| Communities | Economy | History / Markers | Local Government |
| Location / Geography | Media | Parks and Recreation | Schools and Libraries |
| Parish Map | Top of page | ||
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Unincorporated areas of interest in the parish include Baccus, Bunker, Couchwood, Dorcheat Spur, Doyline Station, Ecco, Fryeburg, Gas Spur, Gilark, Hortman, Invincible, Leton, Longsprings, Martin Junction, Pace, Porterville, Sikes Ferry, Swift and Yellow Pine. Places of interest include Germantown Colony and Museum, the Caney Wildlife Management Area, the Bayou Raceway, Alexander Plantation, Lake Bistineau State Park and Confederate Park. Events include the Minden Jaycees Fair and Forest Festival in September and October |
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Minden Chamber of Commerce 101 Sibley Road Minden 318-377-4240 |
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Louisiana Ordinance Plant Lake Bistineau State Park |
Bodeau Bayou Lake Bistineau |
Lake Bistineau Memorial Shrine |
History | |
| 1805 |
When the Territory of Orleans is divided into counties the present-day Webster Parish is part of Natchitoches. |
| 1811 |
Isaac Alden immigrates from New Orleans, becoming one of the first settlers in the Webster Parish area. Richard Fields settles in the area and the two men are the only settlers until 1818. |
| 1827 |
A post office is established at what is now called Alden's Settlement. The previous year had seen a generous cotton crop in the area. A planter named McCrady , who has the largest crop will soon build a cotton gin. |
| 1830s |
A commune is founded at Germantown by settlers who have come a long way to populate the area. They are followers of Count Von Leon who had been jailed in Germany during a revolutionary movement there. He was sentenced to death, but was spared and sent into exile with his wife and over 300 other settlers he travels to New York and then settles in Pittsburgh for two years. Next the group travels down the Mississippi River and up the Red River to settle at Grand Ecore near Natchitoches. Many of the Germans and their leader catch a fever and die. A Louisina Congressman finds a way to give the survivers land north of Minden where they settle and build the commune. A few of the buildings remain today. |
| 1835 |
Charles L Veeder buys the site of Minden and names it after his hometown in Germany. He suffers financial reverses and joins the gold rush to California in 1849. |
| 1844 |
The First Baptist Church is founded in Minden. Its first pastor is the grandfather of former first lady Lady Bird Johnson. |
| 1854 |
Two schools including the Seminary of Minden merge to become the Minden Female College, a seminary of learning for females. |
| 1864 |
The area of Webster Parish misses any direct action in the Civil War, but many men there answer the call to arms and it serves as a hospital for may after the battle of Mansfield. |
| 1871 |
Webster Parish is created by an act of the Louisiana state legislature from parts of Bossier, Claiborne and Bienville parishes. Like most parishes created during the Reconstruction era Webster was designed to create more offices for the carpetbagger government. |
| 1872 January |
Thomas B Neal wins a contract to build the Webster Parish courthouse. Construction begins in July and is completed in March of 1874. |
| 1905 |
A new two story Romanesque style courthouse is completed. |
| 1953 |
A new four story parish courthouse is completed in Minden a block from the old courthouse. It features a roofless rotunda that serves as an atrium. |
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When the first known white settlers moved into the area it was a dense mass of virgin timber, underbrush and interlacing vines. Local Indians of the powerful Caddo confederation lived in scattered villages and moved about in search of game, but were no bother to the settlers. While surveying the new Louisiana Territory in 1806, an expedition from the United States War Department took a detour through Lake Bistineau to avoid "The Great Raft," an accumulation of debris in the Red River twenty-five miles above Natchitoches. The raft was not removed until 1838 and the detour helped to establish several trails and communities in the area that is now called Webster Parish. Later settlement was aided by small packet boats that traveled up Dorchet and Bodceau Bayous and by the development of the lumber and cotton industries throughout the parish. During the Civil War the Bistineau Salt Works provided salt to cure meat and to trade for other necessities. A religious colony, Germantown, is founded near Minden, La. by followers of Count Leon, who came from Germany to operate a communal village which thrives until 1871. The act establishing Webster Parish from a portion of Claiborne Parish was approved