Synopsis of the Development of Livingston Parish, Livingston Parish, Louisiana File prepared by D.N. Pardue ------------------------------------------------------------------ ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ************************************************ ------------------------------------------------------------------ From the book entitled "The Free State - A History and Place-Names Study of Livingston Parish" by the members of the Livingston Parish American Revolution Bicentennial Committee in cooperation with the Livingston Parish Police Jury and the Louisiana American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, 1976. Reprinted by permission. Dedicated to the memory of Reuben Cooper and Raymond Riggs. HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON PARISH Located in the southeastern part of the state in the Florida Parishes, Livingston Parish is unique in several ways. First, it is a microcosm of the state. That is, the southern portion is dominated by a French-Catholic population while the northern portion is dominated by an Anglo-Sexon Protestant population. The dividing line is roughly US Hwy. 190. Anothe ethnic group which settled in the parish was the Hungarians. They began buying cut-over timber land south of the town of Albany in 1896. Their number continued to increase as others migrated from the northern industrial centers until Livingston had the largest Hungarian population in the state. Further, the percentage of blacks to the white population has always been small. In 1860, Livingston ranked second as to the fewest number of slaves of any parish in the state. Only Calcasieu Parish with 1,171 had fewer slaves than Livingston's 1,311. In 1970, blacks constituted only 11.3 percent of the parish's total population. One explanation for the small number of blacks in the parish is that historically the parish was a densely wooded area with extensive pine forests. When the parish was settled, the forests pervented large plantations from being established except in the area along the banks of the Amite River. Hence, the parish was settled by small farmers who were fiercely independent. Farming dominated the parish until the Baton Rouge industrial complex converted the farmers to industrial workers. EARLY HISTORY The Houma Indians were apparently the inhabitants of what is now Livingston Parish at the time the first explorations by Europeans occurred. It is generally conceded that the Houma hunting grounds extended north of the famed "red stick" in Baton Rouge, which divided their lands from that of the neighboring tribe, and that they ranged far to the east, including Livingston Parish as part of their territory. Whether the Tunica Indians, who massacred inhabitants of several Houma villages and drove the remainder of the tribe away from the area, extended their conquest beyond the Amite River is not a matter of available record. Whoever the original inhabitants of the land were, however, Spanish explorers were the first to touch the Gulf Coast area. In the year 1519 Alonzo de Pineda, who had been dispatched by the Spanish governor of Jamaica, touched several points on the coast in an effort to find a through route to the Pacific Ocean. In 1528-36, Panfilo de Narvz explored the Southwest. In the years 1539-41, the ill-starred expedition of Hernando deSoto occurred, an expedition which may have reached the land of the Houmas. In the year 1682, LaSalle took possession of the lower Mississippi valley in the name of France, and in 1699 the Spanish settled Pensacola and the French settle Biloxi. In the great race for a colonial empire, the French set up Biloxi as the seat of government for the new area. IBERVILLE'S ROUTE The year 1699 was important for Livingston Parish for it is known that in that year Europeans definitely gazed upon a portion of present-day Livingston parish. This occurred when Iberville, after ascending the Mississippi RIver from its mouth to a point near the present Angola prison farm, chose on his return trip to Ship Island to descend by way of Bayou Manchac. This route from Bayou Manchac took him and his party to the Amite River which then led them through Lake Maurepas, Pass Manchac, Lake pontchartrain, and the Rigolets to the Mississippi Sound. Portions of the Amite River and Lake Maurepas form segments of the parish boundary. It is believed that the name Amite is dervied from the French word amitie meaning "friendship." Iberville, on his return journey, named Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain in honor of the French Minister of Marine and Colonies, Count Pontchartrain and the Court's son and successor, Jerome Maurepas, also called Pontchartrain. ENGLISH RULE In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War, as it was known in colonial America. The Floridas, including what is now Livingston Parish, were ceded to England to become a fourteenth English province in what is now the United States. It is a matter of record that, in that year, after 64 years of French occupation, there were less than 500 people including their slaves, counted in the entire West Florida area. In 1767 the limits of the English province of West Florida were set as extending on the north to a parallel drawn through the mouth of the Yazoo River in the present state of Miss- issippi and as lying between the Chattahoochee and Mississippi Rivers and south as far as the Isle of Orleans, which had as its northern boundary Bayou Manchac. AMERICAN REVOLUTION Tired of the burden of English rule, other colonies in North America began war in 1775, but British West Florida, far from the scene of conflict and united with England by