Shreveport

Shreveport is the third largest city in the state of Louisiana, with a 2000 population of 392,302 in 2000.[1] Located in the northwestern corner of the state, Shreveport is near the point where Louisiana meets Arkansas and Texas. The city is named for Capt. Henry Miller Shreve, a riverboat captain credited with clearing a major logjam on the Red River in the 1830s; this action allowed trade to flourish in the region. Barksdale Air Force Base, headquarters of the 8th Air Force, is located across the Red River in Bossier City. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II are the primary aircraft at the base, which opened in 1933. Shreveport was also a major oil business center and Standard Oil of Louisiana was based in the city until it was absorbed into Standard Oil (Esso) of New Jersey. Shreveport is the home of the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Louisiana State University in Shreveport (LSUS), Centenary College, the historically black Southern University at Shreveport, and Louisiana Baptist University.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Shreveport Sports
* 3 Notable people
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## History[edit]

Shreveport weathered the Great Depression better than most towns. The city's civic improvement projects, begun in the 1920s and completed by 1930, helped to sustain the optimistic view that prosperous times awaited. Transportation and educational improvements, supported by federal dollars, continued even in hard times. The Chamber of Commerce waged a publicity campaign to boost retail sales and project optimism. The Chamber also established a farmer's market and lobbied for state road funds. Construction at Barksdale Field, at the time the largest airfield in the world, began in 1931. Barksdale provided jobs and injected cash into the local economy.[2]

At the city and parish government offices in downtown Shreveport sets the Caddo Parish Confederate Monument, a 30-foot granite-and-marble structure likely to be dismantled or relocated pending a permanent decision in the United States District Court by Judge Robert G. James. The United Daughters of the Confederacy has claimed ownership of the parcel of land on which the monument sets, but Judge James said no real proof of the claim has been advanced. The removal will be another in a series of politically correct decisions made by southern politicians seeking to apologize to their African-American communities for the Confederate rebellion in the American Civil War.[3]

## Shreveport Sports[edit]

In the 1990s, Shreveport had a professional football team, the Shreveport Pirates, from the Canadian Football League. The Pirates, like all of the American CFL teams, had folded by 1996. Shreveport was a potential city to temporarily house the NFL's New Orleans Saints after Hurricane Katrina, but they instead played at San Antonio and at LSU Stadium in Baton Rouge. The Saints would play the Dallas Cowboys in Shreveport during the 2006 NFL preseason.

The city hosts a minor college bowl game in December of each year, featuring lower-ranked teams.

Shreveport is the home of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum and the R. W. Norton Art Gallery.

