History: Washington Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Gwen Goff Hobbs Date: October, 2001 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ TIPS FOR SEARCHING RECORDS ON THE INTERNET Netscape & MS Explorer users: If searching for a particular surname, locality, or date while going through the records in the archives or anywhere.try these few steps: 1. Go to the top of the report you are searching. 2. Click on EDIT at the top of your screen. 3. Next click on FIND in the edit menu. 4. When the square pops up, enter what you are looking for in the FIND WHAT ______blank. 5. Click on DIRECTION - DOWN button. 6. And last, click on FIND NEXT and continue to click on FIND NEXT until you reach the end of the report.Following these steps should highlight the item that you indicated in FIND WHAT every place it appears in the report. You must continue to click on 0FIND NEXT until you reach the end of the report to see all of the locationsw here it appears. Washington Parish, Louisiana by Janice M. Berfield, 1968 Choctaw Indians roamed the region known today as Washington Parish until after the American annexation. It is from these Indians that many places in the parish have been named. For example, Bogue Lusa, meaning dark waters, or murky waters, was later adapted as Bogalusa. The parish itself was named in honor of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The parish is located in the part of the state call the Florida Parishes, deriving their names from the treaty signed by France and England in 1763, which ceded England all of the area on the left bank of the Mississippi River except New Orleans. The area was immediately organized as an English colony and named West Florida. During the sixteen years of English rule, a few Anglo-Saxon families moved into the region from Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas. Soldiers who had served in the British Army during the French and Indian Wars were given the opportunity to accept land grants in West Florida instead of money payments. They were therefore reluctant to fight against England in the American Revolution. However, Bernard de Galvez, Spanish Governor of Louisiana, took advantage of the English's weak condition, captured the British forts, including the one at Baton Rouge, and extended the Spanish Government over west Florida. The United States purchased the territory of Louisiana in 1803, but West Florida was specifically included in this transfer. The Spanish seat of government was at Pensacola, but the commandant at the Post of Baton Rouge attempted to move directly into West Florida. The first attempt to win independence was the Kemper Rebellion of 1806. Although unsuccessful, it was only a temporary delay, because four years later in 1810 the rebellion of West Florida overthrew Spanish rule and established the Republic of West Florida. However, only seventy-four days after this formation President Madison ordered troops into the area and they forcibly took possession. Pioneers who had settled in the area now known as Washington Parish participated in the rebellion, but most of them were anxious to be taken into the Union of States. But it was not until several months after Louisiana's acceptance into statehood the West Florida was admitted. Pioneers had become enthusiastic citizens by latter 1814 when Andrew Jackson marched his mountaineer soldiers across the Pearl River and improvised a road through the forests. Many citizens joined him in the Battle of New Orleans. The military road crossed the Pearl River into present-day Bogalusa. Logs were laid crosswise at Ben's Fort on Bogalusa Creek. They are still preserved today. The residents of the Parish of St. Tammany decided that many of them were too far from the parish seat to reach it conveniently. In the acts of 1819, the parish was split and the new subdivision called Washington Parish was organized. This parish struggled for many years, but really did not prosper until 1906 when lumber men utilized extensive forests and ushered in a new era. Churches in the parish were established as early as 1802. One of the first was a little Baptist Church known as Half Moon Bluff. It was followed by the Methodist Church which authorized a circuit rider "as far south into West Florida as the Protestant settlements could guarantee the safety of a preacher." Other denomination did not organize until the 1900s. Families cared for their children's own education until 1838 when a charter was obtained to build Franklinton Academy. It was subsidized by one thousand dollars of state money yearly. Professor Dixon's Academy followed, and the Franklinton Institute and the High School were built in 1911. John W. Buckam donated thirty acres of land for the parish seat of Washington Parish. This town was named Franklinton. It grew steadily after saw mills were established and today is supported by farms and a few industrial plants. It is the shipping center of many agricultural products of the region. Industries include 3 cotton gins, a sawmill, a