belcher Gin Co. which was owned and managed by the McDade family for many years. The home now on the original home site was built by Mickey and Beth McDade in 1967.
  25. Briarfield Plantation Home (Storers, 516 Gray St)
    • The Briarfield Plantation Home was built by John Glassell Sr in 1918, after the original home, built in 1890, was destroyed by fire. The Greek Revival style home is of solid masonry construction. John Glassell Jr, and his wife, Lois, were the next family to live in the home. The current owners of the Briarfield home are Judy and Craig Storer who acquired it in 1990, from the Comegys brothers, owners of Briarfield Plantation and members of the Glassell family.
  26. Louisiana Maneuvers led by General Patton
    • During the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941, the U.S. Army and Air Corps divided itself into two opposing armies to practice for possible war in Europe. Among the noted commanders in the maneuvers, was General George S. Patton. His mechanized armored forces launched a flanking attack on Shreveport from a point near Lake Charles and proceeded northward through East Texas and entered north Louisiana just north of Caddo Lake. Before attacking Shreveport from the north, his forces camped overnight on September 27th just to the west of Belcher. The next day the forces proceeded through Belcher and Dixie and successfully “attacked” Shreveport.
  27. Belcher Methodist Church
    • At the turn of the Century, in the year 1904, the Belcher Methodist Church was founded. The church services were held in a two-story building once a month. The first pastor was Robert W. Harp. During this time, many pastors traveled to Belcher by train. In 1906-1907, funds were raised for a new church building. The property was purchased from Mr. W.E. McDade for a total of $200 on May 24, 1916. This church was a wood structure housing three of the existing stained-glass windows. By the 1950s, due to the growth in membership, it became necessary to build a larger building. At that time, a fourth stained glass window was added. These windows were donated in memory of former members. The sanctuary of the old church was incorporated in the new building. On February 13, 1955, the first service was held in the new sanctuary. By the year 2003, the membership had declined and it was necessary to close the church. In October 2003, the building was sold to the Belcher Presbyterian Church.
  28. Belcher Presbyterian Church
    • Belcher Presbyterian Church was organized on July 18, 1897, as the Red River Presbyterian Church. The congregation met in a vacant store building on Rush Point Plantation for a year. The congregation then moved to a school building on Briarfield Plantation where services were held until 1900. Then a one-room frame building was erected in Belcher one mile west of Red River. The present brick English Tudor building was completed and dedicated in May of 1925. The church contains the original pipe organ installed in 1929.
  29. Belcher Mound
    • A Caddo mound and village dating between approximately A.D. 1450 and 1650 were located on the site of the Briarfield Plantation northeast of Belcher. The mound consisted of a series of platforms that contained houses or meeting places for the village leaders. The houses were burned and capped with earth periodically. Human burials were placed in deep pits dug from several of the platforms. The site probably was occupied when the DeSoto Expedition crossed Caddo lands in 1542.
  30. The Ruben V. Glassell House
    • The original house was built in 1899 by Ruben V. Glassell, a planter, and his wife Vivian. It faced west and had a center hall in the dogtrot style. Around 1910 interior columns and porches on the south and east sides were added, and the south side became the front of the house. In 1953 the east porch was enclosed to form three additional rooms. In 1982 it became the home of Andrew and Linda Marino and their four children.
  31. First State Bank of Belcher
    • The First State Bank of Belcher was organized in 1913. The present brick building was designed by Architect Edward F. Neild of Shreveport and was built in 1924. The First State Bank later became Caddo Trust & Savings Bank and had branches in surrounding communities. The Belcher Masonic Lodge #332 was chartered in 1909 with 22 members and met on the second floor. A part of the building also housed the office of Dr. T.B. Tooke at the time.
  32. Horseshoe Bayou Bridge on LA 530
    • Built in 1915, the one-lane bridge is one of the earliest examples in Louisiana of an all concrete structure. Unique characteristics give it a coherent, monolithic appearance. The reinforced concrete superstructure consists of a concrete deck on two concrete girders per span. It appears to have been built without joints. The bridge was closed in 2002 after 87 years of service.
