| Communities | Economy | History / Markers | Local Government |
| Location / Geography | Media | Parks and Recreation | Schools and Libraries |
| Parish Map | Top of page | ||
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Unincorporated areas of interest in the parish include Alsatia, Bomer, Bowie, Brunett, Gassaway, Highland, Hilly Brook, Lebanon, Millikin, Monticello, Panola, Roosevelt, Sondheimer , Transylvania, and Wilman |
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Lake Providence Mississippi Rive Tensas River |
Roosevelt Roosevelt |
History | |
| Pre Columbian |
Long before the exploration and settling of the parish by white men, it was inhabited by Indians. This is evidenced by the Indian mounds which are located at Poverty Point near Epps. It is believed that artifacts found at these mounds belonged to Indians inhabiting this area at least 2700 years ago. |
| 1542 |
East Carroll Parish was originally part of the Ouachita Country which roughly defined the area between the Red River and Mississippi River north to the Missouri River. The name Ouachita, pronounced "Wash-i-taw", is derived from a tribe of Native Americans which inhabited that area when it was first explored by Hernando DeSoto in the spring of 1542. |
| 1729 |
Settlement of the area began about the same time as the founding of New Orleans but the massacre of settlers at Natchez in 1729 induced the Ouachita settlers to move closer to the protection of more established communities down river. |
| 1785 |
In 1785 Don Juan Filhoil, a Frenchman in the Spanish military, was given command of the Ouachita and told to establish settlements in the area, which had become Spanish territory in 1769. He reported that no sign of the previous settlements existed and set out to build Fort Miro at the present site of the city of Monroe. About the same time the Spanish governor struck a deal with the Baron de Bastrop. If he would help populate the area he would be given a grant of over a million square acres of land. The Baron hired a man from Kentucky named Abraham Morehouse to encourage immigration to the Ouachita country. Settlers were promised title to 400 acres of land if they remained for three years. |
| 1805 |
When the Territory of Orleans is divided into counties the present-day East Carroll Parish is part of Ouachita County . |
| 1832 |
The parishes of East Carroll and West
Carroll were part of the Baron
de Bastrop's grant and Lake Providence was the main entry point for
pioneers from the east, many of them coming from the Carolinas and Georgia,
some from Tennessee, but mostly from Mississippi. The area was named Carroll Parish in 1832 in honor of Charles Carroll, a philanthropist, statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Lake Providence became the first seat of government of the new parish. |
| 1855 |
In 1855 the courthouse was relocated to Floyd, in what is now West Carroll, because of its central location. |
| 1863 |
During the Civil War there was much activity in the area, mostly connected to the Union's attempts to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant's Canal was started as an effort by General Grant to permit Union gun boats to turn off the Mississippi and skirt around the heavy artillery on the bluffs at Vicksburg. It would allow the boats to travel through a series of rivers and bayous, re-entering the Mississippi 100 miles south of Lake Providence. The canal was a failure, but it added a unique brush with history to Carroll Parish. |
| 1877 |
Carroll Parish is divided into two parishes in 1877. Most parishes that were created during Louisiana's Reconstruction Period were made for the political advantages to the carpetbagger government. The division of Carroll parish, however, solved a long-standing feud over the site of the seat of government. Lake Providence was named the parish seat of East Carroll. Bayou Maçon formed the boundary between the two parishes. |
| 1906 |
After the war, the hard times common throughout the South caused a decline in farming and a surge of reforestation in the parish. It became a good place to hunt bear and deer. On enthusiastic bear hunter in the area in 1906 was President Theodore Roosevelt. The hunting expedition gave rise to the nickname "Teddy" and to the popular stuffed toy bear. |
| 1940s |
Since the 1940s East Carroll Parish has begun to realize its agricultural and timber potentials as the "garden spot of the delta". In the 1990s the parish is developing its port facilities and other industrial and tourist enterprises. |
