Adventures along the Neutral Strip------ Shreveport to Lake Charles via U. S. Hwy 171
Written: Apr 21 '02 (Updated Apr 28 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Unique attractions, fascinating history, few tourists
Cons: Few amenities
The Bottom Line: Tourists seldom visit the Louisiana-Texas border country, where the historic Ante Bellum South meets the violent Old West
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| Howard_Creech's Full Review: Shreveport |
Travelers with a true spirit of adventure can spend a few days getting to know one of the most unique areas in America. Western Louisiana is an under-appreciated region that is rarely seen by tourists. The lifeline of the cities and small towns along the border between Louisiana and Texas is U. S.171; an old two-lane country highway runs from Shreveport in the north to Lake Charles in the south.
Shreveport
The city of Shreveport exists today because of the entrepreneurial determination of one man, Captain Henry Shreve. The village of Nachitoches was the last civilized outpost in Northwest Louisiana because of a 180-mile logjam that blocked navigation on the Red River north of the tiny Creole town. Shreve contracted with the U. S. Government to open the Red River to navigation using a steam powered “snag boat” he invented. Once the ancient logjam was cleared, the territory north of Nachitoches was opened to settlement and commerce. The Federal Government bought 1,000,000 acres of land from the resident Caddo Indians and sold the site of present day Shreveport to Captain Shreve.
Shreveport is the capitol of the Ark-La-Tex country (where the borders of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas meet) and it’s much different from the rest of Louisiana. The area was settled by the grandchildren of the English, Scots, and Irish pioneers who had settled Kentucky and Tennessee in the late eighteenth century. The city grew rich as traders, adventurers, travelers, pioneers, gold-seekers, and soldiers arrived by Steamboat from New Orleans to commence their overland journeys west. Shreveport became the gateway to the great southern plains. The short grass prairie country was the realm of huge herds of wandering buffalo and the fiercely independent Lords of the Southern Plains, the Comanche.
One of Shreveport’s most important attractions is the Louisiana State Museum, 3015 Greenwood Rd. (M-F 9:00am to 4:30pm--- Free Admission) which houses the incredible collection of Native American artifacts unearthed at Poverty Point, the largest and most important pre-historic Native American settlement in the Mississippi Valley. If you are interested in Native American history and culture, this museum is not to be missed.
Also worthy of a visit is the Pioneer Heritage Center on the campus of LSU Shreveport. Many authentic plantation structures have been moved to this site from all over Northwestern Louisiana. The old Webb & Webb Plantation Commissary serves as the Visitors Center. Docents dressed in pioneer costumes demonstrate various crafts and skills like churning butter, firing bricks, and making soap. In addition to the plantation structures, there are also a restored “dogtrot” style double cabin, a blacksmith shop, and an absolutely “terrifying” collection of early 19th century dental and surgical instruments.
Other Shreveport attractions include Ark-La-Tex Antique & Classic Vehicle & Firefighters Museum at 601 Spring St (Wed-Sun. 318-222-0227) and the Gardens of the American Rose Center at 8877 Jefferson Paige Rd, The Gardens of the American Rose Center is the largest site in the country dedicated to roses. This site is a photographer’s dream, with thousands of beautiful roses in bloom, from April through October. (9am-6pm. Admission fee 318-938-5402).
If you like doughnuts be sure to check out “Southern Maid” Doughnuts on U. S. Hwy 171 (North) at the southern outskirts of Shreveport. The doughnuts are so good that a friend who lives in Tyler, Texas drives to Shreveport for doughnuts (a five hour round trip)
Mansfield
From Shreveport take U. S. Highway 171 South to Mansfield, sight of the last Confederate victory in the Civil War. In July of 1863 the Rebel strongholds at Vicksburg and Port Hudson fell to Union troops giving the Federal Government complete control of the Mississippi River and cutting the Confederacy in half. President Lincoln and General Grant turned their attention to eliminating the rag-tag Rebel forces in western Louisiana and Texas. Defeating Rebel forces in the west would greatly reduce the size of the Confederacy and allow the Federal Government to concentrate on beating General Lee’s rebel armies in the east.
A combined Union Army and Navy force of more than 35,000 troops left Alexandria, Louisiana and followed the Red River toward Shreveport. The plan was to seize Shreveport and use Navy forces to control the Red River. Control of the river would allow supplies to be brought by boat from New Orleans and stockpiled in Shreveport. Shreveport would be used as the base for a Yankee invasion of Texas. The Union Army and Navy force met no resistance between Alexandria and Nachitoches, and General Banks, the Army Commander decided to leave the Navy force behind and strike out directly for Shreveport. His decision was a serious tactical error, and on April 8, 1864 at the Sabine Crossroads (near Mansfield) Confederate forces (less than a third the size of Banks force) intercepted the Union troops and fought an intense but inconclusive battle with both sides withdrawing at sundown.
