Last Revised: July 16, 1999

Long before the Spanish Explorers made the first European contact with the Caddo Indians, the various tribes of the Caddo Nation were well established in the Red River Valley. Their subsistence depended on hunting, fishing, gathering of shell-fish, nuts and fruits and the cultivation of corn and beans in this fertile area.

The Kadohadaccho occupied the land between the Sulphur and Red Rivers in Northeast Texas and in Arkansas on the Red near the juncture of the Little and the Saline Rivers. This group is eminent above all the rest and is known as "Caddo proper."

The Caddo tribes were peace-loving and boasted that they never killed a white man except in defense. Sometimes they were forced to go on the warpath to fight enemy tribes and then there was no limit to their barbarous practices. So fertile was the valley where they lived that it was not necessary for them to rove for a living. There was an abundance of wildlife such as deer, bear, raccoon, buffalo, turkey and a plentiful supply of fish. There were small animals and birds of all kinds. There were many fruit and nut-bearing trees. The rich soil needed but to be scratched to produce such vegetables as pumpkins, beans, corn and sunflower seeds.

Around 1800, the Kadohadaccho left their fertile lands on Red River Bend, which they had occupied from the time immemorial, and moved to a location a few miles northwest of the present location of Shreveport. One account says the reason for the move was the constant warfare which the Osage of Arkansas waged against them; another narrates that they had an epidemic of severe illness which made them dissatisfied. Dr. Sibley, who in 1805 was appointed Indian Agent of this area by the United States Government, reported that due to war and illness the warriors of the ancient Caddo nation had been reduced to about one hundred and that they were looked upon somewhat like the Knights of Malta, or some distinguished military order.

After the United States came into possession of Louisiana in 1803, they sent Indian Agents here to protect the rights of the Indians against the invasion of the white man. But the Indians recognized the fact that it was becoming more and more impossible to keep back the invading whites. Under the influence of the Indian Agent, Jehial Brooks, they were persuaded to sell their claims and move to the West.

White men had been settling in this area for several years but it was not until Captain Henry Miller Shreve removed the Great Raft from the Red River that the Caddo-Bossier area began to flourish.

The raft was a jumble of piled timbers, log jams, and driftwood enmeshed in large masses in sections of the river bed. When Captain Shreve began removal operations in 1833, the raft was estimated to be 160 miles long. The raft caused the formation of several lakes, including Black, Silver, Soda, Bistineau and Cross Lakes. When the river was finally freed of the jam, some of the lakes were drained.

The removal of the Great Raft by Captain Shreve made Red River a Louisiana trade highway second in importance only to the Mississippi, rapidly populated the swamplands of North Louisiana, and resulted in the founding and development of Shreve Town. The Shreve Town Company was organized on May 27, 1836. Angus McNeil, who inspired and fostered the organization, purchased, for $5,000, Larking Edwards’ unlocated square-mile reservation, which Edwards obtained in the Caddo Treaty, and persuaded him to select his "reservation" site on the bluff overlooking the Red River. McNeil then sold shares to James H. Cane and William S. Bennett, who had operated a store in a one-room log cabin on this same high point, which was called "Cane’s and Bennett’s Bluff." Other shareholders were Bushrod Jenkins, James Pickett, Sturges Sprague, Thomas T. Williamson and Captain Shreve.

A village nine blocks wide and seven blocks long was laid out. (Great credit is due to the person who laid these streets out for his foresight, as these streets have never had to be widened to accommodate even today’s traffic.) Growth was immediate and rapid as settlers surged into the area and the town became a port of entry into Texas.

When the prosperity of Shreve Town was threatened by a rival settlement just below them on the other high point of the river known as Coates’ Bluff, owned by McLeod and Carr, the stockholders of the Shreve Town Company took action. After an attempt to purchase the title of Coates’ Bluff failed, the Company prevailed on Captain Shreve, who dug a ditch across a 42-yard neck of land where the river made a great turn around Coates’ Bluff, circling back upon itself. The water surged through and the ditch became a part of the river leaving Coates’ Bluff high and dry.

Caddo is one of Louisiana’s 64 parishes – a parish being the equivalent to the county in other states. Although few people realize it, there were once counties in Louisiana.

