List of high schools by parish african american high. Click on the map to view the interactive arcgis map. Overview mossville calcasieu parish, louisiana atsdr. Usually this is the year of publication, except in the case of reprints. Collections and louisiana and lower mississippi collections available. This was more than fifty years before the creation. Harry williams center for oral history and local writerjournalist bill shearman, was awarded a grant from sasol, to record, preserve and make available the written and oral history of the people and community of mossville.
Mossville history project lsu libraries louisiana state university. Plans to erect a chemical plant may end up destroying a louisiana town, mossville, founded by free slaves, mother. Mar 27, 2014 a massive chemical plant is poised to wipe this louisiana town off the map sasols proposed facility may spell the end for a 224yearold community founded by freed slaves. The rise and fall of a landmark community in southwest louisiana. Today its a breeding ground for petrochemical plants and their toxic black clouds. Aug 11, 2015 mossville is a small community in calcasieu parish midway between the larger communities of westlake and sulphur. The map above shows the locations of all the african american high schools in louisiana before 1970. In order to take proactive measures against the spread of the novel coronavirus, also known as covid19, all branches of the calcasieu parish public library are closed and will remain closed until further notice.
The original parish seat chosen was comasaque bluff, east of the river later called marsh bayou bluff, and on december 8, 1840, named marion. It was settled by free slaves in the 1800s, and this is the story of how that history is literally. In 1920, a three room building on stilts, consisting of two big rooms with a partition. The presentation was held in the southwest louisiana genealogical and. Mossville, louisiana, founded by formerly enslaved people in calcasieu parish and inhabited into the 21st century by their descendants, was a community rich in natural resources and history. Mossville was one early settlement of free blacks since 1790.
The kansas city southern railway kcs may be our countrys smallest class i, in terms of route miles, but is the secondmost historic with a heritage tracing back to the late 19th century. Yearbooks were are loaned to the library for a period of 68 weeks, during which time we shipped them to our digitization vendor. The history of lake charles by stewart alfred ferguson. It is also dedicated to peggy frankland who first told their stories. Mossville is a small, predominantly african american unincorporated community on the outskirts of lake charles in calcasieu parish, louisiana, united states. Mossville school has approximately 800 students from kindergarten to eighth grade and is part of illinois valley central unit district 321. The history segments air on american history tv ahtv on cspan3 and the literary eventsnonfiction author segments air on book tv on cspan2. The exhibit is now housed in the annex gallery of the museum and features written and. Libraries southwest calcasieu parish public library. Mossville is a rural community just outside lake charles, louisiana. Centered on the illinois river valley and the end of illinois route 6 at illinois route 29, mossville. For further readings and information, visit the mossville history project. A massive chemical plant is poised to wipe this louisiana town off the map sasols proposed facility may spell the end for a 224yearold community founded by freed slaves.
A hammond house passes through four generations of one family and into a new era of design that incorporates its 119year history updated classic ty larkins interiors reinvigorates a circa1940s baton rouge house for a family of four. About us the imperial calcasieu museum serves the five parish area of calcasieu, cameron, beauregard, allen, and jeff davis in southwest louisiana. Author adley cormier gave a tour of the lake charles, louisiana. Local writerjournalist bill shearman was approached to research and write a book on the complete history of the mossville community during this project.
If you are a resident of any of the parishes listed below, you may apply for an lsw card. Register to let other graduates of mossville find and contact you. Located just outside of lake charles, mossville was. In these communities people live, work, and play near the chemical plants. New mossville book by john bridges february 21, 2019 at 7. Yearbooks are accessible through the louisiana digital library see the tab below labeled browsing and searching for browsing instructions yearbooks were are loaned to the library for a period of 68 weeks, during which time we shipped them to our digitization vendor.
One of the slave owners from that time was henry moss. As a centuriesold black community, contaminated and uprooted by petrochemical plants, comes to terms with the loss of its ancestral home, one man standing in the way of a plants expansion refuses to give up. The atsdr conducted its own tests in the mossville community and later confirmed that residents in mossville do in fact have high levels of dioxin in their blood. A history of mossville, which shearman researched and. Calcasieu parish history calcasieu parish was created march 24, 1840, from the parish of saint landry, one of the original nineteen civil parishes established by the louisiana legislature in 1807. Focusing on the period between 1929 33, the book details the rise. Today it is surrounded by chemical manufacturing plants.
