A Chilling Account of the Bellevue Tornado of 1851

 In February of 1851, a tornado decimated the east-central Bossier Parish village of Bellevue and terrified its residents and visitors. This tiny community had many visitors because Bellevue, sometimes spelled “Belle Vue,” was the seat of Bossier Parish from the parish’s beginnings in 1843 until 1888, when it moved to its present location of Benton.

This tornado and its damage was so severe that papers around the Southern U.S. reported it, by sharing a story from the “Minden Herald.” The article exclaimed that this tornado “prostrated to the ground nearly every house in the place…It twisted off trees fifteen or twenty feet from the root, and swept those tops clear away,” a scene that that those present said was, “beyond the power of language to describe. “

However, an anonymous writer did soon find words to describe their harrowing experience and inscribed them in a journal. The writer made it public in the May 1, 1858 issue of “The Bossier Times.” Fortunately, on January 17, 1895, “The Bossier Banner” reprinted this vividly detailed account under the title, “A Stray Leaf from the History of Bellevue,” giving readers a vicarious experience of living through the touchdown of a tornado.

“I have an old journal in which I have noted the events in my life, and in its connection to events in the history of others. I am poring over that old book now, while sad memories are stealing over the soul…I am reading now from the page containing the events of the 20th day of February 1851.”

“The District Court had been in session, but had adjourned the day before. A few of the convivial ones, of our own parish, and several attorneys of our neighboring towns, were detained in our now quiet village—among that few, I remember poor “Hurricane” Martin, Nat Currier [who had served as clerk and deputy clerk of various courts in Bossier and the region], Judge Peets [who also presided at Claiborne Parish] and Major Terrill. The day had been a remarkably still and warm one for February, a dull mist of rain falling perpendicularly to the earth.”

The writer is referring to the fact that Bellevue, as parish seat, was the location of Bossier’s courthouse. In the mid-nineteenth century, many lawyers, judges, and clerks would have needed to take a long, arduous trip driven by horses through essential wilderness to get to court. They typically practiced in more than one parish, and were based elsewhere, such as Shreveport or Homer, and may have needed to spend the night in Bellevue. Travelers rented rooms (and stable stalls for their horses) from residents or stayed with acquaintances.

“In the evening about 1 o’clock, Nat came into my room, took a book and reclined on a bed to read away so dull an evening, but soon fell into an uneasy sleep. In fact, it was that kind of weather that makes barometers of us all. Soon a low rumbling sound was heard, like the reverberation of distant and continued thunder. Nat awoke, in a kind of instinctive alarm. ‘That tree’s falling.’ ‘No,’ I answered ‘it is distant thunder.’ He however got up, threw a cloak on and went out in the rain, but returned in a moment, with true, wild alarm in his countenance. ‘We are going to have an awful storm, hear the trees falling.’ It was hardly spoken before in bolted Fort, Fuller and Ben, like frightened animals seeking the nearest cove[r], each expressing alarm—Then came the storm in dread earnestness.

Nat and Fuller sprang to the door which remained open, and caught the facing, and clung to it like drowning men, while their feet were lifted and their bodies fluttered out nearly horizontal with their hold. The temporary arbor at the door floated off as if on a current of water. Ben bore wildly all of his strength against one of the walls, as if to hold the house up, while Fort stood ready to leap out at the first opening that might be made by the turning house. The door and drawers of my desk and document case opened sides as impulsive things of life, and the papers took wings as birds loosened from the cage. Every window broke from its bolted fastenings, the house rocked like a skiff [small boat] on the waves, and sounded as if pelted by hail stones—while the din without was almost deafening—we could scarcely distinguish each other’s faces in the darkness of the moment…But as it came in a moment, so it was gone in a moment…”

The continuation of this story will be in the next local history column. But, spoiler alert, you don’t need to worry. Miraculously, no people or horses were injured or died in this incident, even though both had to be dug from the rubble of Bellevue.

