The next meeting of the Historical Association will be on January 22, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. in the Carnegie Memorial Library meeting room. The speaker, Dr. Linda Langley, is a professor of anthropology and sociology at LSU at Eunice. Dr. Langley will talk about her work to document the Coushatta Indian language, an endangered language. Her work involves collaborating with the tribe to design and implement a language preservation program and establishing a tribal library. Last year, the National Science Foundation awarded Langley a Summer Research Fellowship to study techniques for documentation and preservation of endangered languages.

We look forward to a very interesting meeting. Please plan to attend and bring a guest! Parking is provided across the street from the Carnegie Library. Refreshments will be served.

October 2006 Meeting Report

The October meeting of the Southwest Louisiana Historical Association was held on October 16, 2006, at the McNeese Library. Mike Jones, American Press writer and Historical Association member, discussed Niblett’s Bluff and its role in the history of Southwest Louisiana. Mike has documented information about the activities at Niblett’s Bluff from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion. He displayed the layout of the trench line and sketches of the original fortifications. In addition to information on the physical layout, Mike talked about the units stationed there and their activities. Mike donated two booklets about Niblett’s Bluff to the McNeese Archives that have been cataloged and are available to the public. They are: Niblett’s Bluff in the War Between the States and Niblett’s Bluff Wartime Timeline.

Those members attending the meeting received a special treat when Mike’s wife, Susan Jones, violist, played Lorena, a song written in 1857 and often identified with the Southern Cause. Jones stated that portions of this song can also be heard in the movie Gone With the Wind. To hear a brief portion of this music, go to the following website: http://www.us-civilwar.com/music.htm or http://www.acws.co.uk/sounds/main.htm. The lyrics may be found at: http://www.civilwarhome.com/lorena.htm.

The Association thanks Mike and Susan for a very interesting, informative and entertaining evening.

What’s Happening at the McNeese Library

R. Brantley Cagle, Government Documents Librarian at the McNeese Library since 1967, retired this past September. An author of numerous scholarly and professional publications, Cagle was the recipient of the Louisiana Library Association’s Lucy B. Foote Award for “his substantial contribution to the library profession through the field of special librarianship.”

Rebecca Troy-Horton is now serving as the new head of the Government Documents Department. Troy-Horton, a native of Rhode Island, received her B. A. in Anthropology and her Masters in Library and Information Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Prior to coming to McNeese, she worked in the Reference and Government Documents departments at the University of Rhode Island and also taught courses on Information Literacy.

Troy-Horton wants to learn more about the Southwest Louisiana area and plans to become involved with the Historical Association. She writes, “I am excited to be a new member of the SWLA Historical Association and look forward to volunteering my efforts. As the newly appointed head of the Government Documents Department here at the McNeese Library, I will do all that I can to provide you with access to our historical, local, and state government documents. For as you may know, from the standpoint of historical research, any and all government publications can be considered potential primary research materials.”

More Adventures in Old Calcasieu

Let us know if you belong to an organization whose members would be interested in purchasing copies of Mike Jones’ latest book. We’ll have flyers available at the next meeting for you to pick up. Please take some and pass them out at other meetings, to your friends, etc.

Mike Jones' book, More Adventures in Old Calcasieu, is printed and on sale now! Please order your copy of the new book by contacting Kathie Bordelon (337-475-5734 or bordelon@mcneese.edu) or printing and mailing the form here.

Nominations or submissions are being sought for the Dr. Donald J. Millet Memorial Award for Historical Writing contest. This annual award, sponsored by the Historical Association for many years, is presented to the most outstanding historical work to be written or published during the previous year. The historical work (book, article, essay, play, poem, etc.) should be about an historical subject (person, event, etc.) and written by a resident of Imperial Calcasieu (Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis parishes).

The award is named in honor of Dr. Donald J. Millet, former history professor at McNeese State University. The entries are judged subjectively; that is, judges are asked to rank the works in order of their individual preference (1st-3rd). Judges are selected from outside the Association so that Association members may enter their publications in the contest. Authors should submit a copy of their work by February 15, 2007. Nominations of authors should be made by January 30, 2007, to give the Association time to locate a copy of the publication. Nominations and submissions should be mailed to Kathie Bordelon, McNeese Library, Box 91445, Lake Charles, LA 70609, telephoned to (337)-475-5734, or emailed to bordelon@mcneese.edu.

Works eligible for the contest must be: (1) written or published during 2006; (2) written by a current or former resident of Imperial Calcasieu; and (3) written about an historical subject. Association members are asked to distribute this information to anyone they think may be eligible to enter the contest. We would like to include as many local authors as possible. Winners will be announced at the April 23^rd dinner meeting at the Piccadilly Restaurant on Ryan Street.