The following morning, outnumbered and under equipped Confederate forces under Gen. Richard Taylor (the son of President Zachary Taylor) attacked General Banks troops at Pleasant Grove. After a ferocious battle, with thousands killed and wounded on both sides, the determined Rebels forced Yankee troops to run and General Banks invasion force was routed. The Battle of Mansfield was a major Confederate victory, but strangely enough the Federal Government still achieved its goal of destroying the Confederacy in the west. The heavy casualties suffered by Confederate forces at Mansfield effectively ended the Civil War in the West. The embarrassing defeat of the larger and much better equipped Union force decisively ended the Red River Campaign, the plan to invade Texas, and General Banks military career. Angry and humiliated Northern troops burned Alexandria as they fled south. The Mansfield State Commemorative Area is about four miles south of Mansfield on La. Hwy 175. There’s a 118-acre park that preserves part of the battlefield and a museum with exhibits of Civil War weapons, uniforms, letters, diaries, documents and other related artifacts (318) 872-1474.
Zwolle
You can experience a real taste of Louisiana’s unique history in Zwolle, a tiny town just down Hwy 171 from Mansfield. Zwolle is famous throughout Louisiana for its superb tamales, a tasty leftover from Spanish Colonial days. Zwolle tamales can be purchased almost anywhere in town, but they are especially good when bought warm from the small mom & pop grocery store/service stations along U. S. Hwy 171. Don’t pass up the opportunity to try a couple of Zwolle (pronounced zwah-lee) tamales with a frosty cold bottle of Barq’s Grape Soda.
Many
The site of present day Many was the gateway to the “Neutral Strip” the lawless border area between Spanish Texas and French Louisiana. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 the United States and Spain both claimed the area along the Sabine River. With no clearly defined border (and no American or Spanish military or law enforcement presence in the area) the Neutral Strip became a "no mans land" populated by cut-throats, ruffians, renegades, escaped slaves, outlaws on the run, scoundrels, killers, and petty criminals. In 1819 the Spanish ceded Florida to the United States, and gave up all claims to any lands east of the Sabine River. The Neutral Strip’s lawless days were over. The U. S. Government sent Lt. Col. (later President of the United States) Zachary Taylor to the area to build a fort and establish American control. Taylor chose a sight about five miles from present day Many on the old El Camino Real (the Spanish Royal Highway that ran from Mexico City to New Orleans) and Fort Jessup was built in 1822.
Famous Civil War Generals Phil Sheridan and U. S. Grant (later President of the United States) served at Fort Jessup. Jefferson Davis (U. S. Senator, U. S. Secretary of War, and President of the Confederacy) married Zachary Taylor’s daughter while serving as a young officer at Fort Jessup. Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett stopped at Fort Jessup on their way to San Antonio where both would die at the Alamo in the fight for Texas’ independence. Fort Jessup was the staging point for U. S. troops invading Mexico during the U. S. War with Mexico in 1846. Only one building remains standing from the old fort’s glory days, the Kitchen-Mess Hall. Other buildings are in ruins but the 22-acre site is a quiet and beautiful place to spend a couple of hours soaking up history. Fort Jesup State Historic Site is located at 32 Geoghagan Rd. (318) 256-4117
While in Many (pronounced Man-ee) don’t miss the Many Pawnshop, a quirky little place that’s more like a roadside museum than a Pawnshop. There's no two headed calf or hairballs from the stomach of an ox; but spread amongst the ancient looking stereos, beat-up guitars, worn out guns, and used hunting and fishing equipment is an extremely eclectic collection of memorabilia from Louisiana’s former Governor (and convicted racketeer) Edwin Edwards, several country music exhibits, fossils, Indian artifacts, and civil war collectibles.
If you’re hungry the Country Boy Restaurant, on Hwy. 171 just south of Many serves fried chicken, catfish, burgers, steaks, and seafood from 10 am to 10 pm daily. (318) 256-3953.
