Population Growth Spurs Bossier’s Status as City

Just as 2026 marks America’s 250th birthday, so too does the year mark a milestone for Bossier City. Exactly seventy-five years ago, Bossier officially became a city.

Plans were announced to mark the auspicious occasion. Newspapers heralded the event with headlines proclaiming “A City is Born.” The Planters Press newspaper of Bossier Parish announced a competition on August 30, 1951 “for civic-minded Bossier citizens and their neighbors to compete for honors … in a contest from which will emerge a new slogan for this newborn city.” A contest to design an official flag for Bosser was also proposed. Festivities were planned at Bossier High School’s Memorial stadium where crowds could cheer this landmark episode in Bossier’s history.

It's right there in the name, so hasn’t Bossier always been known as a city, you may ask? The answer is no. Simply having city in the name didn’t make it so. Population numbers came into play. In April 1907, Louisiana Governor Newton Blanchard issued a proclamation incorporating Bossier City as the Village of Bossier City because the area had at least 250 inhabitants. Bossier had developed from property once owned by Mary Bennett Cane along the Red River where the Louisiana Boardwalk and Margaritaville Casino now stand. It was known as Cane’s Landing, a spot where steamboats would dock. According to the book “Images of America Bossier City” by Kevin Bryant Jones, the term Bossier City was being used to describe this area as early as 1884. The parish had been called Bossier since its formation in 1843.

By the Roaring Twenties, the Village of Bossier City had grown and its population topped one thousand. Time for an upgrade. In March 1923, Governor John Parker declared Bossier to be the Town of Bossier City. And thus it remained for the next 28 years.

According to an article in The Planters Press from October 11, 1951, a community needed to have at least 5,000 inhabitants to be a city. U.S. Census Bureau records show Bossier had three times that number by ’51. I’m not certain why Bossier wasn’t proclaimed a city sooner, but all was ready by September of that year and excitement was building. A local polio outbreak caused a postponement of events until the following month, but plans for a celebration remained firm.

The Planters Press enthusiastically promoted those plans. “Ceremonies exceedingly appropriate to the outstanding occasion, representing an indescribably important historical demonstration, will usher in the formal classification of the community as the City of Bossier City,” stated the article of October 11. Five days later, the party got started.

A crowd estimated to number about 7,500 people turned out at Bossier High’s stadium on a Tuesday night and heard a proclamation read aloud from Governor Earl Long officially designating Bossier as a city. A parade, with floats depicting industries that aided in Bossier’s growth, passed the reviewing stands. Bands from Bossier, Byrd and Fair Park high schools, as well as Barksdale Air Force Base, performed for the crowd. The first-place entry in the city slogan contest - “Next Door Neighbor to World’s Largest Airbase”- was announced, authored by Bossier resident Irene Vinson, and the winning design for a city flag was unveiled, created by Velma Hagert of Bossier. The evening concluded with a fireworks show.

Achieving the status of city was a giant leap forward for Bossier. “This is something we have been striving towards for years,” Mayor Hoffman Fuller was quoted as saying in The Shreveport Times, October 17, 1951. The little settlement that sat in the shadow of its neighbor across the river had grown up.

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 us to learn more. We are currently closed for renovations, but can still be reached by phone at (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/

Images: 

• Velma Hagert (left) holds her winning design for the official flag of Bossier City, as Dee Hall looks on/The Planters Press, Sept. 13, 1951. Photo by Jack Barham
• The Shreveport Times, October 16, 1951

Article by: Kevin Flowers

FOURTH OF JULY – Then and Now

Happy Fourth of July, 2026, and the semi-quincentennial (250th!) anniversary of our nation’s founding, when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The thirteen newly-proclaimed states (not colonies), broke their allegiance to the British monarchy by attesting, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In 2026, across the country, communities will observe this milestone anniversary and reflect on America’s history in various ways.

