Historical Articles by W. T. Block

(click here for W. T. Block web page)

The following articles were generously offered by W. T. (Bill) Block in October, 2005 to be used as part of our history presentation for Southwest Louisiana.  I was happy to receive the material and publish it on our LaGenWeb Calcasieu Parish web site. I personally thanked Bill for his generosity when he made the offer to let us publish his articles.  Please visit his web page to read his biography and accomplishments.


  1. Alamo Hero from Lake Charles
  2. Bon Ami, Beauregard Parish: A Thriving Mill Town
  3. Border Relocated between Texas and Louisiana
  4. Bouquet, Jules Victor: An Acadian Cavalryman
  5. Calcasieu Pass Battle
  6. Calcasieu Raid by Lieutenant Frederick Crocker
  7. Cameron, LA.: Tevis called it the Enchanted City
  8. Channelization History of the Calcasieu River
  9. DeQuincy: Once the Turpentine Capitol of Louisiana
  10. Deridder, Louisiana - Between 1904 and 1908
  11. Three Frenchmen Had Great Surplus of Years
  12. Fullerton, Louisiana: Gulf Lumber Company
  13. Goos, Capt. Daniel: An Early Lake Charles Sawmiller
  14. Grand Chenier, Louisiana: Some Notes about Early Grand Chenier
  15. Henry, Samuel P.: Father of Cameron Parish
  16. Hotspur: The Last Voyage of the Hotspur
  17. Indian Survived Grand Chenier Storms
  18. Jasper: The Albino Buck Deer on Penitentary Ridge
  19. Jayhawkers Of The Civil War in Confederate Louisiana
  20. Johnson's Bayou, La.: October 12, 1886 - The night that it died
  21. Lafitte, Jean: The Legacy of Jean Lafitte in Southwest Louisiana
  22. Lake Charles, Louisiana: Early Sawmilling
  23. "Leather Britches" Smith and the Grabow Riot
  24. Leesville, Louisiana: A Glimpse between 1905-1908
  25. Letter from Lower Louisiana
  26. Light House: The Story of the Calcasieu River Light House
  27. Longville, Louisiana Sawmill
  28. Ludington, Louisiana: A ghost town of Beauregard Parish
  29. Lute, "Toots": Cameron Parish's Artist in Clay
  30. Mansfield, Louisiana: A Glimpse in 1908
  31. Massacre: A Calcasieu Parish Tragedy
  32. Merryville, Louisiana: A Glimpse between 1906-1908
  33. Murder in a lonely Rice Field
  34. Muskrat Camp Murder
  35. Oakdale, Louisiana: A Glimpse between 1890 and 1925
  36. Opelousas Trail: Bellowing cows marked first trail to New Orleans
  37. "One Rat Hide an Acre" — Cameron Parish in 1928
  38. Recollections of a Grand Chenier Native
  39. Sailboats: Early River Boats of Southwest Louisiana
  40. Sawmills in Southwest Louisiana
  41. Secrets: The Calcasieu River Guards its Secrets
  42. Shellbank, Louisiana: The Legend of Pavell's Island
  43. Skull Island on Mermentau River
  44. Slaves: Pirate Lafitte, Bowie dealt in slave trade via SE Texas
  45. Southwest Louisiana History found in the Beaumont Enterprise
  46. Stables and Loring, Louisiana: The early sawmills
  47. Treasure Sites of Imperial Calcasieu Parish