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The seven public schools of East Carroll Parish serve approximately 2,200 students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12. All schools have special education classes, remedial programs, computer programs, and drug education programs. Lake Providence High School has a Fine Arts teacher. Two elementary schools have Spanish classes. High schools offer a variety of vocational programs. There are two private schools in Lake Providence with a total of 302 students. Both schools admit students on a nondiscriminatory basis. St. Patrick's School (Pre-School-Grade 6) has a faculty of 13 teachers and 1 aide. Besides classes in the traditional subjects, students participate in Spanish classes and Choir; those who wish take a course in Religion. Participation in activities such as the Pizza Hut Reading Club and Easter Seals "Be a Speller" enliven the educational curriculum. Briarfield Academy, located on the same campus, serves Grades 7-12. It has a faculty of 12 members. College preparatory courses are available for those who have the ability and desire to attend college. Other courses are designed to prepare the student to take his place in the business world immediately after graduation. It also provides a strong athletic program, offering the traditional sports plus golf and tennis. Good Shepherd Early Childhood Development Center is a federally-funded Head Start school serving students three to five years old from all over the parish. Teachers use the Montessori teaching methods and procedures meeting Head Start guidelines. A faculty of 7 teachers and 7 aides instruct approximately 120 children. There are several privately owned nursery schools and day care centers in Lake Providence. All public and private schools are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary schools and the Louisiana Independent School Association. Currently the percentages of graduating seniors attending college are 41.53% for the public schools. Annual cost in public funds to provide schooling is $2,518 per student, with a pupil-to teacher ratio of 18.27:1. |
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| The Lake Providence Technical Instltute, a branch of Tallulah Technical Institute is located in Lake Providence. It provides training leading to careers in office and health occupations and industrial trade occupations. There are day and evening classes taught by 9 ^instructors. It is an open entry school, and each student works at his own pace. Another community college is Robinson Business College, also located in Lake Providence. It offers a variety of courses leading to careers as a data entry operator, nursing assistant or child care technician. To assure that new and expanding businesses have a continuing pool of workers with the level of education and expertise necessary for their operations, the area’s colleges and universities, vocational/technical schools and high schools graduate trained and entry-level persons year round. Schools at all levels are augmenting their general education missions with programs explicitly connected with employment possibilities for their students. This is seen in secondary schools in career education curricula and programs such as adopt-a-school through which business contributes resources, curriculum guidance and, in some cases, instruction, counseling and the promise of jobs for graduates. Community colleges are increasing their industry-specific training and colleges and universities are developing partnerships with industry that involve human as well as technological development. |
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Education |
Within an hour and a half drive of x are eleven major colleges or universities. Five of these offer doctoral degrees in the arts, sciences, engineering, medical and legal fields. These universities are nationally and internationally recognized as sponsoring extensive research activities. Among these institutions are those receiving national recognition for their schools of law, medicine and engineering as well as fine arts curriculum. Northeast Louisiana University 75 miles Grambling University 110 miles Louisiana Tech 105 miles Louisiana State University -Shreveport 180 miles Centenary College 180 miles LSU Medical Center-Shreveport 180 miles Southern Univ.-Shreveport/Bossier 180 miles |
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Although it is one of Louisiana's youngest institutions of higher learning (established in 1931), Northeast Louisiana University has grown rapidly into one of the South's premier universities. It typifies LouisianaËs dedication to excellence in Higher Education. Some Facts: € Is the largest university in North Louisiana and the fourth largest public university in Louisiana, enrolling more than 10,000 students each year from every parish in Louisiana, more than 40 other states and 50 other countries. € Has a $340 million annual impact on the area's economy. € Its Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology and Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Technology have been ranked among the top two percent of more than 1,800 degree programs re- viewed by the state's Board of Regents. € NLU has the state's only School of Communication. Its programs have been ranked by the Board of Regents as being the best in North Louisiana, and among the top three in the state. NLU has the only photo-journalism program in the state. NLU is the only university in the state to offer degrees in Radio/Television/Film Management, Production, Performance, Film-making, and Broadcast News plus an Associate degree in Radio/Television/Film € NLU has the first School of Construction in the nation to be accredited, the Computer Science program was the first in North Louisiana and one of the first 48 programs in the nation to earn accreditation, the Agricultural Aviation program is the first of its kind in the nation, the first