  33. Minnie Clyde Dixon Connell (1901-1998)
    • Clyde, an internationally exhibited artist, was raised and lived in the Hall-Dixon plantation home formerly located on this site. Named for Scotland’s River Clyde, she created her best-known works in her home studio on the southernmost bank of nearby Lake Bistineau where she spent the second half of her life. Before committing to a career in art, Clyde was heavily involved in church education, first with local churches, then with the World Council of Churches, which often took her to New York City where she became entranced with that city’s progressive art gallery scene. Her art – paintings and sculpture – seemed to have emerged from her natural surroundings on the lake, but also from her memories of Belcher Plantation life. She exhibited in galleries from Los Angeles to Dallas to New York City, and also twice in Paris, France. She became a significant influence and friend to other artists.
  34. Caddo Indian Dugout Canoe (ca. A.D. 1299-1413)
    • In June of 2017 a Caddo Indian dugout canoe from the Middle Caddo period (ca. A.D. 1200-1500) was found in the bank of Red River by Jenna Bradley and Robert Cornett, on Kavanaugh family property near the location of this sign. The canoe was recovered from the river bank with the help of many residents including, Paul Dickson, Tony Hale, Robert Crager, Tommy Stinson, and Jeffrey Girard, archaeologist. It was transported to Texas A&M for preservation prior to being returned to Louisiana for display. The cypress dugout canoe is 33’6” long, 3’ wide, with height of sides 2’7”. The Belcher mound site on Cowhide Bayou was occupied by the Caddo Indians during this same period of time, as were several sites along Willow Chute Bayou on the east side of the river.
  35. Cedar Bluff Ferry
    • Cedar Bluff Ferry was one of the ferries on the Red River between Bossier and Caddo Parishes in the 19th and early 20th century. It operated until the early 1950s when a bridge was built to the north for Highway 2. It ran from Cedar Bluff in Bossier Parish to Cedar Bluff Parish Road in Caddo Parish. Tolls were 10 cents for a horse and rider and 20 cents for a wagon. Through a system of cables, ropes, pulleys, trees and poles it was manually maneuvered across Red River.
  36. Lynn Plantation
    • The Lynn Plantation is probably one of the best surviving cotton plantation complexes from the late 19th, early 20th century. All elements of a cotton plantation are still in existence. In 1904 James Wiley Lynn purchased the farm near Gilliam known as Eagle Chute, followed by the purchase of other farm property in this location from the Cavett family in 1914, to establish Lynn Plantation. The plantation home was built by Mr. & Mrs. J.W. Lynn in 1928. The Lynn Plantation headquarters included the original cotton gin, barns, commissary, blacksmith shop, corncrib, and the renovated dogtrot style home built by James Richard Cavett when he moved from Bossier Parish in 1878 to clear and farm this property. The commissary has been rebuilt to house plantation memorabilia.
  37. Justice Chapel Baptist Church
    • The Justice Chapel Church was organized in 1894 under the leadership of Rev. C.J. Justice and Brother Willie Davenport and his wife. Other leaders in this early church were Rev. Eddie Moore, Brother Eddy Green, Brother Franke Cook, Mathis Shead and his wife, Brother Joe Profet, and Brother Joe Hardy Green. The members built a brush harbor for their worship services. In 1897, Rev. John Landers was called as their pastor. Their first church was built on this present site in 1913. After a storm destroyed that building in 1935, the dedicated members build the church presently in use by the congregation.
  38. TS&N Railroad and Depots
    • From the mid 1890s to the early 1970s, the Texarkana, Shreveport & Natchez Railroad served the economic (lumber, cotton, and oil) and personal needs of northeast Caddo Parish along a roadbed at this site. The railroad began in the 1880s as Gate City Lumber Railroad. It was a logging railroad with track from Texarkana, Arkansas, to Hosston, Louisiana. In 1895, it was reorganized as the TS&N Railroad and tracks continued south to Shreveport. The TS&N Railroad was purchased by the Texas & Pacific Railroad in 1901, then by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in the 1960s. The tracks from Texarkana to Hosston were removed in the 1950s and from Hosston to Shreveport in the 1970s.
  39. Linda Lay Memorial Baptist Church
    • Organized June 6, 1919, with 12 charter members. It was named in honor of Mrs. Linda Lay, who had been instrumental in the development of the spiritual life in the town. Constructed in 1920, dedication of the building was held on August 14, 1921. The first pastor was the Reverend J. T. King. It was donated to the Town of Gilliam in 2020.
