1993 Bossier Parish History

Bossier Parish was created on Feb. 24, 1843, through Act 33 of the Louisiana legislature, signed into law by Gov. Alexandre Mouton. The parish was presumably named for the Louisiana Creole militia general Pierre Evariste Jean Baptiste Bossier. He was born at Natchitoches (pronounced NAK-oh-tush) on March 22, 1797 and died under mysterious circumstances on April 24, 1844.

The parish was formed from Claiborne Parish. Until 1871, it included what are now Webster and Red River parishes. Its boundaries were originally Loggy Bayou to Lake Bistineau to Bayou Dorcheat to the Arkansas-Louisiana state line to the Red River back to the mouth of Loggy Bayou.

The first parish officials, all appointed by Governor Mouton, were William K. Beck, Parish Judge; Robert B. Lowrey, Sheriff; R.H. Hodges, Surveyor; H.M. McFarland, Coroner; and John M. Lawdridge, C. Wallace, William Crowley and J.S.M. Lowery, Justices of the Peace. They were appointed March 9, 1843. The first parish courthouse was at Bellevue and was built by A. Kendall. The first parish Police Jury meeting (akin to a board of county commissioners) was held on June 19, 1843. The first police jurors were William Crowley, President; J.A.W. Lowery, Clerk; James C. Scott, Clerk (through Sept. 4); G.J. Williams; Joseph Graham; William M. Burns; and Isaac Lay. Their first meeting was held at the home of Ezekial Calhoun Long, believed to be near the site of the 1920s-vintage Durden log home on the Bodcau preserve.

The earliest towns and settlements in Bossier Parish were Fillmore, Collinsburg (also called Plainville), Bellevue, Rocky Mount and Red Land. Rocky Mount is site of the earliest church, the Salem Baptist Church. Red Land received the first official post office, however, on Oct. 20, 1846, with Jerome B. Mading as postmaster. The last traces of the village burned on Sept. 18, 1890.

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Extracted from Bossier Parish history, The First 150 Years, 1843-1993, by Clifton Cardin, published in 1993.

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