Here in the History Center, we can find details of how the holiday was celebrated as far back as the 1850’s, in the earliest issues of the Bossier Banner newspaper. In July 1859, when the country was only 83 years old, The Bossier Banner reflected upon the meaning of the day, and also announced a celebration worthy of a momentous occasion in north Louisiana fashion, a fish fry. The July 1, 1959, Banner announced the Parish’s free July 4th fish-fry would be held at Inabnett bluff, near Bellevue, which was then the Parish seat. The editor wrote, “Now everyone is expected to be in attendance who desire to enjoy the ‘fisherman’s luck,’ to their heart’s content on the ‘[glorious] fourth.’ For remember dear readers, this is our national day of jubilee—when the eagle, that proud bird of liberty, flew aloft [and] devoured the English lion.”

The 1859 Fourth of July fish fry jubilee’s attendance and activities were described in the July 8th issue of the Bossier Banner: “The Fourth of July Fish-Fry which came off on that renown day of ‘American integrity,’ at the Inabnett Bluff, near this place (the Bossier Banner’s Bellevue office), passed off very pleasantly—only a too sudden visitation of the watery element somewhat checked the fun and frolic of the participants.”

The embellished article, typical for the time, continued on to say that, despite the rain, “Bossier’s beauties, a portion of them, gathered there with smiles and sunshine, sending for miles around the warmth of their affections for the love of –the Fourth!…We would have given a sight draft (a written demand for imminent payment) of twenty-five cents, on the Police Jury, to have been present on the occasion.” The editor noted that there were “squads” of young gentlemen present as well. They were apparently forced to keep their distance from the ladies…due to the size of their hoop skirts.

Bear in mind that at that time, stories of Independence Day celebrations only included about half the parish’s population; by the 1860 Census, the population of the parish was about 8,000, over 4,000 of whom were enslaved. The Declaration of Independence’s assertion of the self-evident truth that “all men are created equal” came closer to fulfillment on January 1, 1863, when the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, freeing people enslaved in the South. The celebration for that proclamation, and the day that it was announced and enforced in Texas, became Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day. Like the 19th century July fourth celebration described above, Juneteenth also became known as “Jubilee day.” Check out our June 17, 2026 local history article to learn about the history of Juneteenth “jubilees” in Bossier Parish.

This year on July 4th, among other events, Bossier welcomes the whole community to the South Bossier Park off Caplis Sligo Rd. for an Independence Day festival as part of the KTBS 3 Freedom Fest Finale and the nationwide America250 birthday celebration. Gates open to the public at 5 p.m.

Bossier Parish Libraries History Center in the Bossier Central Library complex remains closed while our new exhibits are installed. Don’t forget you can explore many of our collections, including stories and photos of Fourth of July and Juneteenth celebrations on our website, www.bossierlibrary.org. Look for the History and Genealogy page under Resources and then choose Collections Database. Feel free to contact History Center staff by phone or email for assistance. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. All Bossier Parish Libraries will be closed Friday, July 3rd for the Fourth of July holiday.

Images: 

• Stone Engraving of the Declaration of Independence, National Archives
• Fourth of July fish fry article, Bossier Banner Progress, July 8, 1859, p. 2
• Logo of America 250, the United States Semiquincentennial Commission

Article by: Pam Carlsile

Service Across the Sea – N. B. Carstarphen and the A.E.F.

The First World War, The Great War, or the War to End All Wars was one of the most devastating conflicts ever conducted in human history. Beginning in 1914, the world would be ravaged by the new destructive forces devised for this new conflict. No longer were armies content to form orderly columns, as the Western Front especially devolved into a mess of tangled and conflicting trench lines, trading lives and war materiel for marginal changes in the positioning of armies. There were three motivating incidents that led the United States’ intervention into the Great War: German resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, the sinking of the RMS Lusitania (a British ship carrying American passengers) at the hands of said submarines, and finally the infamous Zimmerman telegram, the German attempt to lure Mexico into joining the Central Powers in exchange for portions of American land. These incidents resulted in the United States to officially join the Entente, commonly known as the Allies. To lead the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.), the United States’ contribution to the international coalition, General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing was selected. There, among his famously well-trained and talented staff at the General Headquarters, was a Plain Dealing native by the name of Newton Blanchard (N. B.) Carstarphen

