LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT
CEMETERIES & GRAVES




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AN INDEPTH STUDY OF THE CEMETERIES AND GRAVES LOCATED ON THE LOUISIANA
ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT NEAR MINDEN, LOUISIANA.

INCLUDING A STUDY OF ALLENTOWN AND ALLEN BROS. & WADLEY LTD. SAWMILL
located in the extreme western portion of the "old" LAAP

WRITTEN BY CLIFTON D. CARDIN BOSSIER PARISH HISTORIAN

PRODUCED AT NO COST TO LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT,
MORTON THIOKOL, OR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

CONTENTS
PURPOSE
TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS USED

ALLENTOWN (HISTORY OF TOWN)
CEMETERIES: INVENTORIES AND/OR HISTORIES
ALLENTOWN CEMETERY
CROWE CEMETERY
JIM DAVIS CEMETERY
KEENE CEMETERY
KNOTTINGHAM CEMETERY
RAINE CEMETERY
RICHARDSON CEMETERY
VANORSDEL CEMETERY
WALKER CEMETERY
NOTES
INDEX

PURPOSE, A thorough investigation of the cemeteries and burials on what
is currently known as the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant offers a very
unique look into undisturbed pre-World War II burial grounds.
When the LAAP was created in the 1940's, plantations in both Bossier &
Webster Parish were purchased and consolidated therefore creating an
"island" of land that would supply the Federal Government with the
seclusion necessary to build explosive munitions, both far away from
civilization and from the prying eyes of our global enemies. This island
would provide the government with the ability to guard it's manufacturing
capability, size and extent of the munitions being made.
The resultant absorbing of these nine cemeteries would protect them
from the normal wear and tear that is associated with cemeteries that are
frequented by more burials and general public traffic. Very few burials
were allowed in these cemeteries after the 1940's.
Evidently when the Government took control of these lands, they also
assumed the role of providing perpetual care to these cemeteries. This
role has been fulfilled very well, the LAAP fencing and maintaining these
areas with utmost respect to their inhabitants. Another ironic twist has
been the fact that when the government took control of these cemeteries,
many of them had only wooden markers standing quiet vigil on top of their
respective graves. These wooden markers would not reveal the names of
their charges. The federal government apparently replaced these wooden
markers with generic concrete markers, which do not reveal the names of
their inhabitants either. Five of these nine cemeteries contains burials,
with generic headstones, and although the names of the cemeteries are
known, the names of the residents are not.
Another prime reason to inventory and document these graves is to
supply to the "outside" world a bona-fide list of those who are known to
be buried within the confines of the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant,
without it becoming necessary for them to gain permission and travel into
LAAP.

LOUISIANA ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT GRAVEYARD LOCATOR MAP

TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS USED; (information) = information in brackets was
either supplied by the author, another source or someone kin to the
person. It is assumed correct, although the author assumes no liability

b/ = brother of
bo/ = born in
bu/ = buried with
c/ = child of, sex not indicated
d/ = daughter of
di/ = died in
f/ = father of
h/ = husband of
inf/ = infant of
k/ = kin to
LAAP = Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant
m/ = mother of
?name = believed buried here but no headstone, information supplied
by a family member of when original work was done.
no/ = north of, means buried north of that person
s/ = son of
S,T,R = section, township, range, legal location of cemetery
S__,T__N,R__W, = Section, Township ? North, Range ? West
temp/marker = tempory metal marker, could be missing or impossible
to read later.
2 stones = there are two headstones for this person
w/ = wife of

ALLENTOWN
Allentown Cemetery is the most westerly of the nine cemeteries located
within the confines of the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant. It is the
only cemetery on LAAP that is in the current Bossier Parish. Allentown
Cemetery was named because of it's close proximity to a locale that after
1891 became known as Allentown.
Allentown was best described by the Shreveport Times, October 24,
1894.
ALLENTOWN A Veritable Human Bee Hive - A Constant Hum from Morning
till Night.
"In the Spring of 1891, Messrs. Allen Bros. & Wadley, saw mill men of
long experience, bought several thousand acres of land in Bossier Parish,
and, three miles north of Haughton, they established one of the largest
and most complete saw and planing mill plants in the State. This place is
known as Allentown. It is one of the busiest places in America. From
daylight until dark the hum of the saws and clattering of the planing
mill knives furnish music by which every man and boy able to do duty,
march. There are no drones or idlers at Allentown, and none are allowed
to remain there - all must work or move on. From 120 to 140 men are kept
constantly employed. The employees live within a short distance of the
mill in houses which were built for their comfort and convenience by the
company. While Allentown is not incorporated, yet the best of order and
discipline is maintained. In a word, it is a model town. It has its own
school house, church and Sunday school;,a resident physician, a large
store which is stocked from one end to the other with general
merchandise, and many other comforts and conveniences not often found in
more pretentious towns. The average daily attendance at school is forty.
Church services are held regularly once a month by Rev. J. B. Williams, a
Methodist minister. Sunday school services are held regularly every
Sabbath. Dr. W. J. Mobley is the resident physician. No whiskey or
intoxicants of any kind are allowed to be sold or handled, and immediate
discharge is the penalty for any employee, it matters not what position
he occupies, who appears in Allentown drunk or under the influence of
liquor. This is an inflexible rule of Messrs. Allen Bros. & Wadley. The
employees are paid off every evening at 6 o'clock.