canning plant, 3 crushing plants, 3 milk cooling plants, an ice factory, and a tung nut crushing plant. Franklinton was chartered as a town by state legislature on March 7, 1861, and was rechartered in 1896 and 1898. Under its present form of government, the mayor also serves as the ex-officio justice of the peace. Other town officials include the town clerk, marshal, tax collector, superintendent of water works, night Marshall, town attorney and health officer - all appointed. Early transportation to and from the parish seat was horseback or wagon and buggy. Products sent to Covington went over rough roads. If they were to be sent on to New Orleans, they were then taken by schooner. Cattle were driven to Slidell, and then forced to swim the Rigolet and Chef Menteur Rivers. After the Civil War, the East Louisiana Railroad was built and although not crossing the parish, it did serve the Covington area. An old hackline served as the communication line with the outside world. In 1902, a sawmill track was laid. The New Orleans and Great Northern line was built in 1906 by the Goodyear Lumber Company to connect the new plant at Bogalusa with Jackson, Mississippi and New Orleans and the line ran through Franklinton. Bogalusa is the only city in the parish. Called the "Magic City of the Pinelands", it was founded in 1906 by the Goodyears of Buffalo, New York. The giant sawmill began operations in 1908 and in several months the fledgling town had grown to 8,000. In 1914, it was incorporated with 10,000 inhabitants. The site on which was located the largest yellow pine sawmill in the world now contains the industries of the Gaylord Container Corporation and also twenty-two other manufacturing plants. Bogalusa has a mayor-commission council city government. Voters also choose the city judge and attorney, although the rest of the officials are appointed. Most of them serve four year terms. Colonel William Henry Sullivan, found and general manager of the sawmill, and a mayor of the city, made Bogalusa permanent. When he first arrived, he commented on sawmill towns in general and had this to say about the founding of Bogalusa - "Even in the biggest operations we'd come to the end of the cut. I've seen the whole town pulled up by the roots and moved. Worse, I've seen it stand empty like a ghost town. So when I started building Bogalusa in 1906, I swore by the Lord this was going to be one sawmill town that would last." Over 600,000 acres of virgin pine was out during the years of the sawmill's operation. During the Depression of 1914, Sullivan ordered the mill to work night and day. Lumber was stacked on both sides of the railroad tracks for a mile. Sullivan, was well as being a shrewd businessman, was also a showman -- In 1924 he had a picnic for 15,000 people. Salads, eggs and other food was prepared by the ton. After his retirement, Sullivan was succeeded by Colonel Daniel T. Cushing. Upon the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bogalusa's incorporation, Governor Earl K. Long, who was present at the festivities, invited "all you good people of Bogalusa and Washington Parish to come and see us at the mansion. There won't be anything fancy there, but I assure you that you'll all be welcome whenever you drop in." Bogalusa was a frontier town, and thus the recipient of many jokes and comments. In a light opera in New Orleans in 1906, a criminal was confronted with the difficult choice of accepting the death penalty or being exiled to Bogalusa. Unflinching, he placed his head on the block. This fairly accurately reflects the Louisiana attitude toward the all-at-once city then springing up on the banks of the Bogue Lusa Creek. C. W. and Frank Goodyear had first carved their empire in wood in the forests near Austin, Pennsylvania. Coming from their rich homes in Buffalo, they joined forces to form the Great Southern Lumber Company. They hired Sullivan as manager, and hired a New Yorker and told him to lay out a town for 8000 people. This was the first time a lumber town had ever been made to order. The huge plant was designed to manufacture a million feet of lumber a day. The drive belt alone was made out of the hides of 720 steers. The lumber the plant manufactured was enough to build a sidewalk four feet wide curving around the globe three times. Before the arrival of the Goodyears in Washington Parish, shootings were common, but seldom in the open. The usual abode was a single story farm house with a mud chimney and roof of hand-hewn cypress shingles. When residents were asked how they withstood wind and tornadoes and hurricanes, they answered "blew right through". People from New Orleans wouldn't open a general store in Bogalusa because they thought the Magic city would be short-lived. Thus the Goodyears provided their own commissary and grossed $11,000,000 the first years of its operation. About that time, C. W. Goodyear II graduated from Yale, and arrived in Bogalusa. He was put to work building sidewalks. The town itself had its share of unsavory characters, saloons, and