undergraduate and graduate programs in Criminal Justice in the state, its Master's degree program in Substance Abuse Counseling is the only such program in Louisiana, the first Gerontology program and graduate-level Certificate in Gerontology in the state (one of only three) € Research and Service located at NLU: The Northeast Louisiana Regional Archaeologist of the Louisiana Division of Archaeology, The Office of State Director of Louisiana Small Business Development Center, The Regional Tumor Registry, The Cancer Research Center, The Museum of Zoology is ranked in the top five in the nation. The fishes collection is one of the largest and most complete collections in the nation. The Herbarium is the largest in the state and one of the fastest growing in the nation € Research and services are provided through such programs as the Small Business Development Center the Center for Business and Economic Research, the Behavioral Economic Research Laboratory, the Human Performance Laboratory, the Marriage and Family Counseling Center, the Center for Professional Development, the Center for Research in Education, the Climatic Research Center, the Coal Lab, Continuing Education, the Soil-Plant Analysis Lab, the University Theatre, the Drug Information Center, the Institute of Gerontology, the NLU Concerts Association, the Dental Hygiene Clinic, the Senior Community Service Project, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the Speech and Hearing Clinic, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Technical Services Center. |
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Located in Ruston only 105 miles from Lake Providence, Louisiana Tech was founded in 1894 and is the oldest university in North Louisiana. Associate, undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered in Business Administration, Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering, Human Ecology, and Life Sciences. An international program offers classes in Italy and Mexico. The 10,000 plus students represent every parish in Louisiana, every state in America and 49 countries and give Tech the highest graduation rate in the state. The campus and the university are a source of pride, excitement and culture for all residents of Lincoln Parish.
TechËs value to the community goes way beyond its educational services. Area hospitals draw upon the international reputation of its Bio-Med Center. Research in other engineering disciplines works hand-in-hand with area businesses. The university offers a variety of facilities for use by convention groups. The universityËs Concert Association brings outstanding entertainment to the parish every year.
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Founded by Charles P. Adams in 1901, Grambling State University is a multi-purpose, state-supported, coeducational institution The degree granting academic units include the Colleges of Liberal Arts, Science & Technology, Education, and Business; the Schools of Nursing and Social Work; and the Division of Graduate Studies. Preliminary training is available for medicine, law and dentistry. Non-credit continuing education programs serve the citizens of Grambling and North Louisiana. New Emphasis in Grambling StateËs Graduate School curriculum has been placed on the Ed.D. in Developmental Education, a unique offering in Louisiana. With an enrollment of Approximately 6000+, the University is small enough to provide its students with individual attention and concern, and large enough to offer them choices from a wide spectrum of curricular experiences. The guiding principles of the University embrace the motto that ³Everybody is Somebody²
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Director - Renee Whatley 109 Sparrow St. Lake Providence, LA 71254-2645 Email - East Carroll Parish enjoys an excellent parish-supported public library system located in Lake Providence It has a head librarian and a staff of three. It was established in 1954 to serve the information needs of the parish. Books, periodicals, videos, and recordings are available for patrons' use. The library has a collection of 22,000 books for juvenile and adult readers with approximately 50 new additions per month. Its bookmobile, on a two-week basis, serves rural homes in the parish; during the school year it visits schools as well as nursing homes and the prison farm. The library offers special programming for children through the yearly summer reading club and for adults through the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Special collections include large print books, books on black history and books on Louisiana history. East Carroll Parish Library is a member of the Trail Blazer Library System, a thirteen parish cooperative library system. Because of its membership in Trail Blazer, East Carroll Parish Library can borrow material for its patrons from all other libraries in the system. Northeast Louisiana University, Grambling University and Louisiana Tech are located within an hour and a half of Lake Providence. The large collections at the university libraries are available to parish residents through Trail Blazer. American Library Directory 1999-2000, R. R. Bowker |
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