common racial and commercial backgrounds, took no part in the actual conflict until 1779 when Spain declared war against England. The Spanish governor of Louisiana, Don Bernardo de Galvez, then crossed the river and attacked and captured the English Fort Bute and the village at Baton Rouge. In 1783, by another Treaty of Paris, the Floridas were ceded by Great Britain to Spain. In 1795 by a treaty between the United States and Spain, the northern boundaries of the Spanish province of West Florida were set as being on the 31st parallel, a line which still persists today as a boundary of several southern states, including Louisiana. In what is now Livingston Parish, some settlements had been made in the Lake Maurepas area during the earlier periods and French and Spanish hunters had come up the Amite River about 1750 and had settled there. The English had established trading posts on the Amite River before 1776 for trade with the French and Spanish settlers. INDEPENDENCE With the land filling up with many westward-treking Americans and others, many of whom had the firece spirit and dreams of independenc still in them from Revolutinary days, and with the land stillunder the domination of the Spanish king, it was only natural that indignation at the high-handed European manner of conducting government should mount. On September 22, 1810, this indignation culminated with the storming and capture of the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge by a band of cavalry and infantry made up of settlers from the West Florida section and four days later, on September 26, with a declaration of in- dependence of the State of West Florida. It is interesting to note that the majority of foot soldiers of the rebel force, indeed a majority of that force itself, were volunteers from the Livingston Parish settlement of Springfield. This heroic chapter in the annals of American bravery and courage, which might have forestalled Napoleon in an attempt to retake the American continent, has been almost passed over entirely by historians. On October 27, 1810, upon petition of the West Florida revolters, West Florida betwen the Mississippi and Pearl rivers was annexed to the United States by presidential proclamation. The career of the tiny republic, which had as its banner the first Lone Star flag, terminated with the raising of the flag of the United States at St. Francisvile on December 6, 1810. On April 30, 1812, Louisiana was formally admitted to the Union as the 18th state. The annexed territory of West Florida was joined to the state by an act of Congress under the name of the Territory of Feliciana. This territory had been created on December 22, 1810, and had been divided into four parts - St. Helena, St. Tammany, Feliciana, and East Baton Rouge - upon its creation. PARISH CREATED Livingston Parish was created out of the southern portion of St. Helena Parish by the Louisiana Legislature on February 10, 1832. When established, St. Helena occupied the area south of the present Louisiana-Mississippi boundary line and north of the Amite River and Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. The Amite River also served as the western boundary and the Tangipahoa River as the eastern boundary. On March 30, 1832, the Legislature passed an act which amended the February 10, 1832 act by adding the following specific instructions for dividing St. Helena Parish. Section 1 stated that "the dividing line of the Parishes of St. Helena and Livingston, shall commence on the river Amite, on the dividing township line of the fourth and fifth townships, as designated by the United States surveyors, and run thence east along said line, to the point at which the same intersects the river Tanchipaho." The above-mentioned township line still separates Livingston and St. Helena; however, the original parish boundaries encompassed an area now included in Tangipahoa Parish and omitted a portion formerly in Ascension Parish. A legislative act affecting Livingston's land area was passed on March 12, 1850. Entitled "An Act to Annex Maurepas Island, a Portion of the Parish of Ascension, to the Parish of Livingston", the act stated "that portion of the Parish of Ascension bounded north, by the River Amite from its junction with Lake Maurepas up to Bayou Pierre; on the west, by Bayou Pierre, from its origin at the Amite River don to the Petty Amite; from thence, down the Petty Amite to Blind River; from thence, on the south, by Blind RIver to Lake Maurepas; from thence, on the east, by Lake Maurepas to the place of beginning, so as to include the island of Maurepas, situated immediately west of Lake Maurepas, and south of the River Amite, be, and the same is hereby annexed to the Parish of Livingston." The present Illinois Central Gulf rail line from New Orleans to Jackson, Mississippi, was constructed during the years 1854-56, and the growth of communities along the line eventually led to pressures to move the courthouse from Springfield to a point on the railroad. However, the competition between Springfield and the Jackson Railroad was eliminated in 1869 when the legislature passed Act 85 to create Tangipahoa Parish. Portions of Livingston, St. Helena, Washington, and St. Tammany Parishes were carved away and combined to form a parish embracing the railroad from the lake to the Mississippi line. Thus the present boundaries of Livingston Parish were settled in 1869. ORIGIN OF NAME Most compilers agree that the parish was named in honor of either Robert or Edward Living- ston; however, they cannot unanimously agree on either one. Clark Forrest, Jr., in his article entitled "Various Locations of the Livingston Parish