gambling houses, particularly in the area known as Richardson. Peace officers like Wylie Magee and Bob Carson were as notorious as the criminals. In 1919, the company had problems with labor organizers, and operations were halted for four months. Sheriffs and deputies killed four of the union leaders and the U. S. Army came in and took over the town. The most amazing feat in Bogalusa's history was its ability to continue to support itself and new industry when the lumber company shut down in 1934. Although Sullivan had encouraged and followed an extensive reforestation program, all that remained to be cut and used in 1934, was a twenty acre pond that contained many logs that had gone to the bottom. The people refused to give up. Encouragement of the tung oil industry, as well as manufacturing firms, meant that the citizens of this town were not forced to leave their town. But as readers, now leave Bogalusa and return to Washington Parish. Washington Parish is in the 22nd Senatorial District and elects, with St. Tammany, one senator. The parish is allotted one representative because of its population. The parish is also located in the 22nd Judicial District, which has 9 wards. Each of these elect one member, with the exception of Bogalusa, which is allowed four on the Police Jury because of its size. Since 1906, the members of the parish school boards have been elected by the voters, with one member from each ward. Washington Parish stands high in the production of wood and other wood products. It has an enviable record of reforestation. The scientific manner of harvesting resources promises continuos operation of its lumber mills. The absence of oil and gas fields requires that the factories of the parish rely on raw materials, the products of cultivated field and forests. They must look to other regions of the state to supply fuel. Numerous sand and gravel deposits may play an important part in future industrial development. The topography of the area permits excellent natural drainage and there is slightly less precipitation and humidity than in other parts of the state. The more uniform climate insures a minimum of destructive frosts. The statistical features of Washington Parish are discussed in the following paragraphs. The parish covers about 665 square miles. About one half of it is used for agricultural purposes. There are 214,000 farms with 86,000 acres devoted to crops. Much of the remainder is timber, and cut over land used for grazing. Cotton and corn are the principal crops, with melons, potatoes, cucumbers, sorghum, pears, figs, salsumas, and tung nuts as secondary products. Prior to 1906 and the beginning of the lumber industry, 75% of the population was white English speaking people. The first census in 1820 showed that there were 1957 whites and 560 slaves. By 1950, there were 38,371 people, about half of them colored. Washington Parish is in the Bogue Chitto-Pearl River Soil Conservation District. Rural farm land consists of 227,781 acres, with the average size of each farm being 75.5. acres. Of this acreage 109,998 acres is in pastures. As in other parishes, the trend is toward increasing size. There is an ever-increasing importance placed on livestock farming, especially dairying. Pine forests grown on the remainder of the land. Dairying began in the early '30s. There are now 700 dairies in the parish. These account for 58% of the total cash sale of farm commodities. Dairy sales, livestock, and livestock products account for 71% of the total farm sales. There is still a weekly auction in Franklinton. For several weeks in the winters of 1957-48, it sold more cattle than any other place in Louisiana. Corn is the most important grain crop and is used in local dairy and livestock feeds. Cotton acreage reached its peak in 1934. Although acreage has declined considerably, actual production is still high. Washington Parish has the second highest production of cotton per acre of the parishes in southeastern Louisiana. Tung is still an important crop. There are crushing mills in Franklinton and Bogalusa, which is also the night of the Tung Research Laboratory operated by the United States Department of Agriculture. At Franklinton is held the annual Washington Parish Fair. The history of forestry in the parish parallels the history of the Gaylord Container Corporation, Division of Crown Zellerbach. Parish natural resources are responsible for forestry leadership. One resource is the geographical location. The extreme eastern and northern parish of the Florida parishes, it is bound on the north by the state of Mississippi, one the east by the Pearl River, on the south by the St. Tammany Parish, and on the west by Tangipahoa Parish. Its gently tolling land has two important drainage features - flood plains are the site of hardwood timber growths and pine timber grows elsewhere. Sixty-eight percent of the parish land grows forest trees. Gaylord Container Corporation owns 28% of all the land area in Washington Parish. The J. G. Lee Jr. Memorial Forest is