Histories

Haynesville's Elgin Hotel
claimed to sit on the highest point in Louisiana

Corney Bayou at the old Scottsville port

1909 Claiborne Parish

Claiborne Parish was established on March 13, 1828, during the administration of Gov. Pierre Derbigny. It was the first subdivision of Natchitoches parish, which had formed a part of the old historic "Natchitoches District," under French and Spanish rule of Louisiana. From the original bounds of Claiborne, Bossier, Jackson, Bienville, Webster and Lincoln parishes have been carved, wholly or in part. This parish is situated in the northwestern part of the state, on the Arkansas border, and as now constituted, is bounded on the north by Arkansas; on the east by Union and Lincoln parishes; on the south by Bienville parish and on the west by Webster parish. Claiborne was named in honor of Gov. William C. C. Claiborne, the first territorial and state governor of Louisiana. In 1811, the first settlement of English-speaking people was made near the Webster-Claiborne line. Among the pioneers of this section were Charles L. Hay, Thomas Leatherman, and the Crow and Butler families. The first police jury met and organized at the home of John Murrell in 1828, and meetings were regularly held here for some time, until the offer of Samuel Russell of a site for the parish seat was accepted and the place named Russellvile, in honor of the donor. The first court at the new town was presided over by Judge Overton, and Isaac McMahon was sheriff. After the great raft (q. v.) was removed from the Red river in 1835, navigation was extended to the Minden landing on Bayou Dorcheat, and with the idea that it would become an important shipping point the parish seat was moved, and the town called Overton in honor of Judge Overton. For 10 years the parish courts were held here, but as a village in the bottoms was unhealthy, and as it was not centrally located, the parish seat was changed in 1846, to Athens. Two years later the public buildings and records at Athens were destroyed by fire, and the same year the seat of parochial justice was established on lands near the center of the parish that were granted by Allen Harris and Tillinghast Vaughn. A very primitive building was erected for a court house and in September Judge Roland Jones opened court, with Allen Harris as sheriff and W. C. Copes, clerk. During the year 1849-50 a good brick building was erected for parish purposes, and in the fall of 1850 the same parish officers opened court. This new town was named Homer by Frank Vaughn. The oldest record of the police jury is dated Nov. 12, 1849, as the records of the earlier period were destroyed by the Athens fire. Judge Wilson opened the first district court at Murrell's house in 1828; the first church in the parish was built in 1830, and the first camp meeting was held in 1832. The first newspaper issued within the present boundaries of the parish, and the second within the old boundaries, was the Claiborne Advocate, the Minden Iris being the first. This paper was established by D. B. Harrison, who came from Alabama, and Frank Vaughn was the first editor. Claiborne is well watered by Cypress bayou in the northeastern portion; by Bayou D'Arbonne in the central and southeastern portion, and by Bayou Corny and other small streams along the western and southern boundaries. The parish has an area of 764 square miles. The surface is undulating and broken, even quite hilly in some parts, with an extensive area of level bottom lands. The soil is that common to the long leaf yellow pine region of the state, red sandy clay in the hills, a little more compact in the lower lands, and fertile in the creek and river bottoms. A large part of the unimproved land is covered with a heavy growth of timber, which is a source of present and future wealth to the parish. When the lands are stripped of their valuable forest growths they will yield a full tide crop the second year. It is estimated that there are 1,500,000,000 feet of yellow pine lumber and probably an equal amount of hardwood, including cypress, various kinds of oak, hickory, etc. There are a large number of saw mills in the parish, and planing mills and wood working shops are springing up all over this region. Cotton is the great staple product, but corn, hay, oats, peas, both varieties of potatoes, tobacco, hemp, wheat, buckwheat, sugar-cane and sorghum all yield good crops. The country is well adapted to dairying and stock raising, as the pasture is excellent and can be obtained nearly the entire year. The fruits and nuts are those native to this latitude and region. In recent years it has been discovered that the soil and climate of this parish are especially adapted to peach growing, and as the fruit is excellent in flavor and size, it brings the best prices on the market. Large peach orchards are being set out, and horticulture is one of the rapidly growing industries. Transportation and shipping facilities are provided by the Louisiana & Northwest R. R., which traverses the western part of the parish, from north to south, passing through Homer. This road has direct connections with the Cotton Belt, the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. R., the Louisiana Railway & Navigation company and the Texas & Pacific R. R., while the Shreveport & Northeastern R. R. runs southwest from Homer to Minden, in Webster parish, connecting with the Louisiana & Arkansas R. R. Homer and Athens, the two most important towns of the parish, are located on the Louisiana & Northwest R. R. Some of the other towns and villages are: Arizonia, Haynesville, Lisbon, Summerfield, Dykesville and Gordon. The following statistics, taken from the U. S. census for 1900, relate to farms and manufactures: Number of farms, 3,595: acreage, 418,276; acres under cultivation, 206,131: value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings, $1,345,250: value of farm buildings, $525,270: value of live stock, $629,578; total value of all products not fed to live stock. $1,324,826: number of manufacturing establishments, 69; capital invested. $110,285; wages paid, $25,259 ; cost of materials used, $40,606 ; total value of products, $104,344. The population for the parish in 1900 was 9,202 whites, 13,827 colored, a total of 23,029 : a decrease since 1890 of 283.

Extracted 02 Nov 2019 by Norma Hass, from Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, published in 1909, volume 1, pages 212-214.

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1909 Claiborne Parish