S. J. HARPER WRITES OF HISTORICAL EVENTS IN WINN PARISH Makes Comparison of Civil War Days With Present Opportunities Offered Youth 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 ********************************************** I have been asked to give your readers a little history of Winn Parish. If one now living who lived here when my father and mother with their three children landed here in February 1867, and should have moved away at about that time and should now return, he or she could not believe their own eyes. This country was not far advanced beyond its primitive condition. It had just begun to advance beyond its primitive stage when the Civil War broke out. A few pioneers had a few years prior to the war began to settle this country. They had cut out a few what was termed main highways. That is, roads that could be traveled with wagon and oxens. There was one road from Alexandria to Columbia by way of the Maxwell ferry, some twenty miles south of Winnfield. There was not a bridge along the road from Alexandria to Columbia. Dugdemonia and the Castor Creeks were crossed on ferries. There was a road from Winnfield by the Adam Riser old place on Flat Creek to Columbia. There was not a bridge on that road. The Dugdemonia and the Castor Creeks were each on this road, crossed by ferries. All smaller streams were forded. There was a road leading from the Adam Riser place which is about 20 miles east of Winnfield to Harrisonburg. It crossed the Castor some five miles north-west of Olla. The Castor was crossed by ferry. There was a road leading from Winnfield to Columbia by way of Newport. This road was known as the upper Winnfield and Columbia road. Not a bridge had been built on this road. The Dugdemonia was crossed by Gorham Ferry and the Castor by the Beavers Ferry. There were other roads leading out from Winnfield but the streams were either crossed by way of ferries or forded. My father was appointed overseer on the section of the Alexandria and Columbia road from Uncle George Couch's place to the parish line between Winn and Caldwell parishes in Flat Creek swamps at the meeting of the Police Jury in March 1867. Police Juror's only pay was their exemption from road duty, as all persons between the ages of 16 and 60 were subject to road duty. In the summer of 1867 my father had the first bridge built across Flat Creek to my memory, that was ever built between Winnfield and Columbia. The stringers were pine hearts hauled from the piney woods in Ward six, Caldwell parish. They were 26 feet long. Three bents reached across Dugdemonia at the Gorham crossing. It was built by Uncle "Billie" Peters, grandfather of Johnny J. Peters, representative of Winn Parish. My father, Uncle Johny Whitehead and Uncle "Billie" Fletcher, grandfather of R. H. Fletcher, present postmaster of Winnfield, let the contract and received the bridge. The bridge (if my memory serves me correctly) was built in 1871. Soon after bridges began to be built across various streams along other public by-ways, I say by-ways for they were nothing more. Wagons could just pass each only at open places. The foregoing will give the present generation an idea of conditions along road lines only just a very few years ago. Now, what about our new facilities? Well, we nearly had none. There was not a postoffice from Winnfield to Columbia along towns Winnfield and Columbia Road. There was one at Old Newport on the Winnfield and Columbia road known as upper Winnfield and Columbia road. People had to go 20 to 25 miles to get their mail. Sometimes a letter would be more than a month old before the addressee would get it. My father served a mail route from Winnfield to Columbia by way of lower Columbia and Winnfield road in 1872 and got Flat Creek postoffice established at his residence, 20 miles east of Winnfield. The mail carrier made two round trips a week, when not prevented by high water. The carrier left Columbia Tuesday and Thursday nights and returned Wednesday and Fridays. The mail was carried by horseback. Other mail facilities of the country were about on a par with that mentioned. Well, what about our public schools of any kind? Well, we had none. There may have been a few private schools before the Civil War, but none of account for many years after. I had never gone to school a day when I was eleven years old. In 1872 Uncle Jack Roberts and my father built a little split log school house some 3 miles north-east of Beech Creek Church and hired one Shelve West to teach a three month school during February, March and April. Uncle Jack Roberts sent five children and paid $ 10 per month and Papa boarded the teacher and paid $ 5 per month and sent four children. In 1875 I went one month to one, Rev. Garrett, at Old New Hope church, some 9 miles west of Winnfield. In 1876, I went one month at Old Corinth church to Prof. J. M. Jones. In 1877 I went one month to Prof. Asalom Smith at same school house or church. In 1880, I went two months to Prof. S. R. Newsom at Beech Creek. In 1882, I went 3 months to Prof. Roy Powell at Zion Hill, Simpson County, Miss. In 1884 I went 4 months at the Rural School 2 miles east of Beech Creek church to Prof. Oliver Head. That year I taught the first three months public school ever taught in Winn Parish at the Boles school house in Ward Three. In 1885, I came to Winnfield and went to school 4 months. That completed my attendance at schools, as I had advanced about as far as any country school teacher could help me and I did not have the means to go off to school. As Winn parish did not have any longer public school term than about two months, I went to Catahoula parish where there were terms of three months at about all the schools in the parish. The reason I got a 3 months school at the Boles school house in 1884 was because there had not been any school there the past three years. I have gone into a little history of my school days to show what the youths of former days had in the way of school facilities. The youths of the present age cannot appreciate the advantages they have of getting an education over what we other ones had. Well, after all the disadvantages of us older heads we had some advantages. As I have already stated the Civil War left this country in a demoralized condition. Thousands of families abandoned their homes and went west, and on account of such a vast amount of public land, upon which a man could build himself a house, clear land for cultivation, and avoid paying any taxes, land really had no value. The hundred of thousands of acres of land that had been entered before the Civil War and abandoned after the war, had been adjudicated to the state for taxes. Thousands of families moved on such adjudicated land, built homes, clear land, and thereupon lived. The assessment of Winn parish dropped below $ 400,000. The emoluments of the sheriff's office dropped below a living. One William Barnett resigned the sheriff's office as there was not a living in it. One, Uncle Joe Adams, who lived in Posom-neck was appointed to fill Mr. Barnett's unexpired term. Mr. Adams would get by as he lived on a farm. In 1880, the Legislature authorized the sheriffs to advertise the adjudicated land and sell same to highest bidders. There were no high bidders. In 1881, the sheriffs began to offer the land for sale. (The above article appeared in the Thursday, February 20, 1936 edition of the Winn Parish Enterprise, published at Winnfield, Louisiana. Mr. S. J. Harper served as state senator from Winn Parish and was a local businessman. He is credited with helping future Governor and U. S. Senator Huey P. Long, Jr. attend law school, as Harper and Huey's brother, Julius, loaned Huey enough money to attend. Harper was a very intelligent, outspoken man. He came out into the open in opposing World War I, and was indicted by the U. S. Government for treason. In a high profiled trial, which reaked of political motive by Harper's opponents, Harper was represented by Huey and Julius Long, and was acquitted. Even so, he never recovered politically and resigned from the Louisiana Senate. Harper was a business, civic and political leader in Winn Parish and odd for the day, his remains were cremated when he perished. This article was submitted by Greggory Ellis Davies, Winnfield, LA.)