Parish History: S. J. Harper, 1939, Winn Parish, LA. Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: March 16, 1939 Winn Parish Enterprise Advantages Of Pioneers Recounted By S. J. Harper Recently I wrote a short history of Winn Parish detailing the conditions and hardships the pioneers of the parish had to contend with, and also mentioned the advantages the youths of the parish today have in the way of good roads, schools, dwellings, public buildings, and churches. Now, I wish to give a little history of the advantages the pioneers and youth of the old days gone by had over the youth of today. In those pioneer days the range was good the whole year around. The cane covered not only the swamps but the hills as well. This certainly was a fine stock country. Fat beef was plentiful during the winter months as well as summer. The hog range was excellent. Beef was considered second class meat instead of first class as now. Home made pork sausage could be found in nearly every smoke house. Venison was a very common meat, for deer were killed to get rid of them rather than for meat. Squirrels, likewise, were killed to get rid of them. No one thought of game laws, posting of anyone's land, or hunting license. Fish were plentiful. No limit to number of deer, ducks, squirrels, turkeys or fish one might kill or catch. One of the best things for the pioneer family was a tract of land for a home. At the beginning one could settle on a tract of land, blaze it out and then enter it for $ 1.25 per acre from the United States Government. One could enter as much as he wished if he had the money. Later, the homestead law was passed when one could homestead 160 acres for $ 15, live on it as many as seven years before having to prove settlement which could cost some $ 15 more which made total cost of 160 acres about $ 30. There were no taxes on a homestead 'till patent was issued. If one could find a tract of state land he could get 160 acres of state land for twelve and one-half cents an acre, thereby become the owner of 320 acres for not more than $ 55.00 After the close of the Civil War which left this country in a demoralized condition, many settlers abandoned their homestead and moved west, therefore, many homesteads or tracts of land were adjudicated to the state for unpaid taxes. There were so much of such tracts adjudicated to the state that the assessment of the parish dropped below $ 400,000. A sheriff who was elected in 1873, resigned after serving about six months because the fees of the office as sheriff and tax collector were not enough to support his family. One Uncle Joe Adams who lived on his farm in Possum Neck was appointed sheriff to fill the unexpired term. Then in 1880 the legislature passed an act authorizing the sheriffs to sell such adjudicated lands for whatever they could get, in order to get it back on the assessment rolls. In 1881 the sheriffs began the sale of such public lands. It took 'till 1886 to get such land back on the assessment rolls. In 1881 my oldest brother bought 160 acres for forty cents for the whole tract, that is, 10 cents for 40 acres. In 1885 I bought 200 acres for one dollar and sixty-five cents for the whole tract, said tract lies on piney woods creek on the road to Tullos about 10 miles from Winnfield. Anyone who wanted land could get it. Land then was bought for farming purposes, not for the timber. No one thought the timber was worth anything. I. L. Lyons & Co. bought the Rock Quarry and several other tracts of land for less than $ 4,000 on a debt. Uncle Bob Jones bought 40 acres from Uncle Peter Shumaker for a goat and then Uncle Peter gave him back the goat. Well, don't one with the youth of our parish today had a chance to get some land cheap like we old ones could. We older ones had no conveniences but we could own homes, though the dwellings had no glass windows, and many of us slept on one-legged bedsteads. I wonder how many know how it comes that salt was made by evaporation three miles below town this side of Cedar Creek? Before the Civil War all our salt was made in Liverpool, England. It was brought across the Ocean as ballast free. When North Louisiana was cut off from getting salt by Union soldiers, something had to be done. So some old pioneer followers went down in South Louisiana and got some large molasses kettles and began making salt. There were more such salt works than one in North Louisiana. Messrs. I. L. Lyons Y Co. Were not hunting for salt when they discovered the salt mine west of Winnfield. They were hunting for gas, but found salt which was a better find. S. J. Harper