The Region V Calcasieu Parish Social Studies Fair is the usual venue for this contest. Scheduled this year for March 27 at the Burton Coliseum, this fair has provided the Association with some very interesting and entertaining contestants for the Louisiana History Essay Contest. Past winners’ projects included such topics as how Cajun dancing influences its people and culture, the Zwolle Tamale Festival, the architecture of the historic district of Lake Charles, No Man’s Land and Reverend Devil, Edie Shuler and Gold Band Records, the Crowley Opera House, and Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Higgins boat.

Contestants are middle school students whose entries in the Social Studies Fair concern some aspect of Louisiana history. Judges are selected from Association members. Anyone interested in judging the contest should contact Diane McCarthy at 439-2788 or theatre4you@aol.com.

One of the SWLA Historical Association’s projects has been the placement of historical markers at important sites around Imperial Calcasieu. Some of the these include the Calcasieu River Lighthouse and the Gulf Biologic Station in Cameron, Newport Industries in DeQuincy, the Long-Bell Lumber Company in Longville, Gerstner Field in Holmwood, and the Borealis Rex wharf in Lake Charles. There are numerous historically important sites still waiting to be marked!

The Association is looking for volunteers to serve on a committee to continue the historical marker project. The committee would be responsible for identifying historical areas, investigating marker locations, seeking permission from landowners or government entities for the placement of the marker, researching the site in order to write the marker text, working with the manufacturer of the marker, etc. The committee would consult with others in the Association who have worked on marker projects before. Anyone interested should contact Diane McCarthy or Kathie Bordelon.

There are many historical markers that have been placed by other historical or governmental groups in the Imperial Calcasieu area. We will feature some of these in the next few newsletters. Two markers located in Beauregard Parish are discussed here. The Old Confederate Military Road Committee placed a marker on that site during the bicentennial year of 1976. The Merryville Historical Society placed a marker on the site of a Coushatta Indian Village.

A large majority of the people of what is now Beauregard Parish were opposed to the secession of Louisiana from the Federal Union, but when the act was passed in the convention, as loyal citizens, a large majority enlisted in the service and served until the close of the war. Quite a few lost their lives in that struggle and many more were wounded and carried their battle scars to their graves.

During the war, about 1862, when the Federal troops captured New Orleans and blockaded the mouth of the Mississippi River, Taylor's army was in Central Louisiana at the time, retreating from Banks' army. It became necessary to furnish Taylor's army with provisions and ammunition. For this purpose a military road was hastily cut out from Niblett’s Bluff (the head of deep water navigation at that time) to Alexandria. The Confederate Government assigned the following men to build it: Rev. William Perkins of Big Woods; Alexander Frazar of Merryville; and W. J. Slaydon of near Singer. They were in charge of completing the road from Niblett’s Bluff to Sugartown. Another crew was to take charge from there on.

Ordered to be constructed by Confederate General Taylor, the "Old Military Road" began at Niblett’s Bluff, a well-established supply point. It continued across present day Beauregard Parish diagonally, starting near the southwest corner and exiting the parish less than a mile south of its northeast corner. On its way through the parish it passed near practically every resident known to live anywhere near a route to Sugartown at least twenty years before the Civil War. The work was done mostly by soldiers. What few slave owners lived near the road furnished their male slaves to help in the work. They improved slopes on fords, moved some standing and fallen timber in order to straighten curves and crosslaid marshy places to withstand the heavier traffic. Generally the road followed a route that had been used many years.

The Old Military Road stretched about 130 miles from Niblett's Bluff to Alexandria. About 58 miles of it existed in modern day Beauregard Parish. Calcasieu Parish had 18 miles, Allen Parish had over one mile, Vernon had 17 miles and the remaining miles were in Rapides Parish. Another perspective of the road is that 18 miles went through Ward One, 12-1/2 miles in Ward Five, 11 miles in Ward Four, 3/4 miles in Ward Three, 1-3/4 miles in Ward Eight and 14 miles in Ward 7. For many years after the war, this military road was the only road in Beauregard Parish. Four Historical Markers were erected on the route of the old Confederate Military Road in Beauregard Parish in the Bicentennial Year of 1976.

Joseph R. Hyatt and Curtis Jacobs: The Old Confederate Military Road 1862 - 1865.

In 1790, at the invitation of President George Washington, three Coushatta leaders were among a score of Creek chiefs who went to New York to sign a treaty with the U.S. Government. At the time, the Coushatta were apparently regarded as an important tribe. In 1791, it was written that “old Red-Shoes, king of the Alabamas and Coosades,” (sic) was one of the five “most influential chiefs of the country either in peace or in war.”

