Courthouse Records, Early Settlers: Franklin Parish, La.
Submitted by: Karen McNease
June  2001

Source: The Franklin Sun Feb. 16, 1939



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Musty Courthouse Records Reveal Facts About Early Settlers of Franklin Parish
 
Editor's note;  The material for this brief sketch of the 
history of Franklin parish was taken from early records of
the police jury and from a history of the parish written 
by Elizabeth Womble.
 
Franklin parish a territory once inhabited solely by scattered 
French colonists and wandering Indian Tribes,
principally the Natchez tribe, was created by legislative act 
in 1843 and named after the american statesman
Benjamin Franklin.  Territory for the new parish was taken 
from the parishes of Madison, Catahoula, Morehouse and Ouachita.
 
The first judge appointed for the parish by the governor was 
M.S. Osborn, who took office in May 1843.  The
parish's first sheriff was J.W. Willis and the first clerk 
of court S. S. McCleur.  On May 22, 1843 Judge Osborn
called to order the first meeting of the police jury, held 
at the house of Enos Mackey on Bayou Macon, in the
eastern part of Franklin parish.  Members present and taking 
the constitutional oath of office were Marcus B.
Desha, Lemuel H.  Bowden, James Givins, Sr., Samuel Norris, 
John Ward, C.W. Sanders, and Wiley B. Grayson.
 

Police Jury Met
 
At that first meeting of the police jury provision was made for 
the district and parish courts to be held at the
camp grounds at the north end of Boueff Prairie, near the 
house of Abram Seay, and for the parish judge and
the clerk of court to keep their respective offices at that place.  
 
The police jury meet for but little more than a year before the 
subject of taxation presented itself.  In the records
of June, 1844, this paragraph is found; "That a special tax 
for the parish of Franklin be and is hereby levied,
equal in amount to that of the state tax in the year 1844, 
to be assessed in the same manner and on the same
property, persons, professions and occupations as the state 
tax  purpose of the tax to be the erection of a
courthouse, jail and offices for the parish judge and clerk 
of court.  That the town to be laid off at the seat of
justice of said parish and be called Winnsborough."
 
The town of "Winnborough" was named for State Senator Winn, 
who introduced in the legislature the bill by
which the parish was created.  Shortly after the town was surveyed, 
its name was changed to Marion, but was
changed again later to Winnsboro.
 
In order that present inhabitants of this city may know of the 
heart rendering exertions of the builders of the first
parish courthouse, crude and unfinished a  structure as it was, 
this report is taken verbatim from records of the
police jury of June, 1845:
 
"We, the undersigned commissioners, beg leave herewith respectively 
to submit unto your Honorable Body our
report in the performance of our duty.
 
"We then proceded to contract for the public buildings agreeable 
to the powers vested in us and contracted with
E.W.R. Jones for said buildings,  We would represent to your 
Honors that the contractor Jones has so far
faithfully performed all the duties imcumbent on him by said 
contract so far, taking into consideration many
inconveniences and difficulties that must attend the erection 
of buildings so far from navigation.  The public
buildings are not quite completed but the fault was not attributable 
to the contractor, but  owing to  a delay in one
of his payments, there being no funds in the treasury to enable him 
to get to New Orleans to procure such
necessaries as were required by him for the completion of his work."

 
Commissioners Discharge Duties

"So far we, the commissioners, have discharged the duties imposed on us 
and we sincerely trust to the full
satisfaction of your honorable Body, and would merely remark that we 
have encountered many difficulties and
some expense.  But we know it was for the benefit of our parish that 
we were laboring so manfully.
 
"Therefore we strove on, surmounting all difficulties. The cane brakes 
and the forest that once and a short time
since echoed but to the doleful sounds of savage animals have now given 
way through our exertions and
energies to the peaceful habitations of mankind.  Your Honors can now 
deliberate in the council of our
flourishing town undismayed by forest beast or venemous reptiles, and 
when your labors cease at eve, instead
of your ears being grated by the harsh howl of the wolf, growl of bear 
and scream of panther, they hear the
pleasing strains of the violin accompanied with vocal music, which would 
melt the hearts of men much more
obdurant than any that compose your respectful Body.
 
"Now if your Honorable Body find and are satisfied that our exertions 
have produced all those beneficial results,
you must say our labor be well remunerated, and we therefore submit 
to your Honorable Body to say in your
wisdom what our services are worth.  We cheerfully submit ourselves to 
your known liberality."  Unfortunately, the
record does not reveal with what returns the eloquent address of the 
commissioners was rewarded.
 

First Courthouse in Winnsboro
 
The First court in the town of Winnsboro was begun on Monday, July 14, 1845, 
with Judge M.S. Osborn on the bench.  The firm of Stokes and Franks was the 
first commercial firm in the city and the Franklin Sun was the first
newspaper published in the parish.  
 
When the seat of government was transferred from Boueff Prairie to its 
present location in Winnsboro, an old
frame building near the southeast corner of the courthouse was used until 
1856, when a brick building was
erected.  This brick building was replaced in 1903 with the present brick 
building.  The first jail was built of logs,
hewn off on the sides, made flat six or eight inches in diameter and 
notched down at the corners of the building. 
It was used until the brick jail was built in September 1886.
 
There is no information as to the population of this parish when it was 
created in 1843, nor of Winnsboro when it
was created two years later.  We do know however that the territory was 
sparsely settled.  The men of that time
protected their homes from animals and hostile Indians, with muzzle loading rifles.
 
There were no saw mills in the country during the early years of settlement, 
and the inhabitants were required to
get their own building materials from the forest.  A few of the settlers did 
construct minature mills on their plantations.  The first steam sawmill 
was erected by a Mr. Raines in 1875, on the west side of Boueff river, just
south of the north boundary line of Franklin parish.  Cypress logs were  
floated down the river and sawed into excellent lumber.
 
The public roads were opened up, worked and maintained by ten days of 
labor required from each able bodied
man.  The direction of the work was placed in the hands of an overseer 
appointed by the police jury.  The first
iron or steel bridge in this parish was built across Deer Creek in 1892.
 
Mail was carried in the early days by men on horseback to Monroe, 
Harrisonburg, Natchez and St. Joseph.  A leather pouch tied onto 
the saddle accomodated the mail and any small packages.
 
In 1883 Miss Sallie Ramage erected a good frame school building on her 
property in Winnsboro, and established a private school called 
Kinloch Institute,  The institute was run successfully and served as the best
the parish could offer until 1896, when a frame building was 
built and a high school established.  T.H. Harris, now state superintendent, 
was first principal, and Miss Ramage and Mrs. Duncan Buie were assistants.  The
school had only 60 pupils at first.
 
The post office formerly known as Oakley (off the railroad) was discontinued 
about 1892 and the post office was established at Wisner, named for Edward Wisner, 
a real estate dealer prominent in the vicinity.  The office at
Como was discontinued after  rural route No. 1 was established.  
Baskinton was also discontinued after a post office was established on the 
railroad at Baskin.
 
In 1881 a post office was established with the name  of Ft. Necessity, 
after a Mr. Jesse Moore had given his business establishment the 
name of Ft. Necessity.  Extension post office about ten miles 
further to the south was so called because the star mail route was extended 
on from Ft. Necessity.  Liddieville post office was
established on the plantation of W. T. Ogden in 1895, and was so named 
after his daughter, Lydia Ogden.
 
The first telephone line was built through this parish in 1897, 
extending from Delhi to Crowville.  Winnsboro was
not put on the line until later.