Courthouse," submits that the parish is named in honor of Edward Livingston. Forrest wrote that while Robert Livingston was certainly a famous lawyer and negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase as minister to France, he died in 1813. His brother Edward lived from 1764 to 1836. He was a jurist and a statesman, serving as Secretary of State (1831-33) under Andrew Jackson and also as minister to France (1833-35). Before being appointed Secretary of State, Edward ws serving in the US Congress as a Senator from Louisiana. Governor A.B. Roman, in his address to the Louisiana Legislature on November 14, 1831, officially recognized Livingston's resignation and called for the legis- lature to fill his seat. "Our distinguished fellow citizen Mr. Livingston, having been called by the President to fill the office of Secretary of State, has, during the recess of the Legislature, resigned the seat he occupied in the Senate of the United States. It will be your duty to supply his place by a new election." A New Orleans newspaper, The Bee, carried the following article entitled "State Legislature" on January 17, 1832: "A bill passed the Senate yesterday authorizing the Governor to purchase a gold medal and offer the same to the Hon. Edward Livingston, as an acknowledgment, on the part of the State of Louisiana, for the code of criminal and civil law presented to the state by the Honorable Gentleman." On January 11, 1832, Samuel Leonard, one of the state representatives from St. Helena (the other was John Kinchen), first introduced a bill entitled "An Act to Divide the Parish of St. Helena." Thus, during the same period of time, the state legislature was honoring a former US Senator by purchasing a gold medal and creating a new parish. COURTHOUSES Since its creation in 1832 from the southern portion of St. Helena Parish, Livingston has had five different parish seats, which may be a record of some sort for Louisiana parishes. No original records have been found to establish the location of the parish's first seat of justice, but secondary sources indicate it was at Van Buren, on the east bank of the Tickfaw River in Sectin 14, T7S-R5E. This information is obtained from the act passed by the Louisiana Legislature on March 13, 1835 entitled, "To Remove the Seat of Justice from Van Buren to Springfield, in the Parish of Livingston." Van Buren was named for Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), the eighth President of the United States (1837-1841). As US Secretary of State (1829-1831), he was President Jackson's close adviser. During 1832, at the time Livingston Parish was being formed, he was running for election as Vice President on Jackson's ticket. Van Buren was elected and served from 1833 to 1837. If names are any indication, Livingston Parish was a Jackson stronghold. For whatever reason, the town of Van Buren declined, probably because it was artificially chosen for one reason - it was near the center of the parish. Water transportation was the dominant means of travel at this time, and since the Tickfaw River was not navigable at Van Buren, the site was destined to be replaced by a natural site near navigable water. Such a site was selected by the legislature when they chose Springfield as the parish seat in 1835. Two sites in Springfield served as the courthouse location, the latter in a building orig- inally built to house a bank. This building still stands today. As previously mentioned, Springfield felt pressure from residents along the New Orleans to Jackson Railroad, who wanted to move the courthouse to their area. This pressure was eliminated in 1869, when Tangipahoa Parish was formed, bu no sooner had the competition from the railroad been eliminated than a new rival for Springfield's position cropped up. The new rival was the "young" town of Port Vincent, lcoated 20 miles west of Springfield on the Amite River. The legislature authorized the people of Livingston to vote on changing their courthouse location in 1871. The following year the legislature enacted Act 83 which stated the seat of justice would be located at Port Vincent. Whatever means Port Vincent used to obtain the courthouse from Springfield, there is agreement among writers of that time that the means were somewhat unfair. On October 15, 1875, the parish courthouse at Port Vincent burned, apparently destroying the official records which were maintained there. Today we continue to suffer the conse- quences of that unfortunate incident. The following newspaper article, entitled "The Burning of Livingston Courthouse," ap- peared on page one of the New Orleans Republican on Oct. 19, 1875. Because it is a brilliant synopsis of the contemporary situatin in Livingston Parish and the philosophy of its people, it is included in its entirety: "The information ws re- ceived in this city yesterday of the burning of the courthouse of Livingston Parish, at Port Vincent, and the entire destruc- tion of the records of the parish. It is characterized as the work of incendiaries, and there is no reasonable doubt of it. For the past five years the people of the parish have quarreled over the locations of the courthouse. For many years, and up to 1871, it was located at Springfield, on the eastern edge of the parish. That year, however, an act of the Legislature passed ordering a polling of the legal voters of the parish upon the question of removal. At the election so held it was decided that the young and ambitious town of Port Vincent, in the extreme west, should henceforth be the seat of Justice. The people of Springfield did not submit quietly to the change, and the records were obtained through strategy, which almost