THE MILL AND IT'S CAPACITY; The saw and planing mills are furnished
throughout with the best and latest improved machinery, every piece of
which is entirely new. All kinds of yellow and oak lumber are
manufactured. The average daily output of lumber is about 70,00 feet and
the monthly shipments range from sixty to ninety cars per month. This
lumber is shipped principally to Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, North and
South Dakota, Illinois, Missouri, Texas and the Indian Territory. The
capactiy of the planing mill is 100,000 feet per day, Quite recently a
Ketchum dry kiln with drying capacity of 40,000 feet per day, has been
put up. There is on hand at present about 4,000,000 feet of lumber.
The shipping point of Allen Bros. & Wadley is Wadley's switch on the
Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railroad, three miles east of Haughton,
while their express and telegraph office is at the latter place.
This firm owns nine miles of railroad, which they are gradually
extending due north, and will soon reach the Bodcau. One locomotive and
twenty flat cars are daily employed hauling logs from the interior to the
mill. Allen Bros. & Wadley own 6,000 or 7,000 acres of timber land and
own the timber on thousands of acres of other lands adjacent to their
line of railroad. The railroad is not only indispensable to the mill, but
is of great service to the people living along or in close proximity to
it. For some time the farmers have been endeavoring to get their cotton
hauled by rail to Wadley's station, and Messr. Allen Bros. & Wadley, ever
ready to do all in their power to accomodate their friends, have entered
into correspondence with the officials of the Vicksburg, Shreveport and
Pacific Railroad and as soon as satisfactory arrangements can be made
they will build a warehouse at Wadley station and begin to haul cotton
and other farms products to and from that station.
The population of Allen-town is between 400 & 500 souls. It is stricly
a saw mill town, where everything is on the qui vive from sun rise to sun
set. It is a veritable human bee hive. There drones, idlers or tramps
have no abode. Allentown is a regular post office and has daily mail
service."
The sawmill operated in eastern Bossier Parish until 1908. Remains of
the old sawmill still exist, outside the domain of the LAAP, but very
close to this cemetery, due west.
Allentown itself has remained a mystical area, it's remains held under
the ownership of the LAAP until about 1990, when the property was sold
off by the Federal Government. In 1994 there was a shooting range located
just north and east of the old Allentown sawmill remains. Even today the
road leading north-east from Haughton is still called Allentown Road,
although it no longers reaches through Allentown to Hwy 80. A thorough
search of the old sawmill location might reveal interesting historical
finds.

ALLENTOWN CEMETERY, Is in the Southwest corner of the Northeast 1/4 of
the Southeast 1/4 of Section 11, Township 18 North, Range 11 West. It is
well maintained by the LAAP management. It was fenced by the federal
government by a strong cyclone fence that measures 21 ft. by 24 ft.
An original archeological survey of the area performed in the 1980's
interviewed a local informant who worked at the LAAP for many years, and
he recalled that prior to the 1940's, the cemetery had 17-20 graves which
were marked with wooden markers. He remarked that by the time the U. S.
Government fenced the area, only one headstone was evident.
That headstone reads; IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR DEAR BABY ROSSIE LEE
WIMBUSH BORN NOV 13 1898 DIED MCH 13 1899 AGE 4 MTS

The headstone is broken laterally across the surname, and the name and
inscriptions are hard to read. The original 1980's survey apparently
could not read the inscriptions and accepted a local newspapers notion
that the childs name was Wimberlie. Their research could not find out
anything about the child. But close inspection of the headstone does
reveal that the name is definitely WIMBUSH.

GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION, It is highly likely that the child is the
daughter of Jack and Malinda Davis Wimbush. Mr. Wimbush was an employee
of Allen Bros. & Wadley Ltd since about 1897, for on June 20, 1907, the
sawmill "sold" the forty acre tract which contained the childs burial
site to Jack Wimbush "for $1.00 and acknowlegment of 10 years of
service."
The 1900 census records that Jack Wimbush was born in Virginia in
September of 1857. His wife Malinda was born in Louisiana in October of
1867. It records that they were married in 1884 and had at least two
other children Cora, born in Louisiana in February of 1886 and Robert,
born in Louisiana in October of 1892. The 1900 census also records that
Jack was section foreman, meaning he held the important job of making
sure the sawmills extensive railroad tracks were kept in good working
condition. He might have also overseen the handling and loading of the
railcars, quite an accomplishment for a negro employee considering the
racial atmosphere in Bossier/Webster Parish at the turn of the century
(see note 1). It was quite a compliment to Jack Wimbush for Allen Bros. &
Wadley to sell him 40 acres of land for $1.00. Jack Wimbush was
definitely censused as living among the laborers of Allentown in ward 6.
In fact, Wm. Wadley was censused shortly after Jack Wimbush. Jack
retained the land for years, leasing it June 7, 1922 to J. W. Holt and
finally selling it Oct 31, 1923 to J. K. & Audrey Murff Sheppard.
Jack Wimbush was last known living in Haughton, in 1923, when he sold
the land. There are presently no Wimbush's living in either Haughton or
Shreveport. No relatives were found to interview.
None of the conveyances in Bossier Parish Courthouse pertaining to
this tract of land contain any mention of the Allentown Cemetery, or the
burial site of Rossie Lee Wimbush.