In fact, they preceded parishes as political subdivisions by two years -- and then stayed around another 40 years before passing into history.

It all started in 1804 when President Thomas Jefferson appointed William C.C. Claiborne as governor of the newly created territory of Orleans. The President was also to select the members of the territory’s governing body, the Legislative Council.

The Commissions, however, were sent to Claiborne in blank. This allowed the governor to hand-pick men of his personal choice. Being somewhat suspicious of the predominately French population, he used his powers to change the existing political system to copy those in his home states of Virginia and Tennessee.

On April 10, 1805, counties were officially created. The territory was divided into 12, none having religious names. The largest was Natchitoches County, which according to the Legislative Act was to "comprehend" the (ecclesiastical) Parish of St. Francis. To say the least, this was a very vague description of the county that occupied all of Northwest Louisiana.

Later, Natchitoches County was defined more specifically as covering all of the State of Louisiana north of the County of Rapides and west of the County of Washita (misspelling was common in early legislation – the correct spelling is "Ouachita," so named for that Indian tribe).

Nine complete present-day parishes - Caddo, Bossier, Bienville, Claiborne, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, and Webster -- were created from the area covered by Natchitoches County. Parts of five others -- Grant, Jackson, Lincoln, Vernon and Winn -- also came from this County.

The citizens, who were becoming miffed at Claiborne’s high-handiness, were soon to have their own way. The next year, the legislature, now elected, rather than appointed, established 19 parishes. The counties, however, were not eliminated, and were allowed to remain until 1845.

A newly created parish judge replaced the existing county judge. He, along with justices of the peace, selected by the governor, formed the initial governing unit for the parish. A later act in 1807 provided that they would be assisted in the administration of "local police" duties by a "jury of 12 inhabitants."

When the parish judge and the justices of the peace were eventually relieved of their governing duties, the jury assumed full responsibility. Although this body had no official name as first, it was referred to as the "police assembly" at one point in early legislation. The present day "police jury" name was acquired in 1811.

Statehood came in 1812 and it came in two steps. The original territory of Orleans became the new state of Louisiana by a Congressional Act of April 8. On April 14, the Florida parishes (except for Biloxi and Pascagoula parishes, which form the present day Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts) were added to Louisiana subject to later ratification by the state.

As settlers began to move into Texas, it was natural that northwest Louisiana would participate in this migration. By 1828, enough new people had settled in Natchitoches County to justify the creation of a new parish, Claiborne, named for the state’s first governor. The new parish took in all of northern Natchitoches County east of the Red River.

The area west of the Red River was still the domain of the Caddo Indians. This changed in 1835, however, when the United States purchased the land from the Caddo and opened it up to settlers.

By 1838, there were enough people to justify the creation of at third parish in Natchitoches County, Caddo Parish in the extreme northwestern corner of the state. The parish seat was initially at the home of Thomas Wallace on Wallace Lake, but it soon moved to Shreveport, where it has since remained.

The new parish’s northern boundary (the Arkansas line) and the eastern boundary (the Red River) were basically the same as they are today. To the south, though, Caddo Parish extended further than it now does.

To the west, a parish line was to coincide with the "boundary of the United States." This should have been a very definite line, but it was not. For centuries, Spain and France quarreled over its location. The resulting dispute was inherited by the United States when it acquired the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803.

The United States and Spain finally agreed in 1819 on a definite boundary. But before the treaty could be ratified and a joint survey made, there was a new neighbor to the west, Mexico. The United States and Mexico soon agreed to similar terms. Once again, before a joint survey could be made, there was another new neighbor to the west. This time it was the Republic of Texas.

In 1837-39, the United States surveyed the area, going as far west as they felt American territory extended. Although the line was unilaterally determined, it was accepted by the settlers in the region.

It was in 1841 that a joint survey of the border was finally made. The United States and Texas commissioners found the line to be about seven miles east of what had been previously accepted. The United States, and thus Louisiana and Caddo Parish, lost a narrow strip approximately seven miles wide and seventy miles long to Texas. That strip is now a part of Harrison, Marion, Cass and Bowie Counties in Texas.

In 1843, DeSoto and Sabine parishes were created, both taking land from Caddo. The next parish to be carved out of Caddo was Red River in 1871.