                       

Mister Carstarphen was born January 28, 1894, in Plain Dealing Louisiana to Mr. Edward M. and Mrs. Sallie Wilson. N. B. attended Georgetown University in Washington, D. C., in the 1910s to study law before graduating in 1917. While in D. C., he served as the private secretary to Louisiana Senator Joseph E. Ransdell as well as a messenger for the Committee on Public Health and National Quarantine. After his graduation, Newton volunteered for the upcoming European war effort on July 13, 1917. Newton Carstarphen’s law degree landed him a position as an Army Field Clerk, assigned to the United States General Headquarters (G.H.Q.) as an adjunct. For a period of twenty-six months he served in the A.E.F., throughout both the American involvement in the Western Front offenses, as well as the drawdown of American soldiers in Europe post-armistice. For his service to General Headquarters, Mr. Carstarphen received commendation for exceptional and meritorious service. At least one source claims that Newton served as aide-de-camp and personal courier for General Pershing himself, trusted with carrying secret military movements to the intended recipients.

The A.E.F., at the insistence of General Pershing, maintained a mostly independent command structure from the French and British armies, under his insistence that the A.E.F. would fight more effectively beneath their own flag. On May 28, 1918, the United States saw its first major action in the closing months of the Great War, at the battle of Cantigny. It is important to note, however, that this battle did not occur in a vacuum. The German armies assigned to the Western Front had spent the past two months expending the very last of the Empire’s strength in the German Spring Offensive, partly to end the war before the fresh and invigorated American

Army could arrive upon the shores of France and Belgium. The British Expeditionary Forces, as well as the French Army, were both exhausted from the past four years of brutal conflict. Whilst the A.E.F. would serve with distinction, and come to be a major contributing factor in bringing an end to the Great War, it was only through the immense suffering of the Allies that gave the United States this opportunity.

The remainder of 1918 saw vicious fighting, with the German military being forced to come to terms with their eventual defeat as became increasingly clear when the Spring Offensive failed to materialize the promised victory. On the Eleventh Hour, of the Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month, the guns of the Western Front would fall silent, with the signing of the armistice that gave way to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. For his efforts in leading the United States to victory in the Great War, General Pershing was elevated to a position of which he has only two equals: General of the Armies of the United States. As for Mr. Carstarphen, Newton returned to the United States and attended Loyola University for his Masters in Law, before joining the Louisiana Bar Association in 1921. His career was one as high-powered lawyer and high-ranking politico in Louisiana politics, before his death on June 10, 1983. The Great War was viewed as the War to End All War, and while this adage would ultimately prove false, it was not through a lack of effort or bravery on the part of the Allies, and the American Expeditionary Forces served their parts valiantly in that titanic struggle.

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. The History Center is currently closed until July 2026, though staff remains available. 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/

Images: 

• Newton Blanchard Carstarphen - Lilla McLure and J. Ed Howe, History of Shreveport and Shreveport Builders Vol. 1, Page 433.
• General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing - United States Library of Congress (LOC Control #: 2004672051)
• Plain Dealing High School, where N.B. Attended - BPL History Center (1997.031.040)

Article by: Jonah Daigle

A History of Juneteenth/Emancipation Day Celebrations in Bossier Parish

This Friday, June 19th, marks the United States’ newest federal holiday, commemorating Juneteenth National Independence Day. Juneteenth, however, has a long history of being celebrated in Bossier Parish, even if the occasion may have carried a different name. In the 19th century to mid-20th century, these celebrations were typically referred to as Emancipation Day, or occasionally as Jubilee Day, Freedom Day or Liberation Day.

Juneteenth recognizes the day in 1865 when the enslaved men & women in Galveston, Texas learned that they were free two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and federal troops were sent to enforce the proclamation. Thus, historically Juneteenth has often been considered a “Texas holiday,” but newspaper articles going back to the late 19th century show how African American residents of Bossier Parish celebrated both within the parish or took advantage of special Juneteenth holiday railroad tickets to join celebrations in places such as Boyce, LA or Stamps, AR.

