Histories

Among the first settlers in Webster Parish was Newett Drew, a native of Virginia, who about 1818 established a grist mill at the former Overton community near Minden. At this time the area was Natchitoches Parish and later Overton became the Parish Seat of Claiborne Parish in 1836 until it moved in 1848. His son, Richard Maxwell Drew was born in Overton and served as a district judge state representative prior to his death in 1850 at the age of twenty-eight. R. M. Drew's descendants held judicial or legislative positions in Webster Parish as well, Richard Cleveland Drew, Harmon Caldwell Drew, R. Harmon Drew, Sr., and Harmon Drew, Jr."
      Wikipedia, Webster Parish, Louisiana

1894 Webster Parish

This parish is situated in the northwestern part of the State and contains 393,600 acres of land.
The formation is good uplands and alluvial lands.
The soil is very good and fertile.
It is drained by Dorchite, Crows and Black Lake bayous and Lake Bisteneau.
The water is plentiful and fairly good.
The Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific railroad extends through the parish.
Minden is the chief crop product, and corn, hay, oats, beans, sorghum, sweet and Irish potatoes and tobacco are grown.
The fruits are peaches, pears, apples, plums, figs, grapes, pomegranates and quinces.
Salt deposits exist and beds of potters' clay, fire-clay lignite and marl are found.
Timber is pine, oak, gum, hickory, beech, holly, elm, poplar, walnut and maple.
Live stock raised are cattle, sheep, hogs and a few horses.
Game consists of squirrels, deer, foxes, rabbits, coons, opossums, wild turkeys, wild ducks, woodcock, robins and partridges.
Fish, of good qualities, are found in the streams.
There are 12,800 acres of United States Government land and some State public lands in the parish.
Private lands are worth from $1.25 to $20.00 per acre.

Extracted 13 Nov 2019 by Norma Hass, from An Invitation to Immigrants, published in 1894, page 78.

1909 Webster Parish

Webster Parish, established in 1871 while Henry Clay Warmoth was governor, was named in honor of Daniel Webster. It was created from the three older parishes of Bossier, Claiborne and Bienville; is situated in the northwestern part of the state, and is bounded on the north by Arkansas: on the east by Claiborne and Bienville parishes; on the south by Bienville parish, and on the west by Bossier parish.

The first settlements in Webster parish were made before Louisiana became a state. Isaac Alden, who settled 8 miles east of Minden in 1811, was one of the first to take up land. Richard Fields, a half-breed, located near Germantown about the same time, and these two men are supposed to have been the only white inhabitants of this wilderness up to the spring of 1818, when the Murrells, Wards, and several other families arrived. They first took up land along the water courses, but on account of high water were forced to remove to higher ground. Small settlements were made during the winter of 1818-19, at Small Creek by the Allen family, and Dan Moore and William Gryder located in the same vicinity soon after. This locality became known as the "Allen Settlement" and a post office was established there as early as 1827, with John Murrell as postmaster. Jesse Sikes settled at Sikes Ferry in 1816 and built a substantial house there in 1820. A gunsmith named Deck took up land near Minden in 1822 and was followed by Adam L. Stewart, but the town site remained practically wilderness until 1837, when Charles H. Veeder, of Schenectady, N. Y., opened a store there. It is said that the first white child born north of Campti was Isaac Murrell, and the first school in this section was taught by James A. Conley. It was not until 1826 that a large crop of cotton was raised in the parish. In that year J. McCrady raised and gathered one of the largest cotton crops raised up to that date on his plantation at Flat Lick. He had a store there and the same year he built a gin-house and cotton press. Russell Jones built the second and John Murrell the third. Thus the great cotton industry of the parish was started.

When Webster parish was established, Feb. 27, 1871, Minden was chosen as the parish seat, and the parish court was organized there April 4, 1871, and presided over by S. G. McKenzie; the first district court was held Nov. 6, 1871, by Judge L. B. Watkins. The first police jury was organized in 1871 at the town hall, which was subsequently burned. D. B. Doyle and Dr. G. L. Wise were members of this jury, and John Warren, clerk. All the records of the early period have disappeared and the earliest record preserved is dated Jan. 12, 1874. The Minden Iris, published at Minden in 1848, was the first newspaper issued in what is now known as Webster parish. The next was the Minden Herald, issued in Jan., 1855, and edited by Jasper Blackburn.

The principal water courses are the Dorcheat, Indian and Bodeau bayous, Crow's and Honey creeks. Part of Lake Bistineau lies within the southern boundary of the parish. Webster has an area of 615 square miles, mostly "good upland"' and alluvial land along the bayou bottoms. Between the bayous a level tract extends north from Lake Bistineau to the Arkansas line. The soil is light on the uplands, but produces good crops with reasonable fertilization, while the alluvial land is exceedingly productive. Cotton is the great export crop, but corn, hay, oats, sorghum, sugar-cane, potatoes and tobacco are all grown. Peaches, pears, apples, plums, grapes, quinces, and all kinds of garden vegetables are raised for the Shreveport market. The live stock industry is important, cattle, sheep and hogs all being raised in large numbers by the farmers. A large part of the parish is covered with valuable timber, such as oak, hickory, gum, beech, holly, elm, poplar, walnut and maple. Salt deposits exist in the southwestern part of the parish near Lake Bistineau, and beds of potter's clay, fire-clay, lignite and marl exist, which will become valuable when opened up and developed.

Minden, the parish seat, is the most important town. Other towns and villages are Cotton Valley, Dorcheat, Doyline, Dubberly, Heflin, Hortman, Lanesville, Leton, Ogilvie, Sarepta, Shongaloo. Springhill and Yellow Pine.

The Louisiana & Arkansas R. R. traverses the entire parish from north to south, connecting with the Shreveport & Northeastern at Minden, and with the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific at Sibley Station, the northern terminus of the Sibley. Lake Bistineau & Southern. All the products of the parish are thus brought in close touch with the markets.

The following statistics concerning the parish are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: number of farms, 2,136; acreage, 221,210; acres improved, 93,829; value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings, $641,940; value of farm buildings, $294,860: value of live stock, $318,650; total value of all products not fed to live stock, $663,749; number of manufacturing establishments, 31; capital invested, $263,912; wages paid, $64,469; cost of materials used, $304,156; total value of products, $434,613. The population of the parish in 1900 was 6,863 whites, 8,262 colored, a total of 15,125, an increase of 2,659 over the year 1890. The estimated population for 1908 was 16,700.

Extracted 13 Nov 2019 by Norma Hass from Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, edited by Alcee Fortier, published in 1909, volume 2, pages 619-620.

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