The Beauregard Tourist Commission
is located in southwest Louisiana
113 South Washington Ave. DeRidder, La.
DeRidder
The Mayor is Ron Roberts
The City of DeRidder was established in 1897, incorporated in 1903, and named the parish seat in 1912, when Beauregard Parish was established.
The town was named for Ella de Ridder by her brother in law a Dutch railroad financier, who brought the first railroad to this area of Louisiana. In 1896 Kansas City Southern Rail Road built the rail road from Kansas City to Port Arthur and it came right through the area and the trains were running by 1898 which began the building of the town of DeRidder. In 1903 DeRidder was incorporated as a town, Merryville is still the only other incorporated town in Beauregard Parish. The first house in DeRidder was made of logs and covered with board shingles, split by hand from the logs of the forest. It was constructed in 1893 and was the old homestead house of Calvin Shirley, who was the original owner of the land upon which the first business house and residence of DeRidder were built. Mr. Shirley homesteaded the 160 acres which was later platted and became the original town site of DeRidder. Elevation of 203 feet above sea level. The population was 9,808 at the 2000 census. DeRidder is host to The former Beauregard Parish Jail which on December 17, 1981 was put on the National Register of Historic Places. August 09, 1983 forty-two buildings in the commercial district of DeRidder were put on National Register of Historic Places. In all Beauregard Parish has 13 places listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and out of the 13, 11 of them are in DeRidder 1 is in Merryville and the other is in Dry Creek.
Merryville Museum
Merryville
The Mayor is Charles E. Hudson
Merryville is still the only other incorporated town in Beauregard Parish. www.merryville.us
Merryville, is home to Merryville Heritage Festival, This is an annual festival, held the last weekend of March at the Merryville Museum. This festival celebrates the history of the Merryville area with skits, demonstrations and other attractions from the 1800’s and early 1900’s. This Festival takes place over the weekend and includes a parade, old west re-enactments, live music, gospel music and other activities. For more information contact David Williamson 337-825-8118
Merryville Museum open by appointment only call Mrs, Linda 337-825-0101 or David 337-825-8118 They offer school and group tours.
They host Adventure Cyclist Association tours in the spring and fall. Year around if bicyclist need a camp spot for a night they need to call.
The first Saturday of December they host an annual Seniors Christmas Party all local seniors are welcome. This museum is located at 628 North Railroad Ave., Merryville, LA. For more information, contact David Williamson 337 825-8118.
Sugartown High School
Sugartown,
The Sugartown township was first surveyed in 1807. About 1817 several families arrived in the Sugartown area making it the first permanent white settlement in southwest Louisiana. Its location was a mid-point for travelers between Alexandria and Lake Charles. It had an easy fording point along Sugar Creek. As such, the village became a way-station and overnight camping stop. In later years large cattle drives were made along this way from near the present DeRidder airport to the rail shipping point at Lecompte. By 1861 there were about 150 families living within 10 miles of the Sugartown crossroads. In 1841 a post office was established at Sugartown with weekly deliveries by horseback from Lake Charles to Petersburg (6 miles south of Leesville). About 1870 - Sugartown had one or more general stores. Although Sugartown was never incorporated it was the center of organized community life, the recognized trade, business and economic center of the area. Sugartown population began to dwindle when the railroad was built to serve DeRidder, Bon Ami, and Ludington.
There are a few stories as to how Sugartown got its name. The first is that a wagon overturned while crossing the creek spilling its expensive and delicious cargo into the creek giving birth to both the name of the creek and the town. The second story is that during a cook off an unwatched pot cooked too long turning the boiling syrup into sugar.
Surveyors recorded this in 1877 about Sugartown: "a small village in Section 31 is a thriving little place with two cotton gins, a sawmill and a grist mill worked by steam."
The Sugartown Male and Female Academy was established in 1879. Some regard this as the start of the educational system in all of Southwest Louisiana. It is said that the level of education of the academy was roughly the equivalent of today's high school. Students came from "9 or 10" parishes and several counties in east Texas. W. H. Baldwin, a graduate of Columbia University, was its first professor. It is said that: "The role of and their accomplishments is amazing. They became leaders in medicine, ministry, education, government and business". Sixty-four "scholars" enrolled in 1879.
About 1880 - Dry Creek and Sugartown were receiving mail by pony express from Lake Charles.
The Sugartown area is famous for its watermelons and timber industry. The sandy soil is good for growing watermelons as well as sugarcane which is used to make cane syrup.
Dry Creek
Dry Creek was founded by Thomas W. Williams in the late 1830's. Other settlers arriving about the same time were William Iles, George Smith, and William Thompson. Then came Bill Bundick, and Joe Beckwith, for whom Bundick Creek and Beckwith Creek were named.
Dry Creek, Louisiana, is an unincorporated village located in the east-central portion of Beauregard Parish 20 miles southeast of DeRidder on the corner of La. Hwy 113 and La. Hwy 394. The geography of the area is slightly hilly, ranging from 80 to 135 feet above sea level, consisting of mostly sandy soils with many creeks (not all dry) and ponds. Bundick Lake is located approximately five miles north/northwest of "downtown" Dry Creek.
Dry Creek is at the beginning of the "piney woods" of central Louisiana. Logging is the major industry of the area. There are many extraordinary vegetable gardens, and the entire area is noted for Sugartown melons as well as a "family atmosphere".
The first Dry Creek schools were built in early 1860's and were built so that each segment of the community had a one room school within walking distance of the homes. Now the children in the area attend East Beauregard Elementary School and East Beauregard High School, five miles north.
About 1880 - Dry Creek and Sugartown were receiving mail by pony express from Lake Charles.
Dry Creek Baptist Camp is located at the corner of the two highways across from Foreman's grocery, with a Pentecostal Church on the north side and a Bible Church on the south side of its boundary. There are many churches in the area and all faiths utilize the Camp's facilities.
One of the best features of the area is its distance from the coast (65 air miles), as many hurricane evacuees stop for shelter in Dry Creek during hurricane season.
Longville Elementary School
Southern Hotel Longville
In 1906 Members of the King-Ryder Lumber Company sawmill at Bon Ami, Louisiana were directed by Mr. Robert A Long of the Long-Bell Lumber Company to select a site in what was then Calcasieu Parish to build a sawmill and town that was to become the largest Long-Bell Lumber Company Sawmill in Louisiana. A site was selected and Longville ( named after Mr. Long) was born.
Work began on the construction of a 300,000 foot a day sawmill and planning mill. Timber cutting operations began and huge steam-driven pieces of equipment known as Skidders and Loaders operated off Tram Railroads built into the virgin pine forests.
A modern town complete with such conveniences as electric lights, water and sewer systems was built to support the workers in the sawmill. A Commissary or "Company Store" at Longville carried everything from cream to caskets. Entertainment was supplied at the "Dixie Theater" where silent picture shows were shown. Westerns were popular on Friday nights. The 60 room "Southern Hotel" was the most impressive structure built in Beauregard Parish during the sawmill era. A school was built in 1908 to furnish the educational needs of the families of the Longville Lumber Company.
This is just a small portion of the history of Longville as written in the book "A History of the Long-Bell Lumber Company and 'The Family' at Longville, La. 1906-1934" by local author Joe V. Warren, Jr. of DeRidder, La.
Two of the most devastating events in Longville's history; the fire that destroyed the sawmill and the fire that destroyed the school.
This link will take you to a site that will give a lot of information on other Towns, Neighborhoods, Subdivisions and Settlements in Beauregard Parish:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~labeaure/townsandcom.htm