The “Shreveport Times” on Tuesday, June 29, 1917, announced,

“While the negro population of Shreveport is celebrating Emancipation Day, they will not have anything on the ‘country,’ for the farm hands and negro farmers of the parish are, in their own way, to have as big a celebration as their neighbors in the city. Picnics, dances barbecues, speech-making and other means of observing the day have been arranged for on an elaborate scale.”

The biggest of all of these “country” celebrations, the Times noted, was to be in Bossier Parish on the Liberia Plantation. Mrs. Olive Foster, the owner of the planation, had “taken charge of arrangements” for the celebration on the large Bossier plantation (1400 acres in Ward 2 of Bossier Parish. Numerous present-day subdivisions have been carved out of it in Bossier City and the Red Chute area of Haughton) and the Times guaranteed it to be “the biggest party yet” for the attendees.

The festivities were to start at 4:00 PM with a baseball game between the Liberia team and a team from adjoining plantations. Mrs. Foster supplied uniforms and equipment for both teams. Following the game, several of the Liberia workers were to present a vaudeville-style program. Two-thirds of the money taken for tickets to both the game and the show would be donated to the local Red Cross. There would be a dance following the show and refreshments would be served all day to “keep down summer temperatures.” The grove on the plantation was expected to also lend lots of cool shade. The Times reported that in addition to the African Americans “for miles around” who were expected to attend, it was anticipated that many local white residents would visit Liberia Plantation on Juneteenth, especially the ball game, as spectators.

The “Bossier Banner-Progress” newspaper wrote that about five or six hundred celebrants gathered at Princeton, near Haughton, for a big barbecue and baseball games. In 1924, the “Bossier Banner” wrote of a large Emancipation Day party held in the Seven Pines community, which is several miles northeast of Benton, that featured barbecued meats, music, and dancing. In 1934, the “Plain Dealing Progress” reported that no less than five hundred people attended an Emancipation Day gathering to participate in ball games, dances and other celebrations.

In an oral history interview, Rev. Carl Hawkins, who grew up in Bossier Parish in the 1930s & 40s, notes that, "We would have picnics and barbecue; most of the churches would have some type of activities going on." Bessie Rhodes, in her oral history, remembers baseball games on Juneteenth in the 1930s. "The 19th of June was our celebration and I loved the ball games. We’d have a big old thing!" John Williams considered the meal served on June 19th, when he was growing up in Koran, as his family’s equivalent of a Thanksgiving feast.

Waylin Nattin, who lived in the Alden Bridge logging and sawmill community in north Bossier Parish, pointed out a less-celebratory aspect of the holiday in the first half of the 20th century, when all facets of local life, including “independence days,” were segregated by race. Alden Bridge, a logging company town between Benton and Plain Dealing, was known in the region for its Fourth of July dances, barbeques and other festivities to celebrate American independence. These festivities were for Alden Bridge’s white residents and workers only. Black workers got their independence holiday on Juneteenth, when the lumber company made the ballfields and barbecue pits available to black workers and community members.

The Bossier Parish Libraries History Center in the Bossier Central Library complex is still closed while our new exhibits are installed. Don’t forget you can explore many of our collections, including listen to the digitized oral history interviews such as the oral histories with the Juneteenth stories referred in this article, on our website, www.bossierlibrary.org. Look for the History and Genealogy page under Resources and then choose Collections Database. Feel free to contact History Center staff by phone or email for assistance. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. Don’t forget, all Bossier Parish Libraries will be closed Friday, June 19 for the holiday.

Images: 

• Juneteenth special train ticket rates, The Shreveport Journal Mon, Jun 18, 1917 
• T. Olive Foster from The Tennessean, Feb. 5th, 1899
• Unidentified baseball player in Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La. C. 1930. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Leona Raymond
• Whited & Wheless, Ltd. (Lumber Company)  Alden Bridge, La.