The Spanish Government also gave the Coushatta diplomatic recognition, naming Red Shoes among the Creek tribal chiefs to be invited to a general conference in Pensacola in 1793.

In response to the Treaty of San Lorenzo in 1795, the Coushatta began migrating from Alabama across the Mississippi River to place themselves under the protection of Spain. About 1795, Red Shoes himself left Alabama for Louisiana, bringing with him about 100 of his followers.

It appears that Red Shoes first moved from the lower Red River southwest to Bayou Chicot in the Opelousas district and, a short time later, located about 80 miles farther west on the east bank of the Sabine River, near the present-day town of Merryville.

Surveyor's field notes traced indications of a trail route from the Coushatta Village on the Sabine River through the area of ten present Texas counties. From the Indian village, one major trail led eastward to Opelousas, Louisiana and another extended northwestward to the post of Nacogdoches, where the Coushattas traded and received presents from the Spanish. The trail became so traveled that the Mexican government erected Fort Teran in l831 at the Coushatta Trace crossing of the Neches River as a means of controlling the movement of settlers into Texas.

With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, a new policy was established to help control Indian behavior on the frontier. To combat unlawful practices and to consolidate their control of the tribes, the Americans soon put into operation a factory system based on trading posts administered by the government. This venture soon miscarried, and the Americans began issuing licenses to individuals. These private traders extended credit to Indians and began acquiring tracts of land in settlement of Indian debt. Losing hundreds of acres to the traders, the tribes often sought space in less settled and marginal areas, such as the Big Thicket of present-day east Texas.

About this time, the brother of Red Shoes was murdered by a white man who escaped arrest. Immediately after the murder, part of the tribe cut its corn, abandoned its homes, and crossed the Sabine to settle on the Trinity River in Spanish territory.

By the opening of the War of l812 between the United States and Great Britain, the combined population of the Coushatta on the Sabine, Red, and Trinity rivers totaled about 800. The Sabine River settlement remained the principal center of the tribe. After the early period of Mexican Independence, 1821-1835, the Coushatta and other tribes living between the Sabine and the Trinity Rivers became alarmed at the influx of Americans seeking, once again, to push them off their lands. The Indians appealed to the Mexican Government for title to their lands, only to learn the lands had been conveyed to non-Indians.

The modern history of the Coushatta tribe begins about 1850 with the establishment of Indian Village on the Calcasieu River near Kinder. Here the tribe continued its ancient traditions and seemed to enjoy amicable relations with its neighbors. Finally, settlers forced them to move again, but for the last time. In the early 1850's, homesteaders began taking up Coushatta lands at Indian Village. A local non-Indian, James Cole, helped them locate vacant land 15 miles east of Bayou Blue, which they purchased. In 1854, most of the tribe moved to this site a few miles from Elton.

Ref:: "COUSHATTA TRACE" The Handbook of Texas Online.
Jim Bradshaw, Daily Advertiser, Oct 28, 1997, Lafayette, LA
Velmer Lenora Smith, DeRidder Historian

Thank you, Nancy Hurlbut, for accepting the responsibility of being our new chairperson. We all look forward to your leadership.

On October 21^st we met at Southern Spice for a combination Halloween and Christmas party. Sixteen ladies, all in original Halloween costumes, delighted the regular restaurant customers with their pep and obvious happy conversation while we entertained ourselves with our annual Christmas story and gift distribution. Each lady left with a very nice gift after enjoying a delicious lunch.

The Board of Directors of Lake Charles Little Theatre, in a move to interest more young students in the workings of the Little Theatre, have requested the Gingham Ladies work in the concession stand instead of acting as ushers and ticket takers. The McNeese State University drama students involved would receive credit for working at the Little Theatre. The Gingham Ladies, who have had the pleasure of working the plays for many years, have graciously accepted the offer to work with the Little Theatre members in the concession stand. Thank you, Gingham Ladies, for your cooperation in this.

January 2007 Meeting

October 2006 Meeting Report

What’s Happening at the McNeese Library

More Adventures in Old Calcasieu

Let us know if you belong to an organization whose members would be interested in purchasing copies of Mike Jones’ latest book. We’ll have flyers available at the next meeting for you to pick up. Please take some and pass them out at other meetings, to your friends, etc.

Mike Jones' book, More Adventures in Old Calcasieu, is printed and on sale now! Please order your copy of the new book by contacting Kathie Bordelon (337-475-5734 or bordelon@mcneese.edu) or printing and mailing the form here.