20TH CENTURY DEVELOPMENT
Thus, the parish of Ouachita, which had been created in 1807 and which was subsequently divided into nine parishes, entered the 20th century as a rural agricultural region containing small urban entities. Surrounding Monroe were large plantations with cotton production as the major source of wealth. But with the discovery of gas by Louis Locke in 1916 in Morehouse Parish, the area became known as the Monroe Gas Field, one of the largest gas fields in the world at the time. With this wealth came progress—paved streets, “skyscrapers” and a salt water natatorium in the city of Monroe. And the parish prospered as well. Industries using available natural gas and paper mills using yellow pine from the nearby hilly region located in the area.
Transportation routes have continued to unite the parish to the region and to the world. U.S. Highway 80 was constructed in the 1930’s as a major east-west artery. Delta Air Lines began in Monroe as a small cotton dusting operation. And Interstate 20, completed in the 1960’s, now serves as an important coast-to-coast transportation route.
Ouachita Parish has been called the “mother parish” of northeast Louisiana. It has contributed much to the welfare of the region, and it continues to offer the leadership of a pacemaker parish as the twenty-first century approaches.
Map of Ouachita Parish, 1980’s.