Lake Bistineau State Park: Celebrating Parks Month and History That Matters

Lake Bistineau State Park: Celebrating Parks Month and History That Matters July is Park and Recreation Month in the United States, calling attention to how local, state, and community parks plus outdoor recreation build vibrant and resilient communities. According to the National Recreation and Park Association, “Our local parks are often our first experiences in nature, our introduction to a favorite hobby or physical activity. They are places to gather with friends and family, spaces to celebrate life’s special moments, spots of respite and healing…and so much more.” Historically, our State Parks did not always serve the entire community. Until the 1950s, African Americans were excluded from the benefits provided by Louisiana’s state parks and their wonderful landscapes and recreation opportunities.

The first park to open to African Americans in Louisiana was Lake Bistineau State Park. The Lake stretches across Webster, Bossier, and Bienville parishes. The actual park is in Doyline in Webster Parish. The Lake originally formed by a logjam, but drained when the logjam was dredged. The present-day Lake Bistineau was formed in 1935, when a permanent dam was built across Loggy Bayou. The State Park formed and opened to white park-goers in 1946, while the African-American section opened in 1956.

According to Louisiana State Parks desegregation history (https://www.lastateparks.com/), after several African-American children drowned in the Bogue Falaya River in southeast Louisiana in 1953, both the white and African-American communities recognized the need for recreational swimming facilities for African Americans. The Parks and Recreation Commission established the "Negro Advisory Committee," which met in Baton Rouge on January 5, 1954. The members agreed to the establishment of park facilities in the New Orleans, Monroe, Lake Charles, and Shreveport areas.

Lake Bistineau State Park, near the city of Shreveport, developed areas for African Americans and whites on different sides of the lake, with separate entrances, facilities, and beaches. The African American section was locally referred to as “The Colored State Park.” The white area had swimming, fishing, picnicking, cabins and camping, and lodging for group camps. The “Colored” area had swimming, fishing, and day-use picnic spots, but no overnight accommodations. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1955 that public park segregation was unconstitutional, but Louisiana countered in 1956 with a statute that all public parks, recreational centers, playgrounds, etc. would be segregated "for the protection of the public health, morals, and the peace and good order in the state and not because of race."

According to William O’Brien’s book, “Landscapes of Exclusion: State Parks and Jim Crow in the American South”, it wasn't until the Civil Rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and its Legal Defense Fund began filing lawsuits that southern states attempted to "equalize" their parks. This is very well why, in 1959, an additional overnight group lodging structure was in the works for Bistineau. Although, “Even modest attempts by state and federal agencies to provide black citizens with decent parks in accessible locations succumbed to organized white opposition and bureaucratic indifference," according to Louisiana State Parks desegregation history.

Tragically, Lake Bistineau State Park was a textbook example of this opposition. The group camp building for African Americans at Lake Bistineau was bombed on April 24, 1962. It was part of a string of bombings around the lake, including the African-American St. James Masonic Lodge and the private camp house belonging to Shreveport dentist and Civil Rights activist, Dr. C.O. Simpkins, Sr. Prior to the bombing of his camp house, which was located on the Bossier Parish part of the lakeshore, Dr. Simpkins’ Shreveport home was also firebombed. Following the Bossier incident, insurance for Dr. Simpkins’ home and business became unattainable, and threats to his and his young family’s safety could not be ignored.

Dr. Simpkins left Shreveport and ultimately moved to New York, where he stayed for 26 years. Local business leaders, such as J. Murray Durham, president of the National Bank of Bossier, denounced the bombings as the work of radicals. Money and supplies were raised to rebuild the Masonic lodge and the Louisiana State Park Commission rebuilt the group camp building, which was insured.

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin became law. By the 1970s, Louisiana schools and parks could no longer deny desegregation mandates and facilities were opened to all. We would welcome any photos or documents pertaining to the early days of Lake Bistineau State Park. We would love to copy them, with permission, to add to our research collection. Please come to the History Center to do research or see our exhibits at 2206 Beckett St, Bossier City, LA. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org

For other fun facts, photos, and videos, be sure to follow us @BPLHistoryCenter on FB, @bplhistorycenter on TikTok, and check out our blog http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/.

Photos captions:
1. Lake Bistineau State Park, 1951.
2. Lake Bistineau “Colored State Park” group camp building following a string of bombings in the area, April 1962
3. An illustration of Lake Bistineau and Surrounding communities that says, “A Recreation Spot to Serve All Northwest Louisiana” 21 December, 1942. The Park was not open to African Americans until 1956, in a segregated area only.

Article by: Pam Carlisle