resulted in local civil war. After passing through many adventures, the records were finally deposited at Port Vincent, and a courthouse built around them. The victory of the river people was not destined to be lasting, however, as the sequel has shown. It is hoped now that the war is at an end, since, with the destruction of the papers and the courthouse that contained them, there seems to be nothing left to quar- rel over." In 1875 the legislature passed an act repealing the 1872 act which moved the courthouse to Port Vincent. This act was approved on April 28. Here things become confusing. If one relies only on this legislative act, it appears that the courthouse was moved back to Springfield. Other records, in particular the minutes of the Police Jury, show that it remained in Port Vincent until 1881. The Police Jury considered this act unconstitutional and at their meeting on May 17, "resolved that the parish attorney be instructed by the President of the Police Jury to institute proceedings immediately to enjoin the execution of the act approved April 28, 1875." The Sixth District Court ruled that Act 6 of 1875 was indeed illegal in all its sections with the exception of section 1 which repealed Act 83 of 1872 which located the courthouse at Port Vincent. This left the parish without a parish seat, so the Police Jury at its November 6 meeting ordained that Port Vincent "shall be known and designated as the seat of Justice." The legislature, by an act approved March 23, 1877, authorized the people of Livingston to hold an election to locate the seat of justice. This election was held on July 2, 1877, according to the proclamation issued by the president at the July 22, 1880 meeting. At this meeting the president declared that the majority of the voters had voted for the center of the parish as the site for the courthouse. He then proceeded to declare Section 17, T7S-R5E to be the center of the parish. The Jury objected, saying the area was too swampy, and they moved the site of Centerville to Section 14, T7S-R5E on September 10, 1880. A year later the Jury stipulated that all offices were to be moved on or before September 15, 1881 to Centerville. The courthouse controversy remained quiet for several decades - perhaps the people really believed that the central location was fair to everyone. Nevertheless, Centerville, or Spring- ville (as the post office there was named), was not destined to retain the seat of justice, even with its position as center of the parish. That great competitor of tranquil towns and compressor of distance, the steam locomotive, was again influencing the courthouse location question. This time it was the Baton Rouge, hammond & Eastern Railroad Co. which operated the rail line from Baton Rouge to Hammond. This line was constructed through Livingston Parish in 1907-08 and, the first regular trains were operated over the line on February 26, 1908. By 1909 The Daily Picayune of New Orleans reported that the question of moving the parish courthouse from Centerville to the railroad was "waxing warm" among the citizens who had to travel from their homes to conduct business at the "temple of justice." But before the courthouse was moved from Centerville to Livingston, three acts were passed by the legislature authorizing the removal of the courthouse to some point on the railroad. The three acts were passed on July 8, 1920; July 13, 1922; and July 14, 1926. A referendum was finally held in 1941, and the town of Livingston was approved as the fifth and final courthouse site. THE FREE STATE Charles S. Cosby, land agent for the US Government, reported in 1820 that "traveling from the Mississippi eastwardly, upon entering this parish (St. Helena, before division) the country assumes a new and widely different appearance." He went on to describe what is now Livingston Parish as having poor soil and extensive pine forests. The parish, since Cosby's report in 1820, has suffered many trials and tribulations. Unfortunately, Cosby was correct in his estimate that the land would be claimed slowly. Fortunately, he was wrong in his prediction that "stock, tar and pitch are the only commodities which can be expected from pine woods." Today, Livingston Parish ranks high in the state in the production of timber and pulpwood, the bulk of which comes from pine trees. One of the trials which the parish has endured was the Civil War. Some 14 engagements were fought in Livingston Parish, running from 1862 through 1865. They included eight fought in the vicinity of the Amite River, one at Benton's Ferry, two at French Settlement, two in the vicinity of Springfield and one on the Tickfaw River. However, the greatest tribulation which the parish experienced came as a result of internal conflicts over the location of the site of the parish courthouse. Of the people, Cosby wrote in 1820, "The parish is almost entirely inhabited by Americans; they are poor but constitute a very valuable class of citizens." A philosophy of independence and self-reliance runs through not only the events and actions which are outlined in this brief chapter, but through the entire history of the parish. The independent philosophy earned the parish, early in its development, its nickname of the "Free State of Livingston." The name and the traditions are still with us. This history was developed from three sources: The 1955 Department of Public Works pub- licatin, Livingston Parish Resources and Facilities: Clark Forrest Jr.'s "Various Locations of the Livingston Parish Courthouse" and his "History of Livingston Parish" to be included in his master's thesis on changing Livingston Parish funeral customs. ******************