Detour One (LA Highway 6 from Many to Nachitoches)
Nachitoches
From Many take La. Hwy 6 (which follows the route of the old El Camino Real) east to Nachitoches. Nachitoches (pronounced “KNACK-uh-dish”) is the best-preserved French/Spanish Colonial Era town in Louisiana. The old buildings and wrought iron balconies along Front Street provide a wonderful picture of what New Orleans must have looked like in the early years of the nineteenth century.
Be sure to try the Natchitoches’ Meat Pies and Red Beans and Rice with Sausage at Lasyone’s Meat Pie Kitchen, 622 Second St. (318) 352-3353. The Cane River Crème Pie is rich and sinfully fattening, and the Bread Pudding is the best outside New Orleans. The restaurant was a favorite of the Steel Magnolias cast (the movie was filmed in Nachitoches). The Horse Soldiers starring John Wayne and William Holden and directed by master filmmaker John Ford was also filmed in Nachitoches. The Kaffie-Frederick General Merchandise, 758 Front St. (318) 352-2525 is a “real” General Store that opened in 1863. The family owned business has been in the same building for almost one hundred and fifty years. Inside is an amazing collection of “old timey” kitchen gadgets, cast iron pots and pans, tools, and hardware that is unequaled anywhere. Nachitoches is also famous for the city’s Christmas “Festival of Lights” (Dec/Jan) when the banks of the Cane River Lake are festooned with 300,000 colored lights, making the old Creole village look like something out of a surreal historical fairytale.
Nearby are the Cane River Plantations, the most famous of which is Melrose, a celebrated retreat for Southern artists and writers during the early years of the twentieth century. A free woman of color, Marie Therese Coincoin, started the plantation in 1794. Be sure to see the Clementine Hunter (known in Louisiana as the black Grandma Moses) Murals in the “Africa House” if you visit. The nearby Isle Brevelle Creole Community has maintained it’s Creole heritage and identity for almost two hundred years. The Cane River Country is the locale for bestseller “Cane River” a popular historical noveI/family chronicle by Lalita Tademy. After your visit to Nachitoches, return to U. S. Hwy 171 and turn south.
Hodges Gardens
The “Garden in the Forest” came about because of the vision of one man, A. J. Hodges. The area between Mansfield and DeRidder has been heavily logged for more than one hundred years. The huge Long Leaf Pine forests that once covered the area, remain now only in the Kissatchie National Forest. By 1930 logged over land covered much of Western Louisiana. Hodges bought about 5000 acres of clear-cut land and started a one-man re-forestation project. Almost thirty years later Hodges opened the completely restored tract to the public. Open 8:00 am to sunset every day (except December 24 & 25) Hodges Gardens makes a great place to take a break and get close to nature. There is a scenic drive, 60 acres of formal plantings, hiking trails, a 225-acre lake, wildflowers, and Spanish Moss draped trees. (318) 586-3523
Fisher
The Village of Fisher is the last of the old company sawmill towns from the golden age of the timber industry in Western Louisiana. The town was built by the Louisiana Long Leaf Lumber Company (better known as 4-L) in 1899 to process pine timber cut in the Long Leaf Pine forests of Western Louisiana. The village is split right down the middle by the tracks of the Kansas City Southern Railroad, which was Fisher’s lifeline to the world for more than three generations. The KCS tracks divide the large comfortable houses of the sawmill’s management from the simpler much smaller houses of the sawmill workers. Whitewashed picket fences and pine plank sidewalks once surrounded all the houses in this old company town. Everything in Fisher is made of wood including the Railroad Depot, Company Store, and Opera House.
The Opera House was very popular in the early years of the twentieth century because it was the only place between Shreveport and Lake Charles that showed movies. People came from Mansfield, Many, Nachitoches, Leesville, DeRidder, and dozens of other small towns to see their celluloid heroes on the big screen. The Opera House also hosted traveling performers who staged plays and country music shows. Country music legend Hank Williams played a one-night stand at Fisher’s Opera House early in his career. By the early seventies Fisher’s glory days were in the past. The sawmill had changed hands several times and it was obvious the little village’s days were numbered. Fisher’s residents wanted to preserve a unique piece of American history, the last Company town in Louisiana, and by the late seventies the village had received landmark status. More than one billion board feet of lumber were produced at the Fisher sawmill.
