Welcome to

Winn Parish Louisiana

 

 


Home of the Louisiana Forest Festival    * * *    Home of Uncle Earl's Hog Dog Trials
Home of Three Louisiana Govenors    * * *    Home of the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame

Winn Parish Is Adoptable

If you are interested in Coordinating this site, please contact Marsha Bryant for details.

Winn Parish

Winn Parish was created in 1852 from three parishes: the east part of Natchitoches, the west part of Catahoula and the north point of Rapides. Later Grant Parish was carved from the south part of Winn. The parish was named for Rapides legislator Walter Winn. Because there was such a debate about which town would become the parish seat, it was decided that it would be placed in geographical center of the new parish.

Many towns were listed in the first census of 1860 and included: Pine Ridge, St. Maurice, Montgomery, Wheeling, Winnfield, Kyiche, Goodwater, and Winnfield, which was the smallest settlement of any of them! According to an article that Gregg Davis wrote (can be found in the Winn Paish online archives) it has been said that "Winn Parish was poor from birth." and others have added "It hasn't gotten any better!" Descriptions of Winnfield found in the diary of a passing Confederate soldier state that "it had only about five buildings, ugly ones at that"... and the soldier was even critical of the parish jail! It was only after the timber industry came at the turn of the century at Winn Parish began to prosper.

But the condition of the parish or the towns relinquished by Natchitoches and Catahoula did nothing to stop the colorful characters that made this "poor" area their homes, maybe because of the isolated conditions. As early as 1528, Cabeza de Vaca, the Spanish explorer stopped at Lewisville (now Gansville), to 1690 when De Tonit was trading in the same place with Indians who had established a village and trading post there, throughout the late 1800's when all the outlaws such as Laws Kimbrell and the West gang made the area their homes, to the boom towns of the early timber industy to the CCC camps and the maneuvers of WWII, and even today with the fact we have had no less than three Louisiana governors from the area, people just kept coming.

Colorful characters, colorful towns, and even rumors of gold and silver mines! We even have our own Revoluntionary Soldier buried here. Whatever the reason, Winn Parish's history is as colorful as any place in Louisiana!



Winn Parish Neighbors

 

Boards, Lists, Look-ups & Queries

 

Winn Parish Message Board on Rootsweb, please post new queries on the Message Board.

Winn Parish Mailing List on Rootsweb

Old Queries

Look-up Volunteers are needed !

Information On This Site

 

Bibliography Cemeteries Family Website Links and
Old Surname Registry
Old Family Reunions
WPGHA Meeting Photos    
     

Search This Site

search engine by freefind
       

USGenWeb Special Projects

Archives for Winn Parish     Archives Search Engine!

Census Project for Louisianna

Tombstone Transcription & Gravestone Photo Project

 

Winn Parish Resources

Winn Parish Clerk of Court
119 West Main Street, Room 103, Winnfield, LA 71483
(318) 628-3515

Winnfield Family History Center
Located in the Winnfield Ward, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
By appointment only, 8991 Hwy 501 Winnfield, LA 71483, 318-628-6945

Louisiana Political Museum
499 E Main Street, Winnfield, La. 71483
(318) 628-5928

WPGHA Book Room
Second Floor above the Health Unit by appointment only. List of books.

Winn Parish Bibliography 

Off-Site Links

The 12th Louisiana Infantry

Military Service Records

Civil War Homepage

Library of Congress

Genealogy.com Forum Search Tool

Civil War in Louisiana by La Dept of Tourism

Louisiana State Archives

Social Security Death Index Search Tool

Southern Funeral Home Link


About USGenWeb Project

 Copyright © 1997 - 2018, Contributors for the LAGenWeb and USGenWeb

Last Updated: 05/28/2018