  40. Gilliam United Methodist Church (12853 Adger, Gilliam)
    • Founded in 1900 as the Gilliam Methodist Episcopal Church South, services were conducted in a boxcar by an itinerant minister. The first building was erected on the north side of Red Bayou and was destroyed by the cyclone of 1908. The first pastor was Mr. Cornell. After the cyclone, the church was rebuilt at the current location and remained in use until 1939 when a second building was constructed. In 1955, the existing building was erected. In 1968, after a denominational merger, the church became the Gilliam United Methodist Church.
  41. 1910 Reuben Thom Douglas Home / All’s Well Farm (12855 Adger Rd)
    • The home was built circa 1910 by Reuben Douglas and his wife, Lucy Parsons, after the Gilliam 1908 storm destroyed their first home. Reuben, one of the early landowners in the area, purchased 800 acres in 1900, which he named All’s Well Farm. Reuben operated a store and a cotton gin in Gilliam. He was one of the early members of the Caddo Levee Board, a state representative, and a leader in the Gilliam Methodist Church. Reuben and Lucy married in 1902 and had four children – Mary Chapman, James Jackson, Ellen and Dorothy. The home remained in the family until 1993.
  42. John B. Adger Home (13166 Adger Rd, Gilliam)
    • The home was designed by well -known Shreveport architect Edward F. Neild and constructed in 1917 for John B. and Mildred Cavett Adger. Their first home near the Red River had been destroyed by the 1908 cyclone that devastated much of Gilliam. In 1949, John B. Adger sold the home and surrounding farmland to his nephew, Dan P. Logan, and wife, Ethel. In 1999, it became the home of Stephen and Jann Logan and their two children. The farmland remains in the family as an active farming operation known as Logan Farms.
  43. Fairview Farm
    • In 1897, James Richard Cavett, one of Gilliam's early settlers, acquired this 240 acre tract of land. His first child, Elsie Louella Cavett and her husband William Hall McClenaghan named it "Fairview" to honor their Scotch-Irish ancestry. Their oldest son, William Cavett Mcclenaghan, or "Will Mac", started farming here and was one of the first planters in Caddo Parish to use a tractor. He married Gertrude Gale Smith, and they built a white frame farmhouse, a commissary, barns, and other outbuildings, at Fairview, where two of their three daughters were born. At Christmas the commissary had apples, oranges, raisins, and candies that farm hands could purchase using brozines bearing the McClenaghan name. Part of Fairview has been in the same family for over 115 years.
  44. Seawell's (Sewell's) Canal, 1830-1873 (Hwy 170, Gilliam)
    • In 1830, Lt. Washington W. Seawell of the United States Corps of Engineers developed a canal connecting Black Bayou and Red Bayou by cleaning out and improving a natural channel between the two bayous. This canal, later named after Lt. Seawell, allowed small riverboats to navigate around the Upper Red River raft by following Twelve Mile Bayou, Caddo Lake, Black Bayou, and Red Bayou. In 1873, when the Upper Red River raft was removed by U.S. Corps of Engineers, riverboats ceased using this route and followed the cleared Red River channel.
  45. United States Indian Agency House Caddo Prairie, 1825-1831 (Highway 170 & Gamm Rd, Gilliam)
    • During the 1820s and the early 1830s, an Indian Agency House was built in the approximate vicinity of Herndon School. This log frame building served the trading needs of the Caddo and other Indian groups in the area. During the mid-1830s, the structure was dismantled and re-erected south of Shreveport in what is now the Ellerbe Road/ Flournoy-Lucas Road area. There were no white settlements in Caddo Indian lands until after the Caddo cession of 1835. There were none until about 1840 in northern Caddo Parish.
  46. Mt. Gilead Baptist Church (8739 Mt Gilead Church Rd)
    • Mt. Gilead Baptist Church was established in 1860 by early settlers of the area. Families prominent in the establishment of the church were those of Marion Magouirk, Lawrence Decatur Ivins, and Francis Marion Hobbs, Their descendants still are active in the present church. In 1891, the church joined the Caddo Baptist Association and it is now a member of the Southern Baptist Convention. No records exist of their first church building. The church building constructed in 1896 still is in use by the congregation. The present sanctuary was built in 1977.