## Notable people[edit]

* Owen D. Adams, one of first Republicans elected to Caddo Police Jury and mayor of Greenwood for twelve years
* John Agan, Webster Parish historian and author; born in Shreveport in 1958
* Royal Alexander, attorney and Republican politician
* Calhoun Allen, mayor, 1970-1978
* Louise Alley, radio broadcaster
* Robert E. Anderson, Southern Baptist clergyman; born and reared in Shreveport, pastor in Baton Rouge thereafter
* Tom Arceneaux, mayor of Shreveport, elected December 10, 2022
* Tommy Armstrong, former state representative, Caddo Parish commissioner
* Lee Arthur, playwright on Broadway in New York City and early motion pictures in Los Angeles, California
* Douglas Attaway, general manager and president of the Shreveport Journal prior to his death in 1957
* Douglas Fisher Attaway, publisher of The Shreveport Journal from 1957 to 1976
* Al Bolton, KSLA-TV and KRMD radio meteorologist
* Roy Brun, 1st district state court judge since 1997; Republican former state representative for House District 5
* Larry Bagley, Moderate Republican state representative for Caddo, DeSoto, and Sabine parishes since 2016
* John Richard Ballard, judge
* Jack Barham, photographer for The Shreveport Times
* Greg Barro, attorney and state senator, 1992 to 1996
* Charles T. Beaird, businessman, philanthropist, last publisher of The Shreveport Journal
* Ron Bean, state senator from 1992 to 2004
* Thornton F. Bell, judge of the Louisiana 1st Judicial District; donated the live oaks at the courthouse square
* Neal Bolin, judge of the Louisiana 1st Judicial District, 1968 to 1990
* Terry Bradshaw, football star, sports broadcaster, actor, singer/songwriter
* Eric Brock, historian
* Algie D. Brown, state representative from 1948 to 1972
* Tommy Brown, cardiologist
* Beverly Bruce, former state representative
* Sherri Smith Buffington, former state senator
* Richard Burford, dairy farmer and former state representative from Stonewall in south Caddo Parish
* George A. Burton, last of the finance commissioners under the former commission form of city government
* Willis P. Butler, Caddo Parish coroner, 1912-1961; 1962-1964; 1974-1979
* Clifton Ellis Byrd, educator; namesake of C. E. Byrd High School
* Jerry Byrd, sportswriter
* Sam Caldwell, mayor from 1934 to 1946
* Riemer Calhoun, former state senator for Caddo and DeSoto parishes
* Harvey Locke Carey, former U.S. Attorney
* C. Kay Carter, Jr., businessman and state senator, 1972 to 1976
* Clem S. Clarke, oilman and Republican politician
* Guy Coates, Associated Press correspondent in Baton Rouge; formerly with KSLA-TV in Shreveport
* Beth Courtney, president and CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, born in Shreveport
* Michael Craig, judge of the 26th Judicial District Court; Shreveport native
* Lane Crockett, former entertainment editor and nationally syndicated columnist for The Shreveport Times
* Monroe Dodd, pastor of First Baptist Church of Shreveport, 1912-1952; founder of defunct Dodd College for Girls
* Ruth Doreck, figure in Shreveport theater community for more than fifty years
* James U. Downs, retired superior court judge in North Carolina; native of Shreveport
* J. Earl Downs, former Shreveport public safety commissioner
* Wayne DuBose, Southern Baptist clergyman
* Forrest Dunn, businessman and state representative from 1972 to 1984
* Denny Duron, non-denominational pastor; former football player and coach
* Craig Durrett, journalist
* D. L. Dykes, Jr. United Methodist clergyman in Shreveport
* John Eastman, mayor of Shreveport, 1910-1914, cofounder of Vordenbauman-Eastman Hardware Company.
* William Edenborn, Prussian born industrialist; died and buried in Shreveport
* Rick Edmonds, state representative from Baton Rouge; native Shreveporter and former resident
* Tom Erwin, radio and television journalist; at KSLA-TV, 1967-1987
* Robert Ewing, I, former publisher of The Shreveport Times and The Monroe News-Star
* Clyde Fant, mayor from 1946 to 1954 and 1958 to 1970; Fant Parkway is named in his honor.
* Herman Farr, civil rights activist
* John Fellers, former pastor of the First United Methodist Church in downtown Shreveport
* Roy Morris Fish, attorney and banker in Springhill in Webster Parish; retired to Shreveport
* William J. Fleniken, former U.S. attorney and state district court judge
* J. Howell Flournoy, sheriff of Caddo Parish from 1940 to 1966
* John McWilliams Ford, state representative, mayor, 35-year finance commissioner
* Dolph Frantz, former managing editor of The Shreveport Journal
* Elizabeth Friedenberg, abstract impressionist painter
* Frank Fulco, Caddo Parish state representative, 1956-1972
* Andrew Gallagher, juvenile court judge, 1979 to 1999
* James C. Gardner, mayor from 1954 to 1958, active civic figure
* Terry Gardner, Shreveport native and the incoming 2019 mayor of Minden, Louisiana
* Jerry Gaw, historian; resided in Shreveport, 1978-1983
* Alexander Banks George, state senator, mayor of Minden, and circuit court judge based in Shreveport in mid-19th century
* B. H. Gilley, historian
* James M. Goslin, Caddo Parish sheriff from 1966 to 1976
* R. W. "Buzzy" Graham, Shreveport native who served as a state representative for Rapides and Grant parishes, 1968 to 1972
* Dallas Greene, fire chief, 1965-1989
* Hunter Greene, family court judge in Baton Rouge; former state representative; native of Shreveport
* Tim Greening, journalist
* Bob Griffin, television and radio journalist and sportscaster at KSLA-TV, KTBS-TV, and KEEL Radio
* Billy Guin, last of the utilities commissioners under the commission form of government
* Bill Hanna, first mayor under mayor-council government, 1978-1982; automobile dealer
* George W. Hardy, Jr., mayor and circuit judge
* Andy Clay Harris, former pastor of The Church of the Cross in Haughton; formerly with Broadmoor Assembly of God in Shreveport
* Delton Harrison, figure in Shreveport arts community
* Donald E. Hathaway, public works commissioner, 1970 to 1978, and sheriff, 1980 to 2000
* James Henderson, president of the University of Louisiana System, former presideny of Northwestern State University, and Shreveport native
* Joe Holoubek, physician who worked for establishment of the LSU Medical School in Shreveport
* Morley Hudson, industrialist and state representative, 1964 to 1968; one of first two Republicans in state House since Reconstruction
