Highland in Shreveport in Caddo Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)

Greenwood Cemetery

Photographed By Jason Armstrong, February 27, 2021

1. Greenwood Cemetery Marker

Inscription.

Greenwood Cemetery. . Welcome to Greenwood Cemetery the second oldest cemetery in the city of Shreveport, opened in 1892.

The natural beauty of its seventy two acres is only the beginning of an amazing story at the edge of the frontier of American history. From the beginning of recorded time the Caddo Hadacho Indian Nation was settled across a large territory which is now east Texas, southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana. On this site situated between Silver Lake and the Red River, they found ideal hunting and fishing grounds.

1800's , As Americans moved west along the Texas Trail, many stopped to gather provisions at the one room store, Cane and Bennett's Bluff.

Capt. Henry Miller Shreve, inventor and engineer, commanding the US Army Corps of Engineers, cleared the Red River in 1833. The Great Raft was an extensive natural logjam, perhaps the largest in any American River.

The Caddo Nation signed a treaty selling their land to the U.S. government in 1835, reserving a portion for their friend and interpreter Larkin Edwards.

1840's , The young town, eight square blocks on the river, became a thriving center of steamboat commerce for goods and agricultural products especially cotton. Both slaves and freedmen worked the cotton fields and river steamboats.

The Shreve Town Co. was established in 1836 to start a town at the meeting point of the Red River and the Texas Trail. The village was given the name of Shreveport in 1839 to honor Henry Miller Shreve.

By 1850 Shreveport claimed a population of 10,000 residents, both slaves and free.

1860's , With the onset of the Civil War, Shreveport became a Confederate stronghold and headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department Army. Seven batteries across the city served as the defensive line against Union attack. Batteries 3 and 4, joined by a covered road, existed within the present cemetery grounds. Isolated from events in the east, the Civil War continued in the Trans-Mississippi theater several months after Robert E. Lee's surrender in April 1865, when Shreveport briefly became the Confederate Capital. On this site a Confederate Military Hospital once stood surrounded by rows of unmarked graves, those of both Union and Confederate soldiers killed in the Battles of Pleasant Hill and Mansfield in 1864.

1870's , Following Reconstruction, Shreveport rapidly became a major hub of railroad activity, and by the turn of the 20th century the "iron horse" had replaced the steamboats plying the Red River. The former Confederate Military Hospital became the Shreveport General Hospital.

Often known as a Pest House it treated victims of contagious diseases particularly tuberculosis.

1880's , As the city grew beyond its early boundaries, the Stoner family, which immigrated from Kentucky, purchased this land for a plantation. Present day Stoner Avenue bears the family name and marks the southern boundary of the cemetery.

The City of Shreveport purchased 20 acres of the Stoner family land in 1882 and opened the New City Cemetery. Designed in the spirit of the Garden Cemetery Movement, a park like setting with winding streets, spacious walkways and irregularly shaped plots, it provided a reflective, peaceful place for families and friends.

1900's , The New City Cemetery was renamed Greenwood Cemetery. As the city grew Greenwood Cemetery was expanded to its present seventy two acres. The land sold to local civic, religious, and fraternal organizations.

Today Greenwood Cemetery is not a monument to the past but a place of welcome to the greater Shreveport community. A cornerstone of neighborhood restoration, and used as a teaching laboratory for history and horticulture, Greenwood Cemetery stands as a beacon of hope and promise for generations to come.

Greenwood Cemetery , Owned by the City of Shreveport and maintained in partnership with the Shreveport Garden Study Club, an affiliate of The Garden Club of America.

Welcome to Greenwood Cemetery the second oldest cemetery in the city of Shreveport, opened in 1892.

1800's
As Americans moved west along the Texas Trail, many stopped to gather provisions at the one room store, Cane and Bennett's Bluff.

The Caddo Nation signed a treaty selling their land to the U.S. government in 1835, reserving a portion for their friend and interpreter Larkin Edwards.

1840's
The young town, eight square blocks on the river, became a thriving center of steamboat commerce for goods and agricultural products especially cotton. Both slaves and freedmen worked the cotton fields and river steamboats.

By 1850 Shreveport claimed a population of 10,000 residents, both slaves and free.

1860's
With the onset of the Civil War, Shreveport became a Confederate stronghold and headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department Army. Seven batteries across the city served as the defensive line against Union attack. Batteries

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3 and 4, joined by a covered road, existed within the present cemetery grounds. Isolated from events in the east, the Civil War continued in the Trans-Mississippi theater several months after Robert E. Lee's surrender in April 1865, when Shreveport briefly became the Confederate Capital. On this site a Confederate Military Hospital once stood surrounded by rows of unmarked graves, those of both Union and Confederate soldiers killed in the Battles of Pleasant Hill and Mansfield in 1864.

1870's
Following Reconstruction, Shreveport rapidly became a major hub of railroad activity, and by the turn of the 20th century the "iron horse" had replaced the steamboats plying the Red River. The former Confederate Military Hospital became the Shreveport General Hospital.

Often known as a Pest House it treated victims of contagious diseases particularly tuberculosis.

1880's
As the city grew beyond its early boundaries, the Stoner family, which immigrated from Kentucky, purchased this land for a plantation. Present day Stoner Avenue bears the family name and marks the southern boundary of the cemetery.

1900's
The New City Cemetery was renamed Greenwood Cemetery. As the city grew Greenwood Cemetery was expanded to its present seventy two acres. The land sold to local civic, religious, and fraternal organizations.

Today Greenwood Cemetery is not a monument to the past but a place of welcome to the greater Shreveport community. A cornerstone of neighborhood restoration, and used as a teaching laboratory

Photographed By Mark Hilton, August 31, 2019

2. Greenwood Cemetery Marker

for history and horticulture, Greenwood Cemetery stands as a beacon of hope and promise for generations to come.

Greenwood Cemetery
Owned by the City of Shreveport and maintained in partnership with the Shreveport Garden Study Club, an affiliate of The Garden Club of America.

Erected by City of Shreveport.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1892.

Location. 32° 30.113′ N, 93° 43.967′ W. Marker is in Shreveport, Louisiana, in Caddo Parish. It is in Highland. Located at the Greenwood Cemetery. Turn into main gate off of Stoner Ave. Take road to back of cemetery take a left and marker is located at the Gazebo. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 130 E Stoner Ave, Shreveport LA 71101, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Pete Youree Confederate Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); This Marks the Site of Battery 4 (within shouting distance of this marker); This Marks the Site of Battery 3 (approx. 0.2 miles away); This Marks the Site of Battery 5 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Highland Hospital (approx. 0.4 miles away); Fort Humbug (approx. half a mile away); Noel Methodist Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); Pleasant Hall (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shreveport.

Also see . . . Greenwood (Shreveport) Cemetery. (Submitted on March 23, 2021, by Jason Armstrong of Talihina, Oklahoma.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 22, 2021, by Jason Armstrong of Talihina, Oklahoma. This page has been viewed 900 times since then and 204 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 22, 2021, by Jason Armstrong of Talihina, Oklahoma. 2. submitted on March 23, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.