History: Bayou Macon Legend, Franklin Parish, LA. Contributed by DeWanna Lindo July 2001 Source: Franklin Sun by: W.L. Gilrod ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm **********************************************   History: Crowville History; Franklin Parish, LA. SUBMITTED BY: by DeWanna Lindo and Thomas Moore July 2001 Source: A birds Eye View of Crowville FHA 1976 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm **********************************************   Crowville History Crowville is a small communtiy located in Ward 4 of Franklin Parish in Louisiana about ten miles north of Winnsboro, on Highway 17. Even as late as the 1830's, Indians were still in Franklin Parish and around the Crowville area. They were probably renegades from the mass movement of Indians to Oklahoma reservations. Crowville was setteled between 1825-1830 by the William H. Joyce family, the first known settlers. During this early period of settlement, a Mr. Crockett lived across Bayou Macon and owned a saloon in Madison Parish. there is a point in the bayou here, and the steamboat pilots gave it the name "Crockett Point." It was here at Crockett Point where the Crowville settlers received their shipments of supplies. About 1831 families from various sections of Louisiana, neighboring states, and even northeastern states began to settle here. Among the first settlers were families of Al Sanders, who settled where Leo Livingston now lives; Raph Price, who settled the Edward Johnston place; Colonel Yarbrough, who settled the Harper place, where the Streets now live; William Lane and Henry Sisson, who settled on Deer Creek; John Holloway; Bill Butler; Tal Norris; Thomas J. Crow and his brother Dave Crow; and Allen Eddins, Sr. The Allen W. Eddins family settled at what is now Longview. Naturally, farming was the chief occupation of these settlers. In 1863 ihe Crows and Eddinses came from Mississippi about the same time. Until 1864, when Mr. Eddins put up a portable cotton gin, the farmers had to haul cotton twenty miles to Delhi to the nearest gin. By 1868 Thomas J. Crow was operating a store located about the site of the Pack-A-Sack store (formerly the site of the D.D. Powell Drug Store). The first permanent gin was located on or near the present J.A. Harper Gin site and was operated first by Tom Russell and later by Thomas J. Crow. Mr. Thomas J. Crow owned 1,500 acres of land around Crowville, which was cultivated by tenant farmers. At the time an area post office was established, the community was given the name "Crowville," after the Thomas J. Crow family. The Crow family was located a few yards east of Highway 17, to the west of the present home site of W.L. Harper. Signs of an old cistern which was situated beside the house can still be seen. Mr. W.L. Harper reported that when he was leveling the yard several years ago, he discovered an old walkway in front of his garage, which was probably the walk in front of the Thomas J. Crow home. This walk was made of old wine bottles made of stone. The bottles were put in the ground top down, and the bottoms formed the walkway. The first post office, with Mrs Mollie Lowry as postmistress, was located across the road from the original Cordil home, on the present site of the Don Cummins home. The mail for years was delivered once a week to the community. The mail was carried in a leather pouch or saddlebag on horseback from Harrisburg to Delhi over a wagon trail. Harrisonburg was then a busy river town on the much traveled Quachita River, which was the "highway" between Monroe and Natchez. In the later years the mail carrier used a two wheeled cart and then later a coach was used. The wagon trail is now an improved highway. In 1857 the V.S. & P. Railroad was built east as far as Monroe. Delhi and Rayville were the nearest stations to Crowville, being about 20 miles distant. Before the time of the railroad, the traffic of the parish was by water. The waterway on the east was Bayou Macon and on the west was Boeuf River. Small steamboats, which were not numerous in the early days, traveled these waters when the water was high enough to enable the boats to run. Freight was brought by steamboat to Crockett Point Landing and hauled by ox wagon overland to the merchants in Crowville. Sometimes merchants had to go to Delhi for freight since the railroad came through Delhi on its way to Monroe. On rare occasions some merchants went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, for freight. Small crafts called "keelboats" were used in the bayous and rivers when the water was at its low stages. A keelboat was about 6 feet wide, 25 or 30 feet in length, with an open top. To help navigate the boat, a twelve inch plank was placed as a walkway on the top of each side of the boat for men to walk on with a 10-foot pole in hand. Two or three men on each side of the boat would drop their pole to the ground; and as they walked the plank to the end of the boat, they would push the boat along the shallow water. Then the men would go back to the other end and start over. In places where there was sufficient water and the bottom of the water could not be reached with poles, oars were used. The following notice appeared in July 27, 1860, The Franklin Sun: MAIL ARRANGEMENTS HARRISONBURG & DELHI MAILS Three times a week, supply Oakly, Winnsboro, Warsaw, and Delhi. Leave Winnsboro for Harrisonburg and Delhi on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, and reach these points same evening. Leave Harrisonburg and Delhi, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and arrive Winnsboro same evening. About 1890 the New Orleans and Northwestern (later the Missouri-Pacific) Railroad was built from Collinston to Natchez. Mail then came from train from Monroe to Natchez. Another settler contributing to the growth of the village was Pillsworth Price, who married Elizabeth Thomas in 1847. Pillsworth Price settled on what is known as the Boone Place (present site of Mr. Harold Ward's place) in the early 1900's. He owned all the land from the Quitman Walter's farm, up to and including the J.D. Roach place on Highway 17. William Raph Price son of Pillsworth Price, father of Allen Price, married Sallie M. Hinds, May 16, 1877. About 1872, Aaron Landauer owned and operated the first store at Crockett Point, on the west side of the bayou. He later moved his business to Crowville, where William Raph