* Sarah Hudson-Pierce, journalist and publisher
* Edgar Hull, physician and medical school administrator
* Hubert D. Humphreys, historian of North Louisiana
* Guy Humphries, state court judge in Alexandia Shreveport native
* John B. Hussey, mayor from 1982 to 1990*Whitfield Jack, attorney and Army officer, 1929-1966
* Joseph B. Johnson, educator who was president of Grambling State University from 1977 to 1991; began his teaching career in Shreveport
* Mike Johnson, current 4th district U.S. Representative; Shreveport native who resides in Bossier Parish
* J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., former U.S. senator
* Bill Keith, former state senator; author of the Louisiana Balanced Treatment Act regarding evolution and creation science
* Edward Kennon, developer and former member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
* Allan Lazarus, Shreveport Times journalist, 1946-1991
* Walter Clyde Lee, former education and state board of education member
* Jenny Moreland Kennon, Shreveport real estate developer
* Hal King, journalist, suspense novelist
* Sinclair Bert Kouns, Sr., businessman and civic figure
* Horace Ladymon, former president of defunct Beall-Ladymon Corporation, now Stage Stores, Inc.
* Malcolm Lafargue, former U.S. Attorney
* Joe Lawler, businessman and three-term Caddo Parish police juror
* A. M. Leary, businessman and politician
* Lloyd Lenard, Caddo Parish commissioner and author
* Stan Lewis, record shop owner who held two music labels, Jewel and Cobra
* Russell Long, former U.S. senator
* Walter M. Lowrey, historian
* Charlton Lyons, businessman and gubernatorial candidate
* Susybelle Lyons, Shreveport socialite
* Max T. Malone, oil and natural gas businessman; state senator, 1996 to 2008
* Vincent Marsala, chancellor of LSU in Shreveport, 1995 to 2012
* Fred C. McClanahan, businessman and Republican politician
* Henry Langston McEachern, award-winning photographer for The Shreveport Times
* Reuben McKellar, Texas-born planter who served as Shreveport mayor from 1896 to 1900
* C. Wade Meade, historian
* Gus Mijales, businessman and confidante of former Governor Edwin Edwards
* John Milkovich, state senator from Caddo and DeSoto parishes; author of book critical of special counsel Robert Mueller
* H. Lane Mitchell, Shreveport public works commissioner, 1934 to 1968
* Sydney B. Nelson, former state senator
* Barbara Norton, former state representative known for her opposition to the teaching of the Declaration of Independence in public schools
* Elmo Norton, businessman and Republican political activist
* Taylor W. O'Hearn, state representative, 1964 to 1968
* Maude Hearn O'Pry, wrote first history of Shreveport, Chronicles of Shreveport and Caddo Parish (1928)
* B. F. O'Neal, Jr., state representative for District 5, 1972 to 1988
* W. Darrell Overdyke, historian
* Don Owen, newscaster and public service commissioner
* Barrow Peacock, state senator since 2012
* Charles B. Peatross, circuit court judge
* Louis Pendleton, civil rights activist
* Steve Prator, sheriff of Caddo Parish since 2000
* Thomas Pressly, attorney and state representative for House District 6
* Rogers M. Prestridge, former municipal judge in Bossier City; later attorney in Shreveport
* Robert Pugh, attorney and gubernatorial advisor
* Keith M. Pyburn, attorney and state representative
* Gene Reynolds, state representative for Webster Parish; Shreveport native
* Norman Richardson, journalist known for his coverage of hurricanes
* B. H. "Johnny" Rogers, state legislator for Caddo and DeSoto parishes known for his "search for good government"
* H. J. Sachs, English professor at Louisiana Tech University; retired to Shreveport
* Jean Oliver Sartor, water color artist
* Charles Scott, Caddo Parish district attorney, 2009 to 2015; former state court judge
* George W. Shannon, journalist/editor affiliated with The Shreveport Journal
* B. L. "Buddy" Shaw, educator and member of both houses of the Louisiana state legislature
* Virginia Shehee, former state senator, businesswoman, and civic leader
* LeRoy Smallenberger, state Republican chairman, 1960 to 1964
* Jasper K. Smith, former state representative for Caddo Parish, born in Shreveport
* Art Sour, Republican former state representative
* Tom Stagg, U.S. district judge, 1974-2015
* Jesse Stone, civil rights figure and university system president
* Elliott Stonecipher, demographer, pollster, pundit, and political and business consultant
* Jimmy Strain, pediatrician who served as a state representative, 1968-1972
* Ansel Stroud, former adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard
* Greg Tarver, state senator
* Scott Tatum, Southern Baptist clergyman
* Harold Terry, Caddo Parish sheriff from 1976 to 1980 and expert marksman
* Jimmy G. Tharpe, Independent Baptist clergyman and college founder
* Lee Emmett Thomas, Shreveport mayor, 1922 to 1930; former state House Speaker
* Dale Thorn, journalist and academic; press secretary for Governor Edwin Edwards
* Ned Touchstone, newspaper publisher associated with the "Radical Right" of the 1960s
* Robert Paul "Bobby" Waddell, Sr., former state representative and Caddo Parish district judge
* Wayne Waddell, former state representative and former director of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum.
* Dayton Waller, businessman and former state representative
* Loy Weaver, former Shreveport businessman and state representative for Claiborne and Union parishes, 1976-1984
* Randall Webb, former president of Northwestern State University
* W. Scott Wilkinson, Shreveport attorney and state representative, 1920-1924
* Don Williamson, former school board member, state representative, state senator, and mayoral candidate
* Earl Williamson, former mayor of Vivian and long-term member of the Caddo Parish Police Jury
* Tedford Williamson, Texas businessman born in Shreveport in 1957
* Jerry Wray, watercolor artist
* Peter Youree, businessman who constructed the former Washington Youree Hotel
* Donald Zadeck, industrialist and civic figure

## See also[edit]

* Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railway

## References[edit]

1. ↑ [1] 2000 Census
2. ↑ Tom R. Thomas, "A Look at Shreveport's Reaction to the Great Depression, 1929-1935," North Louisiana History 1995 26(4): 125-145.
3. ↑ Judge's refusal to block statue removal stands. The Shreveport Times (May 15, 2018). Retrieved on May 16, 2018.