  47. Bayou State Oil Corporation (Briar Rose St & Lilac, Hosston)
    • The Bayou State Oil Corporation was chartered on April 22, 1926, to own and operate oil and gas leases, to operate pipelines, and to refine oil. The first properties were in the vicinity of Hosston. The Bayou State Refining Corporation was chartered on December 8, 1927. The Graver Corporation of Chicago, Illinois, was contracted to construct a Lubricating Oil Refinery in Hosston, Louisiana. The new refinery was completed and made operational on November 21, 1928. The two companies were merged into the Bayou State Oil Corporation on September 10, 1934. The Refinery continued in operation until 1980, producing diesel fuel, insulating oil, lubricating oil, heavy gear oil, and asphalt, when it was closed. The plant was dismantled in 2008. The company now produces, buys, and sells crude oil in Caddo and Bossier Parishes in Louisiana.
  48. Hosston Methodist Church, now The Old Church House (15615 Highway 71, Hosston)
    • On June 23, 1912, twelve charter members organized the Hosston Methodist Church. At first, they worshiped at the Baptist Church, then in 1916 built a white frame church which faced east on this spot. In 1940, as the membership grew, two porches were enclosed as Sunday School rooms. In 1954, a brick structure, facing west to the highway, replaced the original building. Over half of the charter members belonged to the McKinney family. Members of the family have served faithfully in many positi0ons through the present day. While the church is not large, the members were faithful to the mission of Christianity. When the membership declined in 2018, the congregation merged with the Gilliam Methodist Church. At that time, the building was purchased by Raymond and Deb McKinney and converted into The Old Church House – a Deli, Market, and venue for rent.
  49. Hosston Post Office (6403 Parkway Dr, Hosston)
    • The Hosston Post Office was established on May 27, 1901. The first Hosston Postmaster was Dee R. Allen who served from May 27, 1901-March 16, 1908, and the last Postmaster was Charles V. Giles who served from June 3, 1966 – December 31, 2004. The Hosston Post Office was located in this building from 1947 until 1968. The first Post Office in this area was organized in the Hale community on May 16, 1890, about one mile and a half northwest of the current town of Hosston. The Hale Postmaster was James M. Hale. As a result of the population moving from Hale into Hosston area, and the construction of the railroad through Hosston, the Hale Post Office was closed on May 14, 1904. e
  50. 1881 The Hoss Home (6305 Magnolia St.)
    • James Monroe Hoss and his wife Emma Hoss rode in a buggy from Rodessa to check on the building of the home. The couple moved in when the home was completed in 1881 and lived there for their lifetimes. They built a general store in town. The town was named Hosston for them after their dedication of property to the railroad. Their son, James Monroe Hoss Jr. and Nellie Yarbrough Hoss inherited the home and the store. They lived in the home all their lives. James Collins Hoss inherited the home and lived there his lifetime and gave the family home to his daughter, Karen Hoss. She gave the home to her daughter Sumer Porter, who is making it her permanent home.
  51. Hosston School (14905 Oak St, Hosston)
    • Established in 1872, the original school for the community was located at Caddo Prairie and named Willis School. The first school in Hosston was a wooden one-room building erected in 1900 and was used until 1914, when a building with four classrooms and an auditorium was completed. In 1931, classes moved to the current brick structure. The school closed, and is now the Singing Pines Recreational Complex.
  52. Audie Fuller Bonnette Home (circa 1878) (5517 Highway 71, Hosston)
    • The home was built before the turn of the century circa 1878 and occupied by the Adams family. James Patrick Fuller and his wife Gertie McKinney Fuller purchased the home in 1919. The original dogtrot style of the house was changed and enlarged in 1947 when it became the home of Pattie Mae Fuller Hudson and her husband Paul Jay Hudson and their children, Pat and Paula. In 1974 it became the home of Audie Fuller Bonnette and her husband Samuel Clyde Bonnette. Audie Fuller Bonnette was born in this home in 1920. The home has remained in the Fuller family since 1919.
  53. Caddo Prairie Baptist Church (15936 Hosston Rodessa Rd, Hosston)
    • On April 21st, 1872, Caddo Prairie Baptist Church was organized at the Willis School House, a large wooden building located across the road from the church’s present location. Caddo Prairie Baptist Church was given its name because it once was a mission church for the Caddo Indians and its surrounding vast prairie. The family of George Washington Hale first settled in the area in the early 1850s and were one of the families which organized the church. After the Civil War the community grew in size and the church was organized. The Texarkana to Shreveport railroad developed in the late 1890s/early 1900s and passed to the east of Caddo Prairie at the community of Hale (renamed Hosston). Population growth shifted to Hosston with the early 20th century oil boom, but Caddo Prairie Baptist Church, a Bible believing, teaching and preaching Church has and will continue to serve God and the surrounding area.