Leesville & Fort Polk
Leesville was named for Confederate Civil War Commander Robert E. Lee and was a major timber town during the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. Fort Polk was established to support the largest peacetime military training exercise in U. S. history, the Louisiana maneuvers of 1940. During the years after World War I the United States avoided any involvement in European and Asian politics. Because of this “isolationist” attitude America’s tiny peacetime army was woefully unprepared for World War II. By late 1939 it was obvious that the United States would eventually be drawn into the widening conflict in Europe and Asia. In 1940, for several months, complex military maneuvers were staged in Western Louisiana and Eastern Texas. The goal of these “war games” was to prepare U. S. military forces for the comming war. Almost 80,000 soldiers participated in the games. Many of America’s greatest World War II Commanders honed their leadership and organizational skills in the Long Leaf Pine forests of Western Louisiana, including Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower (later President of the United States) and General George S. Patton.
Fort Polk was the inspiration for Camp Swampy, the home base of Beetle Bailey, Sgt. Snorkel, and Lt. Fuzz in the beloved Mort Walker military comic strip. Nearby Leesville was the favorite haunt of Beetle’s friend, “Killer”.
Detour Two (La. Hwy 28 from Leesville to Alexandria)
If you are interested in staying in a truly one of a kind Grand Hotel see Tom Barnes wonderful review, “Bayou Biltmore Hotel Bentley, Alexandria, Louisiana” (Alexandria is about fifty miles from Fort Polk) here’s the URL http://www.epinions.com/content_55503064708
DeQuincy
The Kansas City Southern Railroad was the artery that carried Western Louisiana’s lifeblood, lumber and timber products, during the late nineteenth and much of the twentieth century. The city of DeQuincy (one of countless small railroad towns from the era) has managed to preserve some physical reminders of the glory days of the Louisiana Timber Boom. You can visit the old Kansas City Southern rail depot, which now houses the DeQuincy Railroad Museum. The displays include a 1913 Steam Locomotive, a vintage caboose, and other rolling stock. Inside the depot are displays on local Railroad history, photographs, and railroad artifacts (the depot is on the National Register of Historic Places).
Lake Charles
Charles Sallier was one of the first to settle in the Lake Charles area, and he gave his name to both the Lake and the town that grew up beside of it. Charlie’s Lake drew French-speaking settlers came from France, Nova Scotia (Cajuns), and New Orleans (Creoles). Sallier married Catherine LeBleu, the lovely young daughter of another prominent early settler. Charlie was older, and spent much of his time engaged in business, neglecting his young wife, and the marriage failed to prosper.
Smuggling and piracy were very lucrative trades in Southwest Louisiana in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Pirate Jean Lafitte settled in Lake Charles after his illegal activities forced him to flee New Orleans. Lafitte loved the area because he could sell his stolen and smuggled goods to both the local French settlers in Charlie’s Lake, and to the Spanish colonists in nearby Texas. The Prairies ambulant south of town had hundreds of bayous, channels, and uncharted waterways that provided hiding places and an easy escape route to the Gulf of Mexico or Spanish Texas.
Catherine, Sallier’s beautiful young wife, was quite taken with the handsome and dashing Lafitte. Nobody knows exactly what happened between the two, but Charles Sallier was infuriated by rumors of his wife’s infidelity. After confronting Catherine and accusing her of being unfaithful, Sallier drew his pistol and shot her in the chest from close range. He then turned the pistol and shot himself, falling dead at Catherine’s feet. But Catherine wasn’t dead, the bullet passed through her hand, which she had held over her heart, and struck an ornate amethyst broach she was wearing. Lafitte quietly disappeared and Catherine never remarried. The Sallier family reputedly still owns the bullet mangled amethyst broach that saved Catherine’s life.
What happened to Jean Lafitte? He was reported to have escaped to Mexico’s Yucatan country and rumors circulated for years that he had died in the Illinois territory. Other stories say that he quietly returned to New Orleans to live out his life as a wealthy man. Local legends claim his spirit is still seen from time to time in the Prairie Ambulant country south of Lake Charles, guarding his buried gold and jewels. Lafitte’s memory is celebrated each year during Lake Charles’ Contraband Days Festival.
In the mid 1880’s a group of local businessmen built a sawmill and stone ship docks (with limestone quarried at the future site of Hodges Gardens) and started a profitable trade in timber with Texas and Mexico. Lake Charles was soon the terminus of the Kansas City Southern railroad and the destination for all those billions of board feet of lumber from Mansfield, Many, Fisher, Leesville, DeRidder, DeQuincey, and dozens of other logging towns. Carpenters and sawmill workers from Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nebraska moved to Lake Charles to take advantage of cheap land and good jobs. The lumber boom was responsible for the rapid growth of the city and for the almost exclusive use of hard pine and cypress lumber in the construction of the beautiful homes in historic downtown Lake Charles. Wealthy business leaders had impressive homes built that combined flamboyant Victorian flourishes with French and European architectural styles learned from the hundreds of skilled carpenters who had flocked to Lake Charles. The Charpentier (French for carpenter) District developed a distinct personality for wonderfully diverse old wooden houses and shady tree lined streets.
