When looking at the bounds of Bossier Parish, one would be forgiven for believing that the western bank of the Red River was entirely Caddo Parish, and the eastern bank was entirely Bossier Parish. One would also be quite wrong. Several portions of the traditional Caddo Parish side of the river are in fact Bossier Parish, leading to several instances of disconnected parish land. The reason for all this is due to the language used on the founding of Bossier Parish, as well as physical geographical changes over the past 182 years.
When the borders of Bossier Parish were first drawn, the area that would become Bossier was still Claiborne Parish (which in turn had once been a portion of the greater Natchitoches Parish). The official wording of the act states; “That all that portion or tract of Country in the Parish of Claiborne bordering on Red River and bounded as follows to wit.” The document then goes into detail about official bounds, following Loggy Bayou through Lake Bistineau, then following Bayou Dorcheat up to the Arkansas state line before turning back west and following the state line until meeting the Red River. The observant might notice that much of the above description does not match the current eastern bounds of Bossier Parish. This is due to Webster, and how it was founded out of three separate Parishes: Bossier, Claiborne, and Bienville. On the western bound, it is important to remember, however, that the river has shifted since the 1843 founding, as well as the fact that Caddo Parish was founded before either Bossier or Claiborne Parish. With Caddo Parish’s eastern bound set as the Red River, this created a situation where the bounds for Bossier Parish needed to be drawn in relation to Caddo Parish as well, not just the geographical bounds of the Red River.
First, there is Wright Island, one of the smaller portions of Bossier Parish across the Red River. The residential area has been annexed into the Shreveport municipal area, receiving things like fire, police, and sewage from Shreveport, while things like education are carried out by Bossier Parish. Indeed, according to the August 5th, 1961, edition of the Shreveport Journal, Caddo Parish School Board was approached about accepting the students of Wright Island, but the deal never came to fruition, seemingly due to another orphaned part of Bossier Parish, the Free State Park area. To the east, the Coates Bluff Apartments are the largest section of residential buildings on Wright Island, accompanied by a small number of homes to the west. Another, the Champion Lake area closest to the Red River, south of Anderson Island and Westgate Bridge, is also included on the Bossier side of the boundary line. This includes things like the YMCA, the Loyola Athletic Complex, and the Champion Lake Apartments, to name a few. Due to both areas being within Bossier Parish, as well as the East 70th Street Bridge (Jimmie Davis Bridge) area, most of southern Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway lies within Bossier Parish, not Caddo.
The other large portion of Bossier Parish still on the Caddo side of the Red River lies north of Downtown Shreveport, known as the Free State Industrial Park. Formerly the Free State Plantation, the Free State Industrial Park is dominated by two major features, the aptly named industrial park, and the Shreveport Downtown Airport. There are a few homes within the area as well, though residential homes are in the minority of properties in the Free State Park area. One final, and personally unexpected, region of disconnected Bossier Parish sits in downtown Shreveport. The Shreveport Aquarium, part of Riverview Hall, and the downtown fountains are all part of Bossier Parish. Thanks to the causes natural and man-made, the Red River has been shifted to its current position. Perhaps it is no surprise, therefore, that some portions of Bossier have become disconnected from the greater whole.
If you have any photos or other information relating to the history of Bossier City or Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. 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. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/
Image: Map of Bossier Parish west of Red River (BPL HC - 1997.086.015)
Article by: Jonah Daigle
No comments:
Post a Comment