Price clerked when he was a young man. The following birth notations were made in Dr. W.M. Guice's ledger: Feb. 9, 1880, Horace Landauer, son of Mr. And Mrs Aaron Landauer of Franklin Parish, nine pounds. December 24, 1885, Elsie Landauer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Landauer of Franklin Parish, 12 pounds. Father merchant, largel all business. Jan. 9, 1893, Bessie Landauer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Landauer of Winnsboro, 6 1/2 pounds. From this last entry in Dr. Guice's ledger, the Aaron Landauer family must have moved to Winnsboro between 1885 and 1893. Another business was the James S. Copeland's store located on the site between the present Gulf station and the Exxon station. This store was a general commissary type that "furnished" the farmers. James S. Copeland married Mrs. Fannie L. Lowery in 1882. Asa Cyrus Griffing operated a general drygoods store located on the present site of the Gulf station. A.C. Griffing was born and reared in a home, still standing built by his father in 1855, located east of Gilbert across Bayou Macon and Eureka Landing. He married Miss Clara Alcna Osborn who died in childbirth with her third child. A year later he married Ida Hair, a sister to Mr. Will Hair, who was a resident of Crowville. Mr. Griffing and his wife moved to Crowville in December 1893. Their home was north of Crowville about where the Mill's home is located. A.C. Griffing also had a farm which included the land on which Philadelphia Baptist Church is located. This family had three girls: Mary Bell, Patsy, and Edith. In 1903 their familt moved from Crowville to Baskin, where Mr Griffing operated a store and post office. George Washington Hodge was born in 1851 and married Susan E. Sturdivant, July 21, 1878. They moved to Crowville about 1903. George Washington Hodge had a blacksmith shop just north of the present site of the Roy McDuffie store. It is said he did excellent iron work, and built fences and grill decorations for houses. He mad wagon and buggy wheels, sharpened plow points for farmers, and did many other blacksmith jobs. He was the father of Cordil Hodge of Delhi, Louisiana. In 1883, Mr William Joseph Cordill had a store located at the site of Mr. J.A. Harpers storage building. This store was a two-story building, and the Woodman Hall was upstairs. Mr. W.J. Cordill was married April 26,1877, to Miss Mellie Lowry, in the First Methodist Church in Winnsboro, Louisiana, as recorded in an old register there. The Denson brothers, J.W. and Dr. John Lane, came to this country about 1891 or 1892. J.W. Denson was a farmer; and he and his wife had two daughters, Alice and Kate, and one son, Mack. Dr. John Lane Denson finished medical school in 1881 in Nashville, Tennessee. He went to Mississippi and married Miss Jenny Latham about 1882. Then they moved to Louisiana about 1890. When they came to Louisiana, they had one child, Neva, and lived at the old Snyder place in what was called the "State House." Bessie, their second daughter was born there. In 1891, Dr. Denson built a home in Crowville and moved his family there. While in Crowville they had three more daughters: Lois, Mellie, and Cassie. Neva married Rapp Osborn, known as "Little Rapp"; Bessie married Everett Sisson, whose father was William Lane Sisson; Lois married John H. Doughtie; Mellie married Frank Short of Winnsboro. In 1909 Dr. C.M. Jarrell bought the Denson home. He moved from Olla with his wife, Mattie Fletcher Jarrell, and family. Dr. Jarrell had received his medical training in New Orleans at Tulane Medical School. They had three sons: Faye, who became a dentist, and Herman and Guthery, who were both pharmacists, and received their training at Tulane. In 1924, the Jarrells moved from Crowville to Alexandria. Their house was sold to the late Mr. John Robert (Bob) Hammons and is now owned by his heirs. The dinner bell, which is located on the southeeast side of the house, was purchased by Mr. J.R. Hammons in 1930. Mr. Hamons bought this bell from Mr. Edward Reeves, who secured it from the Illinois Central Railroad. Mr. Reeves used this bell on his plantation during the time when mules were used for cultivating the land. At 4:30 each morning the bell was rung to wake up the hands, and it was rung at 11:30 a.m. to indicate the lunch hour. It was used omn Mr. Hammon's farm for many years. In this home there is a four poster tester bed which was bought in Shreveport on the Red River Valley. A Dr. Livingston was the original owner of this bed in the early 1800's. Also contributing to the settlement of Crowville were the Sisson brothers, Henry A. and William Lane, who came from Rodney, Mississippi, before 1851. They settled on Deer Creek. William Lane Sisson left Crowville to fight in the Civil War. After the war was over, he came back to Crowville. On November 1,1871, he married Naomi Robbins. After Naomi's death he married again. After the death of his second wife, he married Ella Cox, December 9. 1886. William Lane Sisson built a home in Crowville where Mrs. W.M. Johnston's home is located. Ella and William Lane had two children: a boy Osborn Sisson and a girl Naomi Sisson Skidmore, who resides in Delhi, Louisiana. Thomas Marrow Sayer of Peoria, Illinois, arrived in Crowville soon after the Civil War. On November 17,1870, he married Miss Judith Neely, who was living with her parents on what is known as the Brimm palce, presently owned by Tom C. Johnson, located on the Baskin-Crowville highway. "Miss Judy," as she was affectionately known, was the Florence Nightingale of the whole community. At this time Dr. J.W. Baker was the only physician for miles around. Dr. Baker was unable to make all housecalls on horseback. Miss Judy had her own pill bag and, after consulting Dr. Baker, would go administering- on-horseback-too, when he could not get there. Mr. and Mrs. Sayer settled in the place now owned by Tom C. Johnson on the Crowville-Baskin Road where Tom C. Johnson and his sister Lou Gilbert are presently living. Others arriving before the turn of the century and having descendants still living in the area were the Bradleys, Sturdivants, Griffings, Hairs, and Bushes. Doctors administering to the sick in the days when the village was being settled were Doctors J.L. Denson, William Holloway, Michael O'Brien, Joel G. Gulledge, and John Wesley Baker. All of these doctors still have descendants living in the area.