Where We Practice Law: The History of Monroe, Louisiana

Ouachita Parish is located in northeastern Louisiana approximately halfway between New Orleans, Louisiana and Memphis, Tennessee. The Ouachita River runs through the Twin Cities. On its east bank is Monroe, with approximately 56,000 residents and encompassing 31.2 square miles. The parish is 643 square miles in size and has a population of 150,000.

Years before the Louisiana Purchase unified American colonization efforts, the present site of Monroe was an established trade center on the banks of the Ouachita River. The word “Ouachita” has been variously translated to have meant “silver water”, “clear water” or “good hunting”. The early explorers, de Tonti and Bienville, had reported the presence of a Native American tribe identified by the name in the area which is now northeast Louisiana.

In 1780, a primitive French settlement called Prairie de Canots (Prairie of the Canoes) marked the real beginnings of Monroe. It’s political beginnings may be traced to the year 1783 when Jean Baptiste Filhoil, also known as Don Juan Filhoil, was appointed by the Spanish crown to oversee the sparsely populated “Poste de Washitas” region of what is now northeast Louisiana. By 1790, Filhiol had established a fort (Fuerte Miro) on or near the present day site of Monroe. A land grant of 1,680 acres from the King of Spain, settled in the territory. Soon after, a prohibition ordinance was enacted, and Fort Miro was constructed to protect his village.

The War Between the States made its presence felt in Ouachita Parish, as it did throughout all of Louisiana. Monroe saw action in the form of two skirmishes in 1863 and the parish courthouse was destroyed by a Union gunboat which traversed the Ouachita River during the siege of Vicksburg. The parish experienced a continuation of agricultural prosperity and growth throughout the years following Reconstruction. Industrial development found its foothold in 1915 with the discovery of natural gas in Ouachita Parish, which contributed greatly to the economy. It became known as the Natural Gas Capitol of the World. This was followed by the advent of the paper industry in Louisiana during the 1920’s.