located at Sheridan. This 1000 acre tract belongs to the Louisiana State University School of Forestry and is used for experimental and instructional purposes. Each summer the senior forestry class spends nine weeks there in intensive field application. Each high school has a twenty acre tract of forest leased to it by Gaylord. Three-fourths of the revenue goes to the school and the rest goes for taxes. This is just one of the many examples of how forestry is integrated with the activities of the people of the parish. There is no large scale commercial hunting, trapping, or fishing. This is mostly for the farmers during the winter months when farm work is slack. They trap mainly mink. Commercial fishing is limited to the fresh water of the Pearl River. Upland game species are fairly plentiful with quail, dove, rabbit, squirrel, deer, and turkey. Catfishing on both rivers is popular. Although hunting and fishing is primarily for sport, 5830 hunting licenses were issued and 2800 fishing licenses were purchased. With expenses about $115 for fishing, plus $403 for equipment, and $304 for hunting, with $601 for equipment, the industry is quite valuable. Minerals of the parish include sand and gravel (11 pits), but very little natural gas. Extensive research has shown that numerous clay products could be made of local clays but the parish needs to attract the know-how and the capital to the area. The parish lies in the Gulf Coastal Plains. The Pearl River is the largest streams. One of its principal tributaries is the Bogue Chitto River. Several of the few lakes in the parish are oxbows left by the Pearl River as it meandered in years past. This river is navigable up to Bogalusa and provides a channel to the Gulf of Mexico and the Inter-Coastal Water Way. As for population, during the Depression, the area experienced a 15 percent increase during infiltration into farming areas. But with World War II and the search for higher wages and salaries offered at shipyards and war plants rural people began to move out. And this is when Bogalusa's population began to grow. Since its incorporation, the parish economy has been based on forestry products. But the end products have changed from lumber to paper products. Composure of the labor force has changed from agrarian to industrial. Some of the labor force is presently interchangeable. Such examples are tung harvesters who are unemployed domestics, construction and manufacturing workers. As for the labor supply outlook, there is under utilization of females and subnormal workers. There is a readily available work force of unskilled and semiskilled workers. Many female high school graduates leave because no jobs are available. Health and medical facilities include 22 doctors, 12 dentists, 120 registered nurses, 2 hospitals and 4 clinics. The Washington Parish Health Unit was organized in 1921 and the local Public Welfare Unit was organized in 1937. Education is administered by a board of 8 members serving 6 years. In addition to the regular white and Negro schools, there is the Sullivan Memorial Trade School. Recreation includes the Parish Fair held at the fair grounds in Franklinton, the largest parish fair in Louisiana. Begun in 1910, it is a four day affair, with attendance about 150,000. There are three days for white fair goers and a final day for Negroes. There are not large parks or recreational areas as such in the Parish. The highway system has 350 miles of state and 650 miles of Police Jury roads. There are 150 miles of improved surface roads. The parish is served by 2 bus lines and the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio railroad. This does not, however, provide passenger service. There are 2 municipal airports and 2 private fields, 2 major pipe lines, the Southern Bell Telephone Co., Western Union Telegraph, 6 post offices, 2 independent radio stations operation from Bogalusa - all providing services to the parish. One station is WHXY that broadcasts from sunup to sundown. Station preferences are news and popular music, western and country music. Newspapers include the BOGALUSA DAILY NEWS that publishes Monday through Friday and on Sundays, with a circulation of 7000. All legal notices and public printing is done here and it is the official journal of the city of Bogalusa and the Bogalusa School Board. THE ERA LEADER is Franklinton's weekly newspaper, with a circulation of 2675. It is the official journal for the Police Journal, the Parish School Board, and Franklinton. Established in 1906, it is eligible for all legal notices and public printing. Franklinton, the parish seat, calls itself the "Garden Spot of the South". It is located in the heart of the so-called "Ozone Belt". This is a section along the northern shore of Lake Ponchatrain dotted with health resorts. Other miscellaneous pieces of information include the extensive reforestation of 1920 with an experimental plantation of 800 acres planted with loblolly pine. The principal towns are Angie, Varnado, Mt. Hermon, and Franklinton and Bogalusa.