on February 27, 1871 and the first courthouse was built in Minden the following year. The organization of the parish during the Reconstruction period created some interesting political stories. In one election for mayor of Minden a well-respected local candidate died a few days before the election, giving the Carpetbagger candidate a good chance to win. The voters, who did not want this Northerner as their mayor, proceeded to elect a local farmer s bull. After the great Raft was removed Shreveport had become the dominant commercial center in the area. Trade was hampered from the east because wagons and mules became mired in the wet delta land across the river from the port. A Minden man, Judge John Watkins obtained permission from the government to build a nine mile covered highway called the Bossier Shed Road. The road put to work many men who had lost their jobs because of the Panic of 1873 (an economic depression). A toll was charged and the road was a profitable enterprise until the first railroad was built in the area twelve years later. |
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The Webster Parish School System includes 23 elementary, middle, junior high and senior high schools. There is one private school in the parish to provide an alternative for students not attending public schools. All public and private schools are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary schools and the Louisiana Independent School Association. ACT average scores are 19.3 and 19.8, respectively, for the public and private schools. This compares most favorably with the regional and national averages of 17 and 17.7. Currently the percentages of graduating seniors attending college are 55.7% for the public schools and 89% for the private school. Annual cost in public funds to provide schooling is $2,927 per student, with a pupil-to teacher ratio of 16:1. TEACHERS ENROLLMENT Public School 544 8,522 Private School 20 208 Vocational/Technical 29 512 |
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Vocational training is available at Northwest Louisiana Technical Institute, a state-funded facility in Minden, and in the vocational program of the Springhill schools. Vocational training includes welding, auto mechanics, small engine repair, business, LPN nursing, machine shop, drafting and instrumentation. To assure that new and expanding businesses have a continuing pool of workers with the level of education and expertise necessary for their operations, the area’s colleges and universities, vocational/technical schools and high schools graduate trained and entry-level persons year round. Schools at all levels are augmenting their general education missions with programs explicitly connected with employment possibilities for their students. This is seen in secondary schools in career education curricula and programs such as adopt-a-school through which business contributes resources, curriculum guidance and, in some cases, instruction, counseling and the promise of jobs for graduates. Community colleges are increasing their industry-specific training and colleges and universities are developing partnerships with industry that involve human as well as technological development. |
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Education |
Within an hour s drive of Minden and Springhill are nine colleges or universities. Five of these offer doctoral degrees in the arts, sciences, engineering, medical and legal fields. These universities are nationally and internationally recognized as sponsoring extensive research activities. Louisiana Tech University 43 miles Louisiana State University -Shreveport 30 miles Northwestern State University 75 miles Grambling State University 41 miles Centenary College 30 miles Baptist Christian College 25 miles LSU Medical Center 30 miles Southern University-Shreveport/Bossier 30 miles Bossier Parish Community College 25 miles |
| Webster Parish enjoys an excellent state-supported public library system. The library headquarters is located in Minden, with a full-time librarian, 7 full-time and 3 part-time assistants. Volumes in the library total in excess of 84,650, with approximately 400 new additions per month. The facilities offer reading and reference materials for all ages. A spacious branch office containing over 19,000 volumes is located in Springhill. Other branches are located in Sarepta, Shongaloo, Cotton Valley, Doyline, Heflin and Creighton Hill and Jones Memorial. |
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Education |
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Director - Eddie Hammontree 521 East & West St. Minden, LA 71055 Email - ehammont@pelican.state.lib.la.us 6 Branches - Doyline, Heflin, Mack Memorial, Minden Main, Dr. John Pugh Memorial, Serepta American Library Directory 1999-2000, R. R. Bowker |