If you have any information, stories, or photos about Bellevue, we would be happy to add copies of the material to the History Center’s research collection. Please come to the History Center to learn more about Bellevue and other ‘extinct’ Bossier communities, as well as see a new display on the deadly 1978 Bossier City tornado. The History Center is adjacent to Bossier Central Library 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

This Month In Bossier Parish History

 September: Through the years

Sep. 2, 1920:  Weekly news from 100 years ago

*   First cotton of the season was ginned.

Left: Bossier Banner

Right: Bell and Sentell Cotton Gin 

on Lynch Street in Plain Dealing. 

The gins would run day and night, 

ginning cotton. It was said that farmers would 

sleep in their wagons to save their place in line.

1997.054.121   Findley Collection 

Boyd Montgomery was on the sick list.

Left: Bossier Banner

Right: Bank of Benton Officials

L to R: V.V. Whittington (Pres),

A.M. Wallace (V.P.), 

J.A. Dunnan (cashier),

Tom A. Tidwell (director)

Boyd Montgomery (director)

1998.046.085  Price Collection

         

Crouch and family made their way through town in his car.

Left: Bossier Banner

Right: Charlie Ivy Crouch, his wife

Ellen Mae Currey Crouch, and 

daughter Carrie Belle Crouch 

Sep. 12, 1972: Tim Dement arrived home from competing in the Munich Olumpic Games. He was greeted by family, friends and fans.  He was the first Louisiana Boxer to represent the United States at the Olympics since 1932. 

*All images are from the Bossier Press

Sept 20—23, 1940:  Happy Anniversary Bossier Parish Libraries….Celebrating 80 years of service in our community.

Bossier Banner: Sep. 26, 1940

 

Bossier Commercial Airport and Flying School

In 1940, Bossier Parish opened its first commercial airport and flying school. The Bossier Commercial Airport spanned eighty acres, located about three miles north of Bossier City, just west of the highway to Benton, and approximately one mile across Red River from the Shreveport Municipal Airport.

The dedication was on a warm Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1940. For the dedication services, it put on a big airshow, including a parachute jump with Minor “Mile High” Vinck, who carried a movie camera on his jump and filmed as he descended. Many public officials and prominent figures in the aviation world were in attendance, including Mayor Hoffman L. Fuller of Bossier City and Dwane Wallace, President of the Cessna Aircraft Corporation, and aeronautical engineer and designer.

Hosting the dedication were the owner and operator, Ted R. Young and his wife Annie, both licensed pilots. Ted received his pilot’s license in 1933, and he made the second airmail pick-up during the 1938 Air Mail Week observance in Shreveport. The first observance of National Air Mail Week was May 15-21, 1938. Postmaster General James A. Farley and President Franklin Roosevelt created and proclaimed the week-long event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the US airmail service’s inauguration.

Annie received her pilot’s license in 1935 and is credited with being the first Shreveport woman ever to make a solo flight. She assisted her husband in operating the airport and in conducting the flight school. Annie was a member of the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots, founded on Nov. 2, 1929, in which Amelia Earhart was a charter member and elected the first President.

The flying school was fully accredited by the Civil Aeronautics Authority, offered ground courses, andprivate and commercial pilot flying courses, taught by government-approved teachers. The private pilot course was the same as those offered at colleges, but without the educational prerequisite courses. Many young men attended this course as army pilot prospects.

In 1941, the Bossier Commercial Airport started the year by staging an airshow on Jan. 11th and 12th. The airshow featured nationally known stunt pilots, parachuters, and included military aircraft. Also, a 1910 Curtis-Wright pusher plane, one of the first planes built by the Wright brothers, was flown by Clem Honkamp. Ted and his students planned an exhibition of flying as it was taught in class.

During the first day of the airshow, Ted decided to give an unscheduled exhibition of “how not to fly an airplane.” His demonstration ended in tragedy. According to the Shreveport Times, “Young apparently deliberately threw his plane, an Aeronca, into a spin from about 2,500 feet, spun the plane three times and crashed almost vertically into a field 50 yards from the north boundary of the airport.