CONCLUSION, There has never been a thorough search of the Allentown
Cemetery area using metal detectors or ground probes to determine if
evidence can be obtained of the possibility of other graves. Metal
detectors can determine if there are lead or tin caskets buried
underneath the ground and ground probes can determine if headstones have
fallen and subsequently covered by forest debris, or if the headstones
may have sunken, which has been the case in other cemeteries located in
the flat woodlands similiar to that which surround the Allentown
Cemetery.
CROWE CEMETERY, Is located in the West 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of
Section 3, T18N, R10W. There are no indications why it is named Crowe.

HEADSTONE**BIRTH**DEATH**NOTES

Sidney Hope BATEN**Dec 22, 1887**Feb 9, 1932
Mabel BRUNSON**Aug 11, 1901**Aug 25, 1903**d/Mat & Lula
Stella Harvill COLE**Jun 26, 1874**Feb 19, 1907**w/A.B. Cole
"Jim" J. A. COLLINS**Mar 5, 1857**Dec 23, 1917**h/S.L.Collins
Lula Wheless COLLINS**Mar 4, 1887**Aug 11, 1918**w/L.S.Collins
Luther S. COLLINS**Nov 2, 1899**Jan 12, 1918**h/L.W.Collins
**Pvt Co F 54 Infantry World War I
Sallie L. COLLINS**Sep 5, 1868**May 10, 1941**w/J.A.Collins
Margaret Ann CUNNINGHAM.n/a (1853?)**Jul 23, 1905**aged 52 yrs.
**stone erected by Jasper Van dusen
Samuel L. FULLER**Jul 24, 1843**May 19, 1911**h/R.B.Fuller
**Co E 12 La Inf CSA
"Baby" GRAY**Jan 22, 1916
Hugh R. HAMMER**Jul 25, 1875**Nov 23, 1912
**Woodmen of the World marker,
"Infant" HARVILL**Sep 18, 1903**Sep 20, 1903
**s/ T. C. & H. A. Harvill
Mildred HARVILL**Jan 10, 1911**Jan 21, 1911
Hugh L. HUDSON**Nov 28, 1853**Jul 15, 1914**60yrs8ms18dy
**son of Col. Elijah & Sarah Hudson
David E. MORE**n/a**Jul 21, 1880
Walter Warren SELLARS**Jan 25, 1906**Mar 8, 1916
**son of R. H. & L. M. Sellars
A. Clyde STEVENS**Apr 2, 1889**May 15, 1932
Anna M. STEVENS**May 2, 1860**May 4, 1931**mother
F. E. STEVENS**Nov 24, 1887**May 20, 1932
"Baby" Francis STEVENS**Dec 6, 1923**Jan 16, 1924
**dau. of T. E. & S. E. Stevens
T. L. STEVENS**May 31, 1842**May 26, 1907
William STEVENS**Jul 11, 1917**Oct 5, 1921
**son of T. E. & S. E. Stevens
J. W. E. STEWART**Jan 22, 1886**Aug 15, 1889
**son of J. W. & I. E. Stewart
Francis TAYLOR**Jan 30, 1887**Apr 11, 1921
**wife of T. A. Taylor
Allie Burns WALKER**Mar 15, 1871**Apr 14, 1894
**wife of William Walter Walker
Amanda WALKER**Apr 18, 1848**Aug 24, 1848
Benjamin WALKER**Mar 19, 1809**Jul 15, 1872
**husband of Eveline Deloach Walker
Calvin WALKER**Sep 13, 1855**Oct 4, 1865
Eveline Deloach WALKER**Feb 7, 1817**Sep 19, 1872
**wife of Benjamin Walker
"Infant" WALKER**no dates**son of W. W. & A. B. Walker
Julia A. WALKER**Jan 10, 1845**Sep 2, 1848
Katie O'Neal WALKER**Jan 29, 1841**Dec 28, 1899
**wife of Napolean B. Walker
Napolean B. WALKER**no dates**no dates**
**husband of Katie O'Neal Walker
**Co H 1 La Hv Arty CSA
Nettie Sue WALKER**Apr 7, 1923**no dates
**daughter of Mrs. August Fischer
Rufus B. WALKER**Mar 28, 1844**Jul 28, 1845
Sidney WALKER**Mar 9, 1841**Jan 1886
Thomas Nicholls WALKER**Mar 27, 1892**Apr 19, 1923
William Walter WALKER**Oct 12, 1871**Apr 26, 1957
**husband of Allie Burns Walker
Jacob N. WHELESS**no dates**Co L 12 La Inf CSA


GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION,
Mildred Harvill was the daughter of T. C. & L. A. Harvill.
Samuel L. Fuller is believed to be the father of Katie Fuller, the
mother of Turner Coleman Harvill. She had married Tom Harvill.
Stella Harvill Cole was the sister of T. C. Harvill. She married A. B.
Cole who worked for the V. S. & P. Railroad. She died in childbirth. It
is believed that he remarried a school teacher at Dubberly named
"Cousson".
T. C. Harvill was Turner Coleman Harvill and his wife was Lillie
Amelia Harvill.
Hugh L. Hudson was the son of Col. Elijah and Sarah (Doyle) Hudson.
Elijah & Sarah were married Feb. 3, 1853 in Bossier Parish.
Allie Burns Walker was William Walter Walkers first wife. She died in
childbirth. The unnamed child was buried with her and her husband.
Napolean Bonaparte Walker is believed to have lived until about 1934.
William Walter Walker was first married to Allie Burns Walker. After
she died he remarried and lived almost 63 years longer than his first
wife. It is remembered that he married a "Hatley" woman. He died and was
buried with his first wife, then his second wife remarried a man named
"Shattuck" and she in turn was buried with her second husband at the
Antioch Baptist Church, Dixie Inn, La.

CREDITS, Harvill information supplied by Mrs. Louise Harvill Stewart of
Doyline. Mildred Harvill was her little sister and Turner Coleman & Lille
Amelia Harvill were her parents. Mrs. Louise Harvill Stewart definitely
advised me not to ask her age, but if her little sister was born in
1911...hum???
William Walter Walker information supplied by James Leroy Walker of
Minden, LA.
Allie Burns Walker information supplied by Mrs. Naomi Floyd of
Princeton, LA.

JIM DAVIS CEMETERY, Is located in the West 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of the NE
1/4 of Section 10, T18N, R10W.
The Jim Davis Cemetery is one of those cemeteries on the LAAP that do
not contain any readable headstones.
There are eleven (11) generic headstones of the type apparently
installed by the federal government when the LAAP assumed perpetual care
of this cemetery. All of these headstones are at one end of the cemetery,
although the fence contains about twice the space as the headstones
cover. Apparently the installers of the cyclone fence felt there were
burials at the other end of this cemetery, although there wasn't
apparently any positive graves upon which to install generic headstones.
The Jim Davis Cemetery is contained within a 20 ft by 40 ft cyclone
fence. A sign proudly proclaims the name of the cemetery although the
headstones don't reveal the inhabitants therein.
There are no current indications why the cemetery is named Jim Davis
Cemetery.

KEENE CEMETERY, Is located in the NE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of
Section 13, Township 18 North, Range 10 West.
It is another of those cemeteries that do not contain any readable
headstones.
There are six (6) generic headstones standing lone vigil above their
charges.
Again there are no indications why the cemetery is named Keene
Cemetery, although a thorough title search of the land has not been
attempted.

KNOTTINGHAM CEMETERY, Is located in the SW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of the SW
1/4 of Section 6, Township 18 North, Range 9 West.
The cemetery has no readable headstone. There are twelve (12)
generic headstones placed within the confines of the cyclone fence.
The cemetery is apparently vaguely named after the Nottingham
Plantation that stood here prior to and after the Civil War. The
plantation encompassed at least 800 acres. At one time Leonard Hunt, who
had purchased the plantation from the Nottingham's sold it back to them
for $5. The names of the known Nottingham's are; Rebecca F. V.
Nottingham, Sarah H. Guttenberger nee Nottingham, Marion W. Swanson nee
Nottingham, and Ida H. Willis nee Nottingham all related to Warren D.
Nottingham who was appointed trustee to oversee the property. All of
these Nottingham's were from Bibb County, Georgia. They sold this
property in 1893 for $1500.

RAINE CEMETERY, Is located on the eastern line of the NE 1/4 of the SW
1/4 of Section 17, T18N, R10W. It is surrounded by a cyclone fence
measuring 30 ft by 75 ft. There are approximately fourteen (14)
headstones of the generic type. There are only four readable headstones.