The toxic costs of industries in calcasieu parish, louisiana. Mossville is an unincorporated community between peoria and chillicothe in peoria county, illinois, united states. The calcasieu estuary environmental task force collection is a complete depository of documents produced by the task force for public. Black louisiana town latest victim of environmental racism. Mossville was founded by jack moss, an exslave, beginning in 1790. The imperial calcasieu museum, in partnership with the louisiana state universityt. Manuscript collections, oral histories, and government documents. To record these historical assets, the project team hosted a series of oral history days in the mossville community and also went out into the community to record its history. The route of the southern belle has always been a system surrounded by larger giants, even prior to the megamerger movement during the classic era of the. Located just outside of lake charles, mossville was a once thriving community. Learn how the towns history is being preserved and see what the city looks like today. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading louisiana. The atlases are in order basically by the year or years covered by the map or plat book, with the latest first.
In an 1860 calcasieu parish slave census, shearman points out in the book, there were 1,097 slaves here. Home find alumni in louisiana find alumni in westlake, louisiana mossville. The library is digitizing only high school yearbooks 912 or k12 schools. The book lake charles images of america has the history of the city and photos showing the early history of the city and places around i had visited. Yearbook digitization project calcasieu parish public. Yearbook digitization project calcasieu parish public library. I am sincerely grateful to the history department of louisiana state university for. Search or browse our list of companies in mossville, illinois by category. After the 1940s mossville became surrounded by industrial plants, making it the most polluted corner of the most. Mossville is a small community in calcasieu parish midway between the larger communities of westlake and sulphur. An oral history project aims to preserve mossville.
When two or three counties are covered, the plat book is listed under each county. They were are scanned, and returned to the library. How mossville got its name, native american relatives. Search for louisiana classmates, friends, family, and memories in one of the largest collections of online univeristy, college, military, and high school yearbook images and photos. The mossville history project, imperial calcasieu museum. Buildings i photographed was the gary bank and the timbermill museum not opened and a few. How pollution killed a louisiana town the intercept. If you see your name among the mossville graduates, someone is looking for you. Mossville, a town settled by freed slaves as early as the 1790s, maintained its sense of community through the jim crow era but is now succumbing to the encroachment of industry in the lake.
In the book, he puts mossville s history in the context of the history of slavery in america. Mossville is part of the peoria, illinois metropolitan. As a centuriesold black community, contaminated and uprooted by petrochemical plants, comes to. Eventually, the state of louisiana picked up the expenses. The archives and special collections department keeps paper copies of most of the articles listed below in pamphlet file 1597. Copies of the book are available at the museum, local. Louisiana digital librarys yearbook collection options. The names listed below are alumni who have been searched for on this site from mossvillein westlake, louisiana. The book is available for checkout at the mcneese state university frazar. It is part of the lake charles metropolitan statistical area and is sandwiched between sulphur to the west and westlake to the east. After the county, the date is the most important item. In the book, he puts mossvilles history in the context of the history of slavery in america. A history of mossville, which shearman researched and wrote in a little over two years, he delves into history of the early settlement of the area of mossville to the current difficult topic of how the community faced having their land and air polluted by big industry.
Yearbooks are accessible through the online catalog. A oncethriving community founded by formerly enslaved and free people of color, and an economically flourishing safe haven for generations of african american families. Mossville, louisiana cnn as the environmental protection agency vans roll from one home to the next, each one marked with a red dot on a map, dorothy felix tags along like a proud parent. Mossville is the poster child for environmental racism and environmental injustice thats what makes it so unique, argues dr. Census information for mossville calcasieu parish, state of louisiana. Over the years the hamlet grew to more than 600 residents but was never incorporated.
Libraries southwest or lsw promotes and enhances libraries and their services in southwest louisiana. While mossville didnt participate in the 2010 census, we have census information for the neighboring area. Mossville is part of the peoria, illinois metropolitan statistical area and resides closely to the northern part of peoria. Jun 02, 2010 mossville, louisiana cnn as the environmental protection agency vans roll from one home to the next, each one marked with a red dot on a map, dorothy felix tags along like a proud parent. T he hamlet of mossville, with its 500 or so denizens, sits near bayou contraband, a tributary of a heavily industrialized stretch of the calcasieu river, which runs south about 50 miles to the. The ku klux klan in central alberta chronicles a littleknown and often overlooked part of albertas history. Compare details the studentteacher ratio at mossville elementary school is 14. Enviroserve safesite sm coronavirus cleaning and decontamination services help prevent the spread of covid19. After all, she was born and raised in the small community near lake charles, and her family. This was more than fifty years before the creation of imperial calcasieu parish. The museum is a well established 501c3 cultural organization supporting visual arts and artists, and cultural preservation.
The mossville united methodist church is situated on the west side of the illinois route 6 overpass on mossville road. These tests indicated elevated levels of dioxin in some samples. Mossville environmental action now working together to. Please contact your local library to borrow these atlases from the illinois state. The mossville history projects steering committee is composed of members from mossville.
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