Three unrelated events took place in 1845, affecting Caddo’s future. First, the legislature made major modifications in the Caddo-DeSoto boundary line. Then, the state adopted a new constitution that was based on the parish system alone. The county, as far as Louisiana was concerned, quickly passed into oblivion. Also that year, Texas was annexed to the Union. Caddo’s western border was no longer to be an international one.

The Civil War came. Even with the heavy fighting in Louisiana, the parish boundaries remained stable. Caddo Parish was one of the few areas of the state to remain in Confederate hands throughout the conflict. Thus, from 1863 to 1865, the state was able to use the parish’s new courthouse at Shreveport as its wartime capitol.

During the 19^th Century, Caddo’s eastern border had been quiet. There had been no changes at all. The Red River did change its course frequently, but the boundary remained as it originally existed. Caddo ended up with several pockets of land east of the river while Bossier obtained similar parcels west of the river. Shreveport, though located entirely west of the Red River, lies partially in both parishes.

There has been only one boundary change of consequence during the 20^th Century. Ironically, it was along this previously unaltered eastern boundary. As a result of litigation, the court awarded Shreve Island, which had been in Bossier, to Caddo Parish in 1927.

There almost was another change, one that would have changed Caddo’s status as a parish for all time. In 1873, the State was finding life under the Reconstruction government unbearable. That year, three northwest Louisiana parishes, Caddo, Bossier, and DeSoto, attempted to leave the state and join the neighboring State of Texas.

Had the move been successful, Caddo might have become Caddo County, Texas. But it was doomed to failure. Such a step would have required, but could have never received, the approval of Louisiana’s carpetbag legislature.

And so it remains today, Caddo Parish, Louisiana.

The growth and prosperity of this area increased in the early years due to the availability of river transportation. As the government lands were bought up by the settlers, they were developed into large cotton plantations. These plantations necessitated the building of warehouses, stores, cotton gins and sawmills, and brought many steamboats up the river. Practically everything that came and went in the area, including news, was transported by the river boats.

When the news came, in 1860, of Lincoln’s election, the factionalism that had been growing between the North and the South came to a climax in this area. On November 26, 1860, a meeting was held at the Jim Hugh’s home in Rocky Mount where the leaders of Bossier Parish adopted a resolution dissolving themselves from the ties of the Union by nullifying the ordinance of cession of the State of Louisiana. A short time later, on January 26, 1861, the State of Louisiana seceded and for a period of two months was a country of its own. On March 21, Louisiana became part of the Confederate States of America and sent many men and supplies to support the Civil War.

During the war, Shreveport became, almost overnight, the State Capital and a military headquarters. On February 23, 1863, it became the headquarters of the Department of Trans-Mississippi comprising the military districts of Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, the Indian Territory.

The early war declaration in Bossier Parish, coupled with the fact that the last surrender of arms occurred at Shreveport on the Courthouse Square when the remnants of the Department of Trans-Mississippi capitulated, could well mean that North Louisiana was the scene of both the sunrise and sunset of the Confederacy.

After the war, Caddo struggled through the Reconstruction era as did the rest of the South. In spite of the oppression and hardships imposed by the carpetbag rule, the area prospered and continued to grow.

All across the South, cotton was king and it was vital to the area’s economic prosperity. But the biggest boom to the economy was to come with the discovery of oil. In 1901, oil was discovered near Jennings (southwest) and White Castle (south central), Louisiana, and at Spindletop near Beaumont in Southeast Texas. This set a few Shreveporters wondering about gas seeps in Caddo Parish, for the Caddo Indians had found oil long before the white man came to this area.

In 1902, Ellison M. Adger of Belcher tried to drill some wells to water his livestock. Every time he reached 400 feet, he found salt water. In desperation, he sent soil samples to the United States Geological Survey. He was told he might find oil or gas at 1,000 feet. Other farmers in northern Caddo Parish were having the same trouble with oil and gas souring their drinking water. These indications of oil and gas excited three men in Shreveport. They were Judge S.C. Fullilove, D.C. Richardson, and Ira G. Hedrick. In 1904, they leased land in Caddo Parish. This land was located near the two rail stops of Surry and Ananias, which later became Oil City.