“The cockpit of the plane was crumpled, the wings and back of the plane broken. Young was rushed to North Louisiana sanitarium in a Wellman ambulance and died at 7:50 p.m. He suffered a fractured skull, internal injuries, and both legs were broken. One leg was amputated in an effort to save his life.”

Just two months later, the airport and flying school were reopened as the Joy Airport, by Joy N. Houck, a well-known theater operator in the south.

By: Amy Robertson

Benton Courthouse Ball

The interior of the old Bossier Parish Courthouse at Benton. James M. Henderson, the clerk of court at that time, is seated. Grace Larkin, who would briefly succeed Henderson upon his death is wearing a dark coat. Gladys Thompson is standing next to Grace. Collection ID: 0000.005.019

Bossier Parish Courthouse at Benton C. 1910s
Bob Burford Collection: 1997.070.002

Bossier Parish Courthouse at Benton C. 1910s
Abney Dell Scanland Flynn Collection: 1999.136.046

In 1888, the parish seat for Bossier Parish was moved from Bellevue to Benton. In January of 1892, the Bossier Parish Police Jury entered into a contract for the construction of the new Bossier Parish Courthouse to be built in Benton at the cost of $23,684. This courthouse was the third one in Bossier Parish history, but it was the first one built in the new parish seat of Benton. The lot in which it was built on was donated to the parish for $1. Gibson and Oliff Construction were the builders, and Seaborn H. Young was the brick-maker and building inspector. The courthouse was accepted by the Bossier Parish Police Jury as being completed on May 9, 1893. For the dedication of the new courthouse, a grand ball was given there on June 10, 1893.

The following article describing the ball was published in The Bossier Banner on Thursday, June 15, 1893.

“Last Thursday night, one entering the Court room of our beautiful new Court House, which was brilliantly lighted, was reminded of Hans Anderson’s descriptions of Fairy-Land.”

“Bossier has had many delightful balls and her fame for the elegance of them extends beyond the confines of the parish, but none has been more enjoyed than the one given last Thursday night.”

“The ladies were dressed with such elegance and taste as betoken refinement and culture – their tasty and varied toilets were the admiration of all present. The gentlemen, neatly attired, bore themselves with a grace and gallantry peculiar to our Southern born men.”

“It made the hearts of the old beat in unison with those of the young, to hear the music played in dance measure, and see one couple after another glide through the intricate figures of the different dances. The beauty and grace of our daughters of the South are displayed nowhere to a greater advantage than when rendering homage to Terpsichore.”

“It was a delightful entertainment in every respect, and as such was a charming display of that characteristic hospitality for which our people are celebrated. Everything was properly arranged and this proved to be the most enjoyable affair of the season, long to be remembered by those, who, amid the flow of unity and good cheer, gave substantial evidence of their appreciation of the occasion.”

“It was late when good nights were said and feet were turned homeward, while the unanimous verdict was that it was a complete success.”

People came from as far as Palestine, Texas to attend the grand ball to dedicate the opening of this glorious new courthouse which served as the Bossier Parish Courthouse for the next 79 years. It was 1972 before the fourth and current Bossier Parish Courthouse was built on a 15-acre tract of land that was donated by the James Edward Burt, Sr. estate in honor of their father.

To learn more about the history of the Bossier Parish Courthouse or for a list of those in attendance at the ball, visit the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center, 2206 Beckett St., Bossier City. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter.

By: Amy Robertson

"THE PARISH SEAT QUESTION"

Court House in Benton 1915
Bossier Parish Library Collection, 0000.001.011

In its August 15, 1918 issue, The Bossier Banner addressed the controversy over moving the Bossier Parish seat from Benton to Bossier City.

