Springfield, Livingston Parish, Louisiana
File prepared by D.N. Pardue
Submitted to the LAGenWeb Archives



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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.


SPRINGFIELD is situated on the west bank of the Natalbany River, which 

flows into the Tickfaw River just north of the latter stream's mouth in

Lake Maurepas, Louisiana Highways 22 and 42 are the principal links with

surrounding communities.  Although the town's elevation averages only 15

feet above mean sea level, it is situated on a well-drained bluff which

extends in a northwesterly direction through St. Helena Parish and into

Mississippi.  Swamps and other low-lying areas interlaced with numerous

branches are found around Springfield, due to its proximity to the river.

     The oldest Livingston Parish municipality, Springfield is also thought

to be one of the older settlements in the state.  The first settlers are

believed to have been colonists under Leon Michael Duvergier, Director,

Ordonnateur of the Colony of Louisiana, as per his instructions from the

directors of the Company of the Indies, dated in Paris, Sept. 15, 1720. (1)

     The town, formerly known as Bookter's Landing, later became known

as Springfield, apparently due to the many ground-water springs in the 

area. (2)  The exact designation date is not yet known, or why the name

change occurred.  It is also not known when the first town survey was 

made, but Springfield was a place of some note prior to 1801. (3)

     The first evidence of the town's division into lots was a transfer

of land from Alexander Bookter to Jose Bernardo de Havira on Oct. 13, 1807. (4)

At the beginning of the West Florida Rebellion, in 1810, a fort was 

erected on the Natalbany River at Springfield.  William Cooper and 

Michael Jones were in charge of this action, and it was also rumored

that they were recruiting men to join forces with the Spanish. (5)

This fort was located on the river front near the old J.P. Schenck home.

     William Darby, in A Geographical Description of the State of 

Louisiana, 1817, gives the following information on Springfield:

     Three miles above its
mouth, the Tickfah (sic) receives
from the east the united streams
of the Natalbany and Ponchatoula;
upon the latter stands Springfield,
on the road from Madisonville to
Natchez.  Schooners from New Orleans
stop at Springfield; forming one of
the landing places of travelers from
New Orleans to Natchez. (6)
     Springfield, on a branch of 
Tickfah river, is the only town
in this parish (St. Helena); it
would not deserve notice from 
any other cause, than being a 
resting place on the road from
Madisonville to Natchez. (7)

     By all accountable records, Springfield's post office was established

on march 20, 1828 with John Reid as postmaster. (8)  No exact location has

been established for it.  The Springfield Post Office was discontinued

three times during its 148 years.  The first time was on Sept. 30, 1830

while Thomas Kennedy was postmaster, but it was re-established on April 6,

1831, again with Thomas Kennedy as postmaster.

     The second discontinuation was on Oct. 7, 1846, while Jacob F. Randolph

was postmaster.  It was re-established on Jan. 20, 1847 with Drury W. Wall

as postmaster.  The third and final discontinuation occurred on June 28, 1866

while Purnell F. Starns was in charge, and then on Jan. 16, 1867 it was back

in operation with Henry Leach as postmaster.

     The New Orleans Gas Light and Banking Company established a bank here

sometime during 1835, apparently the first bank in Livingston Parish.  With

a capital of $300,000, this branch office served Livingston, St. Helena,

Washington and St. Tammany Parishes. (9)  The bank building was located on

Lots 2 and 3 of Square 12, on the corner of Second and Mulberry streets.

The bank failed in the early 1840's, but the building gained a new lease on

life as the parish courthouse, and it still stands today.

     In 1835, Springfield was chosen as the parish seat over Van Buren.  The

legislative act which approved the change stipulated that the courthouse 

could be moved "provided that suitable public buildings be furnished to said

parish, at individual expense and without charge to the parish." (10)

Evidence exists that the town complied with the stipulation.

     On a map dated about 1840, on loan to the parish by Mrs. Annie Laurie

Rownd of Springfield, is the following information: "courthouse given to the

parish by S.G. Parsons, September 17, 1835."  This information is written on

Lot 5 of Square 6.  Marcus Carter Rownd, in his history of Springfield, states

that the old brick building built by the New Orleans Gas Light Company was

used as the courthouse and that the court room was located on the upper floor.

     Evidence that the parish did acquire the old building can be found in a 

land transaction recorded in Conveyance Book 7, page 351, in the Livingston

Parish Clerk of Court's Office.  However, in 1872 the courthouse was moved to 

Port Vincent.

     The incorporation of Springfield was approved on March 12, 1838 by an act

of the legislature.  The act specified that the town governing body would include

a mayor and five aldermen. (11)  On Jan. 20, 1862, an amendment was approved

to extend the incorporated limits to include the entire tract known as the 

Springfield or Alexander Bookter tract. (12)

     In 1878, Mayor Henry Abels laid the town charter to rest, but on Sept. 11, 1959,

the charter was re-activated with Harold P. Abels as mayor and N.E. Barnum, Sr.,

James E. Fayard, and John J. Jubin, Jr. as aldermen.  Calvin C. Fayard was 

appointed marshal.

     An academy known as the Springfield Institute was located in the town by

at least 1840, because on February 28 of that year the legislature appropriated

$4,000 for the relief of the institution.  The school was located on Lot 1 of

Square 1, on the corner of Bookter and Water streets.  The institution of 

learning apparently declined during the Civil War.

     Rownd, in his history of Springfield, mentioned two Civil War incidents

which took place near the town.  One was on July 4, 1862 (at the bridge),

and the other was on May 23, 1863 on the Springfield Road.  Before the war,

Springfield was one of the leading shipping centers in this area, as the

Natalbany and Tickfaw rivers were used as the inlet through which cotton moved

to the port of New Orleans.  However, with the advent of the war and sub-

squent decline in the importance of cotton, the town, in turn, declined.

     In the mid-1890's, lumber became king and brought a general economic

uplift to Springfield.  Prominent among the lumber companies were the Springfield

Lumber Co., owned by E.T. Cullom, and the G.H.A. Thomas Lumber Co.  Millions

of board feet of lumber were shipped to ports world-wide as the Natalbany

River became a virtual highway to progress.  But, as the Civil War killed

King Cotton, the Great Depression put Springfield back on the decline.

     Today Springfield is a so-called "bedroom community" whose residents

depend largely on the Mississippi River industries for employment, but

the residential growth has spurred economic activity locally.  The most

noteworthy example of this renewed economic activity is the establishment

of a branch office of First National Bank of Denham Springs in Springfield

in February, 1976. --- Aubra Fontenot and Calvin C. Fayard

----------------

(1) Marcus Carter Rownd, A History of Springfield, Livingston Parish, Louisiana
(2) Note that this is merely an assumption made by many of the town's older
residents.
(3) Rownd, op. cit.
(4) Janie Gunn, Research of Springfield
(5) Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Centennial Booklet, 1861-1961.
(6) Darby, p. 90
(7) Darby, p. 95
(8) United States of America, General Service Administration, National Archives and
Records Service, Washington, D.C. 20408.
(9) Louisiana Legislative Acts of 1835, Louisiana State Library, Baton Rouge.
(10) Clark Forrest, Jr., Locations of the Livingston Parish Courthouse.
(11) Louisiana Legislative Acts of 1838, Act 90, Louisiana State University Library,
Baton Rouge
(12) Louisiana Legislative Acts of 1840, Louisiana State University Library, Baton
Rouge.

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