  54. Dominick Store
    • In the early 1900s brothers John H. Dominick and Andrew C. Dominick opened a general store in Mira, Louisiana. The wood frame building faced west to the railroad tracks. In 1918 the original building burned and a new brick structure replaced it, facing east to the highway. This building was both a general store for the community and a commissary serving the needs of the farm workers. From 1905 through 1920 the post office in Mira was housed in the Dominick store. Mira in the first half of the twentieth century was a thriving community which included a saw mill, cotton gin, several general stores, a café, a Baptist church, and numerous houses.
  55. Allison Home 1913 (19535 Hwy 71)
    • John Richard Preston Allison and Leora “Ora” Byram Allison built this home in 1913. The architect and builder was Jim Shaver who also built the Ida Methodist Church in 1904 and other homes in Ida in the early 20th century. The couple raised their 9 children here, eight of whom became educators in this area. The home of the patriarch of the family, Andrew John Allison, was located just to the north, and it became the site of the Ida High School in 1928. The home of Gladys Allison Chandler was just to the south and the home of Beulah Allison Thomas was across the street.
  56. Munnerlyn Chapel Methodist Church & Cemetery (Atlanta Mira Rd, Mira 71044)
    • Munnerlyn Chapel was the first church to be established in the Ida area. In 1877, pioneer Methodists began meeting in a small log building provided by the Munnerlyn family. Soon a temporary structure was built across the road from the present-day cemetery. In 1901, a new building was erected which also served the area as a school building until 1909. In 1935 a new structure was built that stood until the 1980s. Early teachers at the school included C.C. Whisenhunt who later became superintendent of Caddo Parish Schools.
  57. Bethsaida Baptist Church & Cemetery (8606 Ida State Line Rd, Ida 71044)
    • Bethsaida Baptist Church was established in 1883 at this location with the cemetery added shortly. Thomas and Mary Wynn donated the land for the church and the cemetery. The first members were a group of pioneers from Georgia who named it after their beloved church in Atlanta. The one-room building was the first Baptist church and the first school in Ida. Early families were Chandler, Byram, Evans, Whittington, Trant, Bumgardner, Lester, Perdue, Slay, Gryder, Bryant, and Hortman. The present building was constructed around 1902 after the first building had burned. The school was housed in a downtown store until the new building was erected. Early teachers were Irene McFarland, T.W. Goodson, D.W. Proctor, Eunice Gorban Means, J.D. Barber, and C.L. Perry, Sr.
  58. Ida Post Office Building
    • This building was erected in 1923 by W. C. Reynolds, an early Postmaster in Ida. It was the location for the Ida Post Office from 1923 until 1962. Following this period, the building was the carpenter shop of J.E. Richardson. In 1997 the building became home for the Ida Museum, and in 2010 was converted into the Fletcher Adams USAF 357th Fighter Group Museum.
  59. Ida Methodist Church
    • The Ida Methodist Church was organized in 1903. The present building, dating 1904, was erected on land donated by W.B. Means and J.T. Means. Jim Shaver was the architect and builder. The original building had a bell tower and steeple and the first pews were blocks of wood turned on end with a 1" x 12" board across them. A large wood-burning stove was located in the center aisle with coal and oil lamps providing lighting. The Reverend Robert J. Harp was the first pastor.
  60. Missionary Plantation
    • Missionary Plantation was established in 1890 by William Burney Means. The Plantation name originated from a lady who gave most of what she earned to missions. The original home no longer exists. This second home was built in 1929 by Mr. Means daughter, Annie Burney Means Cole. Missionary has had several owners. The present owners are the Von Maltzahn’s, a prominent German family, who purchased it in 1977 as a safe haven in the United States. Their family farm in Germany had been taken following the division of Germany after World War II. A wing in the home is reserved for the Von Maltzahn family. Price and Holli Bundy and their three daughters live in the home and the land is farmed as Bundy Farms.

Back to Top