On Business U.S. 171 east of South Pine Street (Louisiana Highway 27), on the right when traveling east.
Center Panel
In 1912 when residents decided to divide Imperial Calcasieu Parish
into several smaller parishes, Beauregard Parish was born. The
people of Beauregard were optimistic about their future, and as . . . — — Map (db m229089) HM
On South Washington Street at West 3rd Street, on the right when traveling north on South Washington Street.
(center panel)
Climbing roses and vine covered trellises, along with flowering plants adorned the yards of the 125 tenant houses that were built by the Hudson Lumber Com0any in 1903. The subsidiary sawmill was built by Long Bell Lumber . . . — — Map (db m109521) HM
On Grabow Road, 0.7 miles west of State Road 3099, on the right when traveling west.
At this site, on July 7, 1912, a violent confrontation occurred between the Galloway Lumber Company and the Brotherhood of Timber Workers. The riot left 4 men dead and an estimated 50 men wounded. It was the defining event in the attempt to . . . — — Map (db m125227) HM
On South Washington Street south of Ronald Reagan Highway (U.S. 190), on the left when traveling south.
Sam Houston Jones (1897 -1978) was born in Merryville and spent his youth in DeRidder. He is the only native of Beauregard Parish ever elected Governor of Louisiana. Jones graduated from DeRidder High School in 1915. He then enrolled at Louisiana . . . — — Map (db m140517) HM
On State Highway 26 at Don Gray Road, on the right when traveling east on State Highway 26.
Built 1919-used as a
school until 1928. Bought
by community families to
be used for cultural
and social activities.
Placed on the National
Register of Historic
Places December 2002. — — Map (db m125177) HM
The gun battle known as the Grabow (or Graybow) Riot marked the violent culmination of the growing animosity between the Brotherhood of Timber Workers (BTW) and the Southern Lumber Operators'
Association (SLOA). News of the shootout spread . . . — — Map (db m229092) HM
On U.S. 190, 0.6 miles north of Hauser Road, on the right when traveling north. Reported missing.
In 1862, when Federal troops captured New Orleans and blockaded the mouth of the Mississippi River, Taylor's army, then in Central Louisiana, retreated from Bank's army and it became necessary to furnish them with supplies. For this purpose a . . . — — Map (db m176941) HM
On Ronald Reagan Highway (U.S. 190) west of Blue Ridge Drive, on the right when traveling east.
Erected in memory of United
States Army Air Force
personnel who lost their
lives in training accidents
at the DeRidder Army
Airport and Gunnery
Range, 1942-45. — — Map (db m124846) HM
Near Old Hoy Cemetery Road, 0.3 miles north of Louisiana Highway 26, on the right when traveling north.
A Hub in the Woods
In a large clearing of virgin pines trees, men built the large logging camp of Hoy around 1910. Hoy was one of many camps established by Long Bell Lumber Company, which operated one of the largest sawmill
systems in the . . . — — Map (db m229079) HM
Center Panel Sugartown Leads the Way
First surveyed as a township in 1807, Sugartown was established in 1816 when some of the first Anglo settlers began to arrive in the region.
Sugartown served as a way station for . . . — — Map (db m225772) HM
On Old Campground Cemetery Road, 0.5 miles east of Pentecostal Church Road (Parish Highway 370).
Main Panel A Waypoint through the Years
Old Campground stands near an ancient ford (a shallow place with good footing where a waterway can be crossed) on Sugar Creek, and the proximity of Old
Campground to this ford is not a coincidence, . . . — — Map (db m189246) HM
On Longville Road (Parish Road 217) east of Cedar Street, on the right when traveling east.
In 1906, the Long Bell Lumber Company of Kansas City,
Missouri, under the leadership of Robert A. Long, began
building a premier sawmill at Longville, Louisiana. The steam
driven sawmill could cut 350,000 feet of lumber per day. Long-
Bell also . . . — — Map (db m140558) HM
On Ronald Reagan Highway (U.S. 190) at State Highway 111, on the right when traveling west on Ronald Reagan Highway.
Portion of historical Atákapa trails connecting their S.E. Texas bands ("Sunset People") to S.W. Louisiana bands ("Sunrise People"), especially the Opelousa band. Composed of six bands, the "Atákapas", a Choctaw name, called themselves . . . — — Map (db m136964) HM
On Hennigan Street, 0.2 miles west of Main Street (Louisiana Route 110), on the left when traveling west.
Main Panel An Outlaw Arrives in Merryville
A rumored fugitive from Texas, Charles "Leather Britches" Smith brought his nasty disposition to Merryville in 1910. He was
a deadly shot. With his two Colt pistols, he could shoot purple martins in . . . — — Map (db m235490) HM
On North Railrod Avenue west of Museum Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Birthplace July 15, 1897 LA Governor (1940-1944) He defeated Louisiana's "Long Machine" and delivered an honest administration. He restored respect for Louisiana. — — Map (db m175163) HM
On Ronald Reagan Highway (U.S. 190) at North Bryan Street, on the right when traveling east on Ronald Reagan Highway.
In the early 1800s members of the Coushatta Indian tribe, led by their chief, Red Shoes, settled in and around the present town of Merryville, where Indian mounds, shards and arrow heads have been found. Being near the Spanish Territory provided . . . — — Map (db m136681) HM
On North Bryan Street at U.S. 190 on North Bryan Street.
Center Panel The Atakapa-Ishak (uh-TAK-uh-paw ee-SHAK) are a band of Indians that inhabited all of southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas for centuries prior to European settlement of the region. The huge
area was inhabited by six bands of . . . — — Map (db m211081) HM
On Old Camp Ground Cemetery Road, 1 mile east of Pentecostal Church Road.
A memorial to the pioneers of Sugartown (early outpost of Southwest Louisiana), whose courage and fortitude helped subdue the historic "Neutral Territory" of the Sabine-Rio Hondo Strip, claimed and contended for by four nations - France, Spain, . . . — — Map (db m124845) HM