K.S. and W.A Savage of West Virginia, who had brought in several wells at Spindletop were induced to come to Caddo Parish and drill for oil. By May, 1904, derrick timbers were being hauled in by oxen. Peter Youree, a leading banker in Shreveport, told prospective investors that digging for oil was foolishness. A few who did help to finance the Caddo Lake Oil and Pipeline Company No. 1 Offenhauser were D.C. Richardson, Sam Gray and Bill McCormick. The well was drilled to 1,556 feet and on March 28, 1905, five barrels of oil were produced.

One of the greatest booms to the oil and gas industry of today came in 1911 when the first marine well in the United States was drilled on Caddo Lake. The Gulf Refining Company drilled eight wells in the lake that year.

All of Northwest Louisiana, East Texas, and Southwest Arkansas prospered from the discovery of oil. Shreveport was becoming the oil capital of the Ark-La-Tex and the merchants’ and bankers’ faith and foresight brought the area through the crisis.

With the oil boom came the educational and industrial boom. Centenary College was moved to Shreveport in 1908 and during the few years following, several new industries were established in the Cedar Grove area. Also in this time period, the two major newspapers of this region were organized. The early 1900’s also gave rise to the timber industry which, along with the cotton and petroleum products, contributed to the expansion of railroads in Louisiana.

The year 1920 began a decade that would long be remembered in Caddo, as well as across this vast country. With the passage of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States that year, women were given the right to vote. The 20’s were also the years of prohibition, flappers and speakeasies. Radios had become the new form of family entertainment and Shreveport was the home of one of the best known stations in the South - KWKH. The greeting, "Hello, World," became famous around the country.

The area was still prospering and growing when the stock market crashed October 29, 1929. The whole country suffered during the years of the depression. But Caddo was a little luckier than the rest. The Rodessa gas field was discovered in 1930 and in 1931, Congress set aside $2.65 million for the construction of Barksdale Air Field. During the construction, between 900 and 1,100 men were employed. These two factors combined with other public construction and the merchants’ and bankers’ faith and foresight brought the area through the crisis.

Faced with housing shortages, overcrowded schools, insufficient medical facilities and multitudes of other growing problems following World War II, the people went to work to build a metropolitan area second only to New Orleans.

During the 1950’s it appeared that the people of the parish would attain that goal. Shreveport had become the production and distribution center of natural gas for the nation; gas and oil production was at an all time high as was the demand for drilling equipment; the area’s lumber mills were in full operation; and cotton was still "king."

But with the coming of the ‘60’s and the new, modern technology of synthetics the area’s progress started to falter. Cotton and lumber were rapidly being replaced by manufactured synthetics, and the oil companies began moving to other locations.

It was at that point that Caddo residents united in an effort that has made the parish what it is today. Economic diversification became the rule, no longer would the area be completely dependent upon the future of one or two industries.

Their first major success came in the mid-60’s with the location of Western Electric’s Shreveport Works. The telephone manufacturing plant that became known as AT&T’s Shreveport Works in 1984 and today is part of the independent company Lucent Technologies, employed as many as 8,000 people in the mid-1980’s and competed with Barksdale Air Force Base for the distinction of the area’s largest single employer. Meanwhile, other nationally known companies, including General Electric, General Motors and Sunbeam, to name a few, located plants in the parish.

The mid-60’s goal of economic diversification has been met. Today, the parish’s economic base has several building blocks, manufacturing, petroleum, agriculture, product distribution, a retail trade that services the entire Ark-La-Tex area, and medical facilities.

Other progressive strides have been made in the area of higher education. Shreveport houses two major colleges, Louisiana State University in Shreveport and Centenary College, a major university extension, Southern University of Shreveport-Bossier, as well as Baptist Christian College. LSU Medical Center incorporates one of the top medical schools in the South and Northwestern State University’s School of Nursing is headquartered in Shreveport. Other colleges and universities in the region have satellite programs in Shreveport, including Grambling State University, which offers the entire curriculum for the master’s degree in criminal justice at the VA Hospital in Shreveport.

The dedication and determination of the area’s early settlers continues to live on in the farsightedness and energy that are exhibited by the present generation of Caddo residents, producing a unique vitality of citizenship and a progressive spirit that insures that whatever the future holds Caddo will succeed in successfully and intelligently meeting the challenges for the benefit of all its citizens.