HEADSTONE**BIRTH**DEATH**NOTES
Ruby Maude JACKSON**Jan 26, 1891**Nov 17, 1894
Little Tom JACKSON**Nov 29, 1892**Oct 23, 1893
**son of L. E. Jackson
Mary J. JACKSON**May 19, 1830**May 24, 1893
**born in Alabama
**wife of J. E. Jackson
Maud KAMPEN**Feb 5, 1872**Oct 8, 1893
**wife of H. R. Kampen

A thorough search of all local newspapers including the Shreveport
Times, Minden newspapers, Bossier Banner, and the Bossier Press-Tribune
have not revealed any information about these burials. The 1880 Census
for Bossier Parish doesn't reveal anyone with the names recorded. There
is of course no 1890 census for Bossier Parish.
There is a possibility that these children were kin to the Jackson
Brothers who ran a store nearby. The store operated from about the 1900's
until the 1930's. In fact one of the brothers was J. Jackson.
RICHARDSON CEMETERY, Is located in the SE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section
11, TW18N, R10W. The land was originally patented by Hezekiah Hall on
September 1, 1849. The Cemetery was apparently named for the Sanders
Richardson family which encompassed the majority of the burials there.
Although when Sarah Catherine Wart was buried here in 1907, her obituary
notated that her body was shipped via the Vicksburg Shreveport & Pacific
train to Morgan's Switch and then carried to the "family cemetery" for
burial.
The cemetery is enclosed in cyclone fence measuring approximately 54
ft by 54 ft. It has 19 generic headstones bearing no inscriptions. A
legal description in 1941 recorded that the land was last owned by Calvin
C. Walker, who recorded that then the cemetery had about 50 burials.
Calvin C. Walker had purchased the land in 1918 and farmed it until 1941.
Calvin C. Walker's home was on the same 15 acre tract that contained the
Richardson Cemetery, which was in at the south end of the tract.

HEADSTONE**BIRTH**DEATH**NOTES

Eunica DORRIS**May 17, 1808**Jul 29, 1881
Esther R. GRAY**Sep 16, 1850**Oct 31, 1921**w/W.P.Gray
Janie E. GRAY**Apr 10, 1922**May 10, 1974
John T. GRAY**Jan 22, 1886**Jun 15, 1926
Lawson M. GRAY**Dec 22, 1889**Oct 18, 1918
William P. GRAY**Sep 29, 1848**May 15, 1930**h/E.R.Gray
Fannie Richardson MARTIN.Aug 5, 1850**Aug 12, 1879**w/James
James Franklin MARTIN**Oct 25, 1847**Feb 15, 1926**h/F.R.Martin
Jeannette C. Baten McCORD.Apr 27, 1858**Feb 6, 1929**w/J.McCord
Anna V. RICHARDSON**(Mar 22, 1858)**Apr 11, 1911**age 54
**2nd wife of Montgomery Thomas Richardson
Ben F. RICHARDSON**Jul 25, 1867**Feb 26, 1946**h/Lilla May
Lilla May RICHARDSON**Nov 29, 1870**Mar 18, 1927**w/Ben F.
Lucinda Outlaw RICHARDSON.Mar 11, 1811**Feb 2, 1882**w/S.Richar..
Ludie RICHARDSON**ca 1886**ca 1903**d/M.T.&A.V.
Luther L. RICHARDSON**Jan 5, 1900**Oct 5, 1902**s/B.F.&L.M.
M. T. RICHARDSON**n/a**Aug 29, 1900**age 47
**husband of 1st, Mary E. Richardson
**husband of 2nd, Anna V. Richardson
Martha Ann RICHARDSON**Jan 25, 1839**Oct 11, 1909**w/Peter
Mary C. Walker RICHARDSON.Feb 10, 1838**Mar 8, 1923**w/S.Richa...
Peter RICHARDSON**May 22, 1831**Apr 16, 1915**h/Martha Ann
Sanders RICHARDSON**Sep 1, 1810**Jan 9, 1903**h/L.O.&M.W.
Rosie C. TABOR**Jan 10, 1839**Jun 27, 1892**w/W.T.Tabor
W. T. TABOR**Dec 2, 1829**Jan 6, 1896**h/R.C.Tabor
Charles S. THOMPSON**Oct 5, 1889**Oct 26, 1889**s/C.P.&M.L.
Bennett L. THOMPSON**May 29, 1892**Sep 26, 1892**s/C.P.&M.L.
Lillie Estelle WART**Jul 7, 1881**Dec 16, 1882**d/W.&S.C.Wart
Miles Alfred WART**Jan 31, 1879**Dec 12, 1882**s/W.&S.C.Wart
Sarah Catherine WART**Apr 17, 1847**May 8, 1907**w/W.Wart
Warren WART**n/a**n/a **h/S.C.Wart
**CO I - 4 MO CAV - CSA

OTHER POSSIBLE GRAVES

Mary E. Hendricks RICHARDSON. **NO DATES AVAILABLE
Tommie WART****NO DATES AVAILABLE

GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION
Janie E. Gray was the only daughter of John T. Gray & Anna Mae
Wheeles.
Lawson M. Gray was the son of Esther R. & William P. Gray. He was the
brother of John T. Gray. Lawson died of influenza at the outbreak of WWI.
Fannie Richardson Martin was born Lydia Frances Richardson, the
daughter of Sanders and Lucinda (Outlaw) Richardson. She was born at Mt.
Lebanon, Louisiana shortly before the family moved to the present
location of LAAP. She married James Franklin Martin in Panola County,
Texas on August 5, 1875.
Jeannette Clay Baten McCord was the wife of Rev. Jno. Lorenzo McCord.
She was born in Coffee County, Alabama, and was the daughter of Catherine
Matilda (Lunsford) and Thomas James Baten. Sanders Richardson was her
great uncle. She lived with her nephew, Calvin Clay Walker, near
Richardson Cemetery until she died.
Anna Virginia Franks Richardson was born at Woodland, Bossier Parish,
Louisiana on March 22, 1858 and married Montgomery Thomas Richardson in
1883. After the death of her husband in 1900 at the home of his father ,
Sanders Richardson, Anna Richardson moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. She
died there and her remains were shipped to Minden and interred in the
Richardson Cemetery.
Benjamin Ford Richardson was the son of Peter and Martha (Ford)
Richardson and the grandson of Sanders and Lucinda (Outlaw) Richardson.
He married Lilla May Talton on October 15, 1890.
Lilla May (Talton) Richardson was born in Dubberly, Louisiaa and
married Benjamin Ford Richardson on October 15, 1890. Her grandmother was
Penelope (Outlaw) Pearce, who was the sister of Benjamin Ford
Richardson's grandmother, Lucinda (Outlaw) Richardson.
Lucinda Outlaw Richardson was the first wife of Sanders Richardson.
She was the daughter of John & Elizabeth (Evans) Outlaw. She was born in
Georgia. She married Sanders Richardson in Twiggs County, GA., on July
15, 1830 and they moved to Louisiana in the late 1840's. Eventually she
bore 10 children; Peter, Benjamin Milton, Mary Camilla, Nancy Elizabeth,
James Sanders, Sidney Hartwell, Jeremiah Dawson, Ruth Caroline, Lydia
Frances and Montgomery Thomas Richardson.
Ludie Richardson was age 17 at the time of her death. She was the
granddaughter of Sanders & Lucinda (Outlaw) Richardson and the daughter
of Montgomery Thomas Richardson and his second wife, Anna Virginia Franks
Richardson.
Luther L. Richardson was the son of B. F. & L. M. Richardson. Luther
Longino Richardson, was the great grandson of Sanders and Lucinda
(Outlaw) Richardson. He was probably named for Minden's well-beloved
doctor, Luther Longino, who published a description in 1930 of the
"Flatwoods" area in which the Richardson and other families lived.
M. T. Richardson was the youngest son of Sanders and Lucinda (Outlaw)
Richardson. Montgomery Thomas Richardson was married twice, first to Mary
Hendricks in 1874 and second to Anna Virgina Franks in 1883. He died in
his father's home, which is believed to have stood approximately 1/2 mile
east of the Richardson Cemetery.
Martha Ann Richardson was the wife of Peter Richardson. She was born
in Alabama as Martha Ann Ford. Her parents were Mr. & Mrs. James Ford who
had patented the NE1/4 of Section 9, TW18N, R10W on March 7, 1850 and the
SW1/4 of SW 1/4 of Section 10, on July 11, 1851. The family lived on
their property until 1885 when they sold out to Leary and Crichton.
Mary C. Walker Richardson was the second wife of Sanders Richardson.
They were married in 1883. Mary Catherine Walker was the daughter of
Benjamin & Emeline (Deloach) Walker. In 1918, her nephew Calvin Clay
Walker, bought the 40 acres on which the Richardson Cemetery is located.
One of her brothers, Christopher Columbus Walker, lived north of the
Cemetery in the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 2, TW18N, R10W with his
wife, Lou Baten Walker. A second brother, Napoleon Bonaparte Walker lived
immediately north of Christopher Columbus Walker with his wife, Louvisa
Lovedy Baten.
Peter Richardson, was the son of Sanders and Lucinda (Outlaw)
Richardson and married Martha Ford on June 24, 1858. On May 20, 1863 he
enrolled in Company B (Grays), Louisiana Infantry, Bossier Parish,
Louisiana. He was taken prisoner during the Civil War, then paroled in
Shreveport on June 14, 1865.
Sanders Richardson was the son of John & Mary (Stokes) Richardson and
was born in Anson County, North Carolina. The family moved to Twiggs
County, Ga. and Richardson married Lucinda Outlaw on July 15, 1830. In
the late 1840's, the Sanders Richardson family moved to Louisiana and
settled on the present site of the LAAP. On February 25, 1872, Sanders
and Lucinda were charter members of the Antioch Baptist Church, Dixie
Inn, LA.
Rosie C. (Austin) Tabor was the wife of William T. Tabor. Her
great-uncle was Sanders Richardson.
Bennett L. Thompson was the son of Charles Puckett & Matilda (Liewald)
Thompson, and the grandson of Mary Camilla (Richardson) and Montgomery
Bonaparte Thompson and the great-grandson of Sanders and Lucinda (Outlaw)
Richardson.
Charles S. Thompson was the brother of Bennett L. Thompson.
Sarah Catherine Wart was the wife of Warren Wart. She died May 8, 1907
of a lengthy illness. The Shreveport Journal recorded that she died in
Shreveport and her body was shipped via the Vicksburg Shreveport &
Pacific Railroad to Morgan's Switch and then to the family Cemetery. No
death report has been found for Warren Wart who was apparently alive at
the time of his wife's death.

