History of Antioch and French Fork, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana Copied and Submitted by: Kathy LeMay Kelly, P.O. Box 219, Trout, La. 71371 From The Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal; Jena, LaSalle Parish, La. Microfilm at the LaSalle Parish Library located in Jena, LaSalle Parish, La. Many Thanks to The Times - Signal and to the LaSalle Parish Library for allowing the following to be added to the Archives. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal, Thursday, January 21, 1960 (A series of articles was done by E. W. Plummer) A HISTORY OF LASALLE PARISH Miss Lilly Doughty has presented some information on last week's chapter in the history that alters the date that the Pine Grove church began. Miss Doughty tells us that her father, Jace Doughty, went to school in the church. He moved to Rhinehart in 1866 at the age of 14 and was married in 1871 at the age of 19. Evidence therefore indicates the church was organized about 1860, rather than 1880. PART 9 BY E.W. Plummer ANTIOCH AND FRENCH FORK Unfortunately, there are no written records by which the early history of the Antioch community can be authenticated. However the oldest living residents who were reared there are of the opinion tha the Antioch community began to shape up in the 1840's or early 1850's, perhaps even earlier. This opinion appears to be well-founded. A considerable number of Confederate soldiers came from Antioch, and since the Civil War began in 1861, they were born not later than the early 1840's. It is also established by two of his former pupils that the late A. L. Plummer taught the Antioch baptist school in 1882 in the Antioch Baptis church which seemed to be, to the best of their recollection, a rather old frame building. Hence, it can be safely assumed that this church was organized not later than the early 1870's. Antioch is now a Free Methodist church, and the school has been consolidated with Jena. Family names of the early settlers are Chapman, Ainsworth, Cowart, Reeves, Wilbanks, Francis, Westbrooks, Poole, Kirland, Masters, McLendon, Smith, Crawford and Wiggins. FRENCH FORK The writer is unable to gather any documented facts concerning the early history of the French Fork community. However fragments gathered from neighboring sections and lore handed down in families now living there indicate that French Fork has a long and colorful history. The name French Fork, suggests that the community might have begun during the French occupation before 1803. Typical French names, such as Chevallier and Sansan, are common there today. The Spanish also left their mark, La Vacca, meaning "The COW" in the Spanish language, suggests that the store, and later the LA Vacca post office, might have begun as a Spanish trading post. La Vacca was located on Little River front at the confluence of French Fork and Old River on the present W.S. Calhoun plantation. During the throes of Reconstruction, La Vacca missed a mere "Two minutes," according to tradition, being a battlefield between the Yankee carpetbaggers and the Ku Klux Klan, an organization then known as the Knights of the White Camelia. The Yankee provost marshall who exercised dictatorial powers over Catahoula parish, which then included LaSalle, had headquarters at Harrisonburg. One morning the "marshall" discovered a hangman's noose under which were inscribed the letters KKK on his front door. That was the knights' warning to leave within 24 hours or be hanged. Since this warning had been carried out 100 percent the South, the Marshall left, but almost to late. He had waited for a steamboat until the last minutes of his allotted time. True to their record a strong body of well-armed knights began to arrive. Knowing their purpose the "marshall' panicked and hastily summoned his body guard. Seeing that they were surrounded except to the South, he made a run for Troy (now Jonesville) hoping to catch a steamer there. But the boat had not arrived and he received a warning that a contingent of Knights had gathered below Troy on Black river, hence his only avenue of escape was up Little river. He and his guard crossed the La Vacca ferry and destroyed the ferry boat just "two minutes" before the Knights arrived and thus escaped. (Note: This is the last of a series of articles dealing with the early history of LaSalle parish written by E.W. Plummer. Those that follow will be written by L.H. Taylor of Olla. Stories of LaSalle's past have hardly been touched. If the reading public is interested in additional stories of this nature, they may contact the editor of the Jena Times and Olla Tullos Signal of E. W. Plummer in this regard.)