From the memoirs of C.C. Davenport, concerning the areas of Richland Parish formerly part of the Morehouse Section See Full Memoirs Here …To continue my Memoirs of the early settlement of Morehouse… Read More
The following was written in the March 16, 1895 Beacon. Interesting to note the attention given to propaganda and fear, as it relates to making life decisions…
“The Beale Family Settles on Clear Lake” as told by Mr. Ernest Cook, ca., 1965 in “By the Boeuf with Beth” ….Mr. Ernest Cook and his wife of Baton Rouge came back… Read More
Seated by the open fireplace where a log burned slowly, we sipped black coffee Mrs. Etier had served us. Mr. Etier spieled off some French and momentarily I felt like I was in south Louisiana….
“I know, our grandfather, Ruben Scott, came here in the 1830s from North Carolina. He was with a group that banded together and came south. They stopped in Arkansas, and a Scott went to Natchez, Miss., and a Jones went on to New Orleans.”
R.F. McGuire Lodge No. 209, Chartered February 15th, 1871
The Vickers House (c.1870) is a story-and-a-half frame late Greek Revival residence located in the small rural community of Alto. Although there has been a rear addition, the house itself has been little altered over the years. The Vickers House is constructed with a pegged frame; however, much of the actual structure is board and batten.
The romantic names, Lucknow and Mhoon’s landing, lured me to Ward Six this week. I’m delighted that I went! I saw and learned more in my recent jaunts to the west side of the Boeuf, than I’ve known in all the years we’ve lived so close to Ward Six, on the east side of the Boeuf.
One of the earliest references to the Boeuf River, this advertisement printed in New Orleans sought buyers for lands in the parish of Washita. Boeuf River is not located in present day… Read More
Boeuf River steamboat days were happy days. I can tell by the twinkle in Doctor Jordan’s eye as he relates about the Era 10, the steamboat with the most beautiful whistle he’d ever heard. Some weeks he said, as many as three steamboats came up Boeuf River. Besides the Era 10, there was the Tom Parker, the Saline and the Stella Black.
Do you know how Boeuf River got its name? Or, have you been like me and though the French word for beef sounded pretty ritzy and appropriate too, with the herds of cattle that drink of its water and seek out its cool, refreshing shade in the hot summer. Today that seems logical, but it isn’t the authentic reason for the name of Boeuf.
A low fence encloses the yard and a giant pecan tree with boughs bending near the ground stands guard at the gate to the well-kept Alexander place. Bolivar Alexander was the first to come in the early 1870s, migrating from Mississippi. Later, his brother, R. S. (Dick) Alexander, joined him and bought the present farm from a Mr. Collins in 1876. Since then, four generations have lived here and the family continues to hold deep sentiment for their home pecal beside the Boeuf.
The bell, from 1881 to 1950, hung in the belfry of the old courthouse building and it was almost lost when the old building was demolished to make way for the present structure. For the price of $50.00 it was redeemed from the contractor and has been stored in the parish highway barn awaiting the time when sufficient public Interest would demand Its restoration.
The following works were written in conjunction with the WPA (Works Progress Administration of Louisiana), ca., 1935. These documents have been recently digitized as part of the Louisiana Digital Library, and are… Read More
Photograph of E.A. Boies, Sr., and Sarah Emmaline Prewitt Boies, ca., 1895, near Alto, Louisiana
The following post is not about someone with Richland Parish roots, but he did make an impact in Tensas Parish. I found his story interewsting, so decided to make a post on… Read More
Alto Presbyterian Church – Est. 1873 This church building was built in 1873. The church is both on the Presbyterian Historical Register. The church first belonged to Central Mississippi Presbytery then to… Read More
Hervey Mangham was born the tenth of ten children. His mother and father faced heartbreak after heartbreak earlier in their marriage. All five of their first five children died in infancy or at a very young age…. Read More
Included in this oral history, which was recorded back in 1991, is a history of each community and the history of their names.
It’s difficult to find a better source than the works of Bennie McLain Hixon (1923-2014), when it comes to research on Richland Parish and particularly, the first settlements along Boeuf River. Thanks… Read More
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