VANORSDEL CEMETERY, Is located in the Southwest Corner of the Northeast
1/4 of the Northwest 1/4 of Section 15, Township 18 North, Range 10 West.
It is enclosed by a cyclone fence approximately 40 ft by 40 ft.
It contains 10 generic concrete headstones. It also contains one
headstone that includes the two following inscriptions.

HEADSTONE**DEATH**AGE AT DEATH
Gronison V. VANORSDEL**Aug 17, 1918**61 yrs, 8 mo, 20 days
and wife
Clara Jackson VANORSDEL.Oct 20, 1917**59 yrs,6 mo,4 days

An indepth search for an obituary on Gronison or Clara Vanorsdel, in
the Shreveport Times, the Minden newspapers and the Bossier Banner and
the Bossier Press Tribune of that time frame reveals nothing about this
couple.
The original archeological survey concerning this area included
testimony from a granddaughter of Granison & Clara Vanorsdel who revealed
others interred at the cemetery were;

OTHER POSSIBLE GRAVES
Mariah Vanorsdel HARRIS, a daughter
William VANORSDEL, a son
Candy VANORSDEL, a brother
E. H. FULLER, a grandson of Mariah Vanorsdel Harris
Unidentified grandchild of Mariah Vanorsdel Harris
Unidentified child of people who lived on the Vanorsdel place.

SURVEY REPORT
The same 1980's survey reported;

"Deed records and grave markers indicate that the Van Arsdale (sic)
Cemetery dates from the World War I period when Grandison (sic) and Clara
Van Arsdale (sic) were intered there. The site is not the location of
significant landscape features or funerary art; however, the information
gathered to date suggests that the Van Arsdales (sic) were an important
Black family in the eastern portion of the Plant who may have come to the
area as slaves and who later accumulated a sizable amount of property
which they farmed until 1941. Other sites are known to have been
asssociated with the Van Arsdales were so badly disturbed by the
government after 1941 that they cannnot be considered eligible for
listing on the National Register of Historic Places. As a result, the Van
Arsdale Cemetery remains the most intact and least distrubed site on the
Plant that is associated with this Black family. It is recommended,
therefore, that the Cemetery be considered potentially eligible for
listing on the National Register. A final, more complete assessment would
be made as additional historical research is carried out at the Plant.
Such additional research will contribute information concerning the
historical development of the area as a whole and thus the relative
importance of the Van Arsdale family."
The same archeological survey recorded that "Tom Vanorsdel built his
home and syrup mill southeast of the intersection of Fourth Street and
Java Road, Lucius Vanorsdel built a home just south of the water tower
adjacent to Fourth Street, Charles Vanorsdel's house was located north of
Lucius, and Clemmie Vanorsdel 's home was near the cemetery. Evidence of
most of these housesites is apparent on a 1916 Webster Parish soil survey
map and/or the 1939 aerial photograph of the area."
The author's interview with the great-nephew (Candy Vanorsdel's
grandson) of Gronison Vanorsdel revealed many interesting aspects of
Gronison Vanorsdel's life.
I had noticed in my research that the land was originally owned by Wm.
Vanorsdel, a white man who owned 38 slaves at the outbreak of the Civil
War. Mr. Vanorsdel's death in 1867 caused quite a stir because he was
murdered by three desperadoes from Texas. A $1500 reward was offered for
the capture of Kit Gregory, about 18 years old, black hair and eyes, and
a down-cast look, his complexion is dark or rather yellow, speaks very
little and slowly, and weighs about 125 pounds, 5 feet 2 or 3 inches
high; Ben Gregory, about 20 years old, black hair and eyes, his eyes
quite small, his complexion is yellow or sunburnt, about 6 feet high,
very slim and will weigh about 130 or 133 pounds; and also Jim White,
about 23 years old, dark hair and rather blue eyes, about 5 feet 8 or 9
inches high, well made, and a great talker, and one of his arms (thought
to be left) is crooked from being once broken. The money was offered by
several friends and neighbors of Wm. Vanorsdel, including A. McIntyre (of
McIntyre), D. B. Doyle (of Doyline fame), and W. F. Boon (who Boone Creek
is named after).
After Wm. Vanorsdel's death he apparently left no known descendents,
for out of state relatives claimed his massive fortune and forced it's
sell.
Years later Gronison Vanorsdel, mulatto, returned and purchased the
old homesite. My suspicions where confirmed when I interviewed the
descendents. He did reveal that Gronison was the son of Wm. Vanorsdel
(white) and had taken his fathers name after emancipation. (That was the
technique, negroes did not take the name of their master after the Civil
War, but that of their biological father.) The descendent revealed that
Gronison's mother had been a cook in the plantation of Wm. Vanorsdel.