“In today’s issue of The Banner we publish the law authorizing an election on the question of the removal of the parish seat from Benton to Bossier City. One of the arguments for the removal is that the present Court House is somewhat dilapidated, and a new building will not cost much more than would the repairs to the present one. This is a mistaken impression as to the condition of the present building. Though it has stood for twenty-five years, it can be repaired for about $10,000, and these repairs need not be made for several years. It cost $40,000 to build and furnish it, and the cost of the jail was$20,000. That was when materials were comparatively cheap, and labor plentiful, and also comparatively cheap.”

“Now, both materials and labor are difficult to get, and the prices on both have advanced from 50 to 100 per cent. Consequently, a new Court House, as substantial as the present one when built, would cost at least $80,000. This would total $120,000. But it is by no means certain that either the necessary labor or materials can be had during the present war. The Government is calling into service every able-bodied laborer for the various industries necessary to prosecute the war, and it is also taking over all materials needed in the various war industries. As stated, it is very doubtful if the materials and labor can be had at present and there is no doubt about the increased cost.”

“The election will be held on September 10th. Under the law ‘if two-thirds of the qualified electors of the parish vote for the removal of the parish seat, the President of the Police Jury shall declare Bossier City to be the parish seat.’ Otherwise, the proposition is lost. There are 895 voters registered and it, therefore, requires an affirmative vote of 599 to remove the parish seat.”

The courthouse referred to in this article had been built in 1893. It served until 1972 when the current courthouse was completed. The 1972 building cost $2,412,587.79 and the furnishings cost $251,583.71.

To learn more about all the Bossier Parish courthouses and see photographs visit the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center.

By: Ann Middleton

"WHERE WILL THE COURTHOUSE BE?"

New Courthouse located in Benton, built 1893. BPLHC Collection; 0000.001.011

The April 27, 1882 issue of the Bossier Banner reported that in the issue for April 13, 1882, the Banner reported on moving the Bossier Parish Courthouse.

“We notice in the Bossier Banner of the 13th inst., that a bill will be introduced at the meeting of the next Legislature to move the Court House from Bellevue to Benton.”

“We believe that we are representing the voice of the people when we state that an action of this character, by our Representatives is decidedly premature, and is in strict violation of the wishes of the citizens. Although a large majority are for removal, yet they do not propose to be deprived of their franchise in being forced to vote for a point that they do not consider suitable for a parish site. We claim this right as citizens and tax payers, to have a voice in the location of the parish site, which we are deprived of if such a bill is introduced in the Legislature and becomes a law.”

“If it is the intention of our Representatives to act in conformity with the wishes of the people and the good of the parish generally, we suggest that they introduce a bill in the Legislature looking to the removal of our parish site, and provide for holding three separate and distinct elections, to accomplish the purpose: 1st. Election for ‘Removal.’ 2nd. Election for all points put in nomination. 3rd. Election to decide between the two points that have received the greatest number of votes.”

“This will give general satisfaction to all parties.”

“In removing the Court House, it is expected to add greatly to the convenience of the people in going to and from the place, and if a law is made giving us the right to settle our own matters, by election, everyone will be satisfied with the result. But, if we are to be taken in hand by the Legislature, and have our Court House question decided by designating the point we are to vote upon, without giving us a voice in the matter (except ‘Hobson’s choice’ [a choice of taking what is available or nothing at all]), we had better petition our law makers at Baton Rouge to select the spot for the Court House and place it there.”

“In the event the proposed bill is introduced and becomes a law, and Bellevue and Benton the only points we are allowed to vote for, in this case the cherished hopes of the father of the bill would be thwarted, and the babe would be still born.”

“Although we feel that the act of removing the Court House is assuredly necessary, for the interest and welfare of the parish, and place it at some healthy spot; but before we will be coerced into the measure of voting and locating the parish site at a place so little suited for it as Benton, we will continue to cross the bridge, and have a good time with the Bellevue people for another season. [Signed] MANY VOTERS.”

After several fraudulent elections and vote buying, the Courthouse was finally moved to Benton in 1890 under somewhat surreptitious circumstances.

To learn the rest of the story of the Bossier Parish Courthouse visit the Bossier Parish Library History Center.

By: Ann Middleton