Thousands Gathered to Witness Beach Landing in Bossier

The east bank of the Red River in Bossier City, a draw now for leisurely entertainment and shopping, attracted crowds for a very different reason 81 years ago today. On Sunday afternoon, June 10, 1945, the shoreline near the Texas Street Bridge came alive with the clatter of machine-gun fire and the roar of fighter planes, as a battle unfolded. But Bossier City hadn’t become the latest hotzone of World War II. The fighting was simulated, meant to give spectators a glimpse of America’s military in action and highlight the importance of financially supporting those who were facing enemies abroad. Although victory in Europe had been declared a month earlier, the war in the Pacific continued.

War bond drives, or loan drives as they were also called, were a critical aspect of U.S. policy during the Second World War. They helped raise funds that the government used to buy equipment and supplies for the war effort, and they helped foster a sense of patriotism among citizenry by providing a means to contribute to that effort. There were eight such drives between November 1942 and December 1945. The mock invasion held in Bossier City was part of number seven.

In the days leading up to the event, local newspaper stories heightened interest by telling of the military machinery and maneuvers that would be on display and the guests who would attend, including Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis and movie star of that era, Robert Young. Personnel would also be present to sell bonds. In an article on June 9, Barksdale’s Bark, the newspaper of Barksdale Field – as the base was then called – set the scene: “One hundred Barksdale GIs, armed with rifles and machine guns, will be disgorged from nine Higgins boats tomorrow, and behind a smoke screen, will plunge into an inferno of explosions, … belching flame throwers, roaring dive bombers and wheezing bazooka shells to secure a beachhead,” the paper stated. According to the article, Barksdale not only supplied the troops, but also much of the equipment, including jeeps, walkie-talkies and blank ammunition. The Higgins boats, named for Andrew Higgins, founder of the New Orleans company that built them, were brought by truck from Texas.

The “Red River Bond Invasion Show,” as the event was referred to in some local newspapers, got underway before a crowd estimated to number between 25,000 and 30,000 attendees, gathered along both sides of the river and on the Texas Street Bridge. Prior to the start of the invasion, Young addressed those assembled and “placed decided emphasis on the need to buy war bonds,” according to an article the following day in The Shreveport Journal. Navy Lieutenant Joe McMeel, survivor of a bombing attack on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin just four months prior, spoke as well.

After the guest speakers, the invasion commenced. The Shreveport Journal article of June 11 described what took place: “As the men advanced to establish their beachhead, smoke bombs … were set off, providing continuous protection to the men landing on the shore and to those moving upward on the beach. Even as the men advanced, the … P51s (fighter aircraft) continued to come over, providing a cover for them and blasting an opening … to aid the men in their move forward.” This must have been quite a sight to see on Red River! Soldiers stormed ashore and scrambled up the east bank with the objective of planting a flag at a predetermined point in “enemy” territory. Once this was achieved, victory was declared.

Persons who purchased bonds at the event and in the days just before the event were allowed rides on the Higgins boats. Young, who years later would achieve fame on tv in shows like “Father Knows Best” and “Marcus Welby M.D.,” signed autographs for those who bought bonds of $1000 or more. The June 11 article in The Shreveport Journal states that approximately $21,000 in bonds were sold during the afternoon’s show. That amount combined with money from bond sales across the country during the seven weeks of the Seventh War Loan Drive helped achieve a final total of more than $26 billion. Yes, billion.

For one Sunday afternoon in June 1945, Bossier’s east bank became a stage, offering a more forgiving glimpse into the brutal beach landings at places such as Normandy and Iwo Jima. For a moment, the crowd had a visual reminder that freedom isn’t free.

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 us to learn more. We are currently closed for renovations, but can still be reached by phone at (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/

Images: 

• 7th War Loan poster/Wikimedia Commons
• Beach landing on Red River's east bank/Barksdale's Bark, June 16, 1945

Articlel by: Kevin Flowers