Detour Three (LA Hwy 27 from Lake Charles to Cameron and return to Lake Charles)
The Creole Nature Trail
South of Lake Charles, in the prairies ambulant (moving ground) country that Jean Lafitte loved is the Creole Nature Trail, a 100-mile loop that passes through the verdant coastal marshes. The CNT has the distinction of being one of the forty-four designated "All American Roads and Scenic Byways" and the only one in Louisiana. “Outdoor Photographer” magazine has featured the area twice as one of the country’s premiere bird photography locales. The area is southwest Louisiana's premiere natural attraction.
Hackberry is a good place to stop for film, cold soft drinks, and munchies. From Hackberry, follow La. Hwy 27 to the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has a paved trail/raised boardwalk that meanders through the marsh for more than 1.5 miles. Photographers can see Herons, Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, Alligators, Nutria, Coyotes, and every variety of duck and goose known to man close-up. "Wildbird" magazine called the Sabine NWR as one of the forty best birding locales in the country. The refuge is free, never crowded, and open every day from dawn till sundown (best times to visit are 8-11 am and 3pm until sundown).
Five miles south of SNWR is Holly Beach, a nice stretch of Gulf Coast beach with lots of water birds and great shelling. From Holly Beach drive east to the Lake Charles Ship Channel (which you'll cross by ferry) and on to Cameron. Cameron is the western capitol of Louisiana's off shore oil industry and a good place to stop for lunch. Almost all the restaurants in Cameron specialize in fresh seafood. After lunch continue on to Oak Grove and LA. Hwy 27 will turn north. Watch for Cameron Prairie NWR (just north of Oak Grove). The CPNWR features a three-mile "drive it yourself" trail that is open from sunrise to sunset each day. From CPNWR just follow the signs back to Lake Charles.
If you visit anytime between early March and late October, be sure to purchase some really good quality insect repellent, the local mosquitoes have been known to carry off large dogs, small women, and half grown children. During one visit, my wife and I noticed that “Fritz” our Red Dobie had suddenly become a tan Dobie; he was covered from head to foot with a solid mass of mosquitoes. If you are a birdwatcher, a photographer, love unique natural areas, or just like going places that no one else has ever heard of, then the Creole Nature Trail just might be the destination you’ve been dreaming of.
Conclusion
Don’t miss the opportunity to visit Western Louisiana, the historic crucible that tested four American Presidents and countless military leaders. The area offers tiny “lost in time” Creole communities, dozens of small Bed and Breakfasts (many in historic houses) and scores of tiny Mom & Pop roadside restaurants. The locals are friendly and there are antique stores on Main Street in every little town along U. S. Highway 171. The ghosts of Pirates, soldiers, Timber men, Railroaders, Native Americans, African slaves, French and Spanish colonists, pioneers, schemers, scoundrels, and dreamers still roam the small towns, battlefields, ancient waterways, and shady Long Leaf Pine forests that make the “Neutral Strip” a magical place.
If you enjoyed this travel review you may find my other Louisiana travel reviews entertaining.
New Orleans
Off the Beaten Path in New Orleans
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-1C6C-B84F727-39485E6B-prod2
New Orleans With an Attitude
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-27B-148CC64-3888A033-bd1
On the Trail of Jean Lafitte
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Louisiana Highway One
Exploring Louisiana’s Enchanted Backroads
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Traveling back in Time
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Into the Cajun Heartland
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Cajun Country
A Pilgrimage to the Musical Heart of Louisiana
http://www.epinions.com/content_51310136964
A South Louisiana Journey
http://www.epinions.com/content_43274440324
Evangeline Parish, Real Cajun Country
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A Quick Tour of Cajun Country
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Rendevous Des Cajuns
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-42C-C0FA2A-38874480-bd1
The Florida Parishes
St. Francisville the Capital of English Louisiana
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Southwest Louisiana
Creole Nature Trail
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-69F8-47FAB2-388DE015-bd3
Listed below is an excellent reason to cross the Sabine River and visit the Texas side of the border
The Big Thicket National Preserve
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-31AC-60C6433-39144B3A-prod3
Just “cut and paste” the URL into your browser’s address bar/window
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
Howard_Creech
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Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 333
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About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
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