WALKER CEMETERY, Is located in the Southwest corner of the Northwest 1/4
of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 14, Township 18 North, Range 10 West. It
is surrounded by a cyclone fence measuring app. 40 feet long and 30 feet
wide.
It contains seven generic headstones. It was apparently named for
and may contain the burials of some of the Walker family, all of whom
owned land nearby. The property was last owned by Harvey A. & Zelma
(Smith) Walker.

NOTES
Note #1. One of the incidents recorded by William Garrett & Emily D.
Allen Wadley occured April 21, 1900. They wrote; "I overlooked mentioning
in the part about Allentown a tragedy in the assassination of Will White,
the planing-mill foreman and the resultant murder of four negroes. White
had taken an active part in the lynching and burning alive of a negro who
had assaulted and attempted to murder a lady living at Doyline where the
execution took place. White cut out the heart of the burned negro and
tied it onto his saddle. He also lit the fire that burned the negro,
after having ridden day and night in running down and making the arrest
of the negro. This so enraged the negroes working for the company that
one of his negro workmen in the planing-mill assassinated him with a dirk
knife. After he killed White, the negro ran to his house and, as he saw
the white men coming after him, shot himself dead. White had recently
married a Miss Hickman of a prominent family near Haughton, and that same
day about five or six men from Haughton came out to Allentown, arrested
four of the suspected conspirators and took them to the woods and
murdered them. No arrests were ever made of those men. Many of our best
negroes left and never returned to work after that."
This was written 30 years after the incident. But what the Bossier
Banner recorded only days afterward was very close;
"Mrs. Will White, foreman of Messrs. Allen Bros. & Wadley's saw mill
at Allentown, was murdered by Jack Ranston, colored, about 8:30 o'clock
last Saturday morning. Mr. White was at his desk in his office when
Ranston slipped in unobserved and fired three shots from a pistol at his
victim, one of these hitting Mr. White in the back of the head, killing
him instantly. Ranston then went home and killed himself. Recently a
negro at the mill threatened to kill a white man, and was thrashed for
it. Several friends of the negro who was whipped swore vengeance against
the person engaged in the act, especially against Mr. White, and among
the number was Ranston, John Sugley and Jeb Amos, who formed a plot to
murder White. Ranston's accessories, Sugley and Amos, were arrested and
place under guard, and about noon of the same day a number of white men
took the culprits from the guard and carried them to the woods and hanged
them.
Mr. White was an estimable young man, whose unfortunate death is
greatly deplored by a large number of friends. About two years ago he was
married to Miss Lula Hickamn, of Fillmore, who is left to mourn his
untimely death."
So was recorded one of the great tragedies that occured at Allentown
sawmill.

INDEX

Abbreviations 7
Allen & Wadley 8, 9, 32
Allentown 8, 10, 12
Amos 32
Anson County, NC 26
Antioch B. C. 26
Austin 26
Author 2
Baten 14, 23, 25, 26
Bibb County 20
Bodcau 9
Boon 29
Bossier Parish 8
Brunson 14
Burns 15
Cole 14, 15
Collins 14
Colorado 9
Contents 3
Crichton 25
Crowe 14, 16
Cunningham 14
Davis 10, 17, 18
Deloach 15, 25
Dixie Inn, LA 26
Dorris 23
Doyle 15, 29
Doyline 31, 32
Evans 25
Floyd 16
Ford 25
Fourth St 29
Franks 25
Fuller 14, 15, 28
Georgia 20, 25, 26
Gray 14, 23, 24
Grays CSA 26
Gregory 29
Guttenberger 20
Hammer 14
Harris 28
Harvill 14, 15
Hatley 16
Haughton 9, 32
Hickman 32
Holt 11
Hudson 14, 15
Hunt 20
Jackson 21
Java Rd. 29
Jim Davis 17, 18
Kampen 21
Keene Cemetery 19
Knottingham 20
Leary 25
Liewald 26
Little Rock, AR 24
Locator Map 6
Longino 25
LA Map 5
Martin 23, 24
McCord 23, 24
McIntyre 29
Minden 24
Mill Capacity 9
Mobley, Dr. W. J. 8
More 14
Morgan's Switch 23, 26
Murff 11
Nebraska 9
North Carolina 26
North Dakota 9
Nottingham 20
O'Neal 15
Outlaw 23, 25, 26
Purpose 4
Raine 21, 22
Ranston 32
Richardson 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Sellars 14
Shattuck 16
Sheppard 11
Shreveport Times 8
Smith 31
South Dakota 9
Stevens 14
Stewart 15
Stokes 26
Sugley 32
Swanson 20
syrup mill 29
Tabor 24, 26
Taylor 15
Thompson 24, 26
Twiggs, GA 25, 26
Van Arsdale 28, 29
Vanorsdel 28, 29, 30
V.S.&P. Railroad 9, 23
Wadley 11
Wadley's Switch 9
Walker 15, 16, 23, 24, 25, 26
Walker Cemetery 31
Wart 23, 24, 26
water tower 29
Wheless 15
White 29, 32
Willis 20
Wimberlie 10
Wimbush 10, 11, 13
Williams, J. B. 8