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Shreveport (US dict: ˈshrēv-ˌpȯrt, ipa: /ˈʃriːvpɔrt/) is the third largest city in the state of Louisiana and the 113th-largest city in the United States. It is the seat of Caddo Parish[3] and extends along the Red River (most notably at Wright Island, the Charles and Marie Hamel Memorial Park, and Bagley Island) into neighboring Bossier Parish. Bossier City is separated from Shreveport by the Red River. The population of Shreveport was 199,311 in 2010,[4] and the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Area population exceeds 441,000.[5] The Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area ranks 111th in the United States, according to the United States Census Bureau.[6]
Shreveport was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, a corporation established to develop a town at the juncture of the newly navigable Red River and the Texas Trail, an overland route into the newly independent Republic of Texas and, prior to that time, into Mexico.[7]
Shreveport is the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex region, where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet.
History
Main article: History of Shreveport
Early settlers
Shreveport was established to launch a town at the meeting point of the Red River and the Texas Trail. The Red River was cleared and made newly navigable by Henry Miller Shreve, who led the United States Army Corps of Engineers effort to clear the river. A 180-mile-long (290 km) natural log jam, the Great Raft, had previously obstructed passage to shipping. Shreve used a specially modified riverboat, the Heliopolis, to remove the log jam. The company and the village of Shreve Town were named in Shreve's honor.[8]
Shreve Town was originally contained within the boundaries of a section of land sold to the company by the indigenous Caddo Indians in 1835. In 1838 Caddo Parish was created from the large Natchitoches Parish, and Shreve Town became its parish seat. On March 20, 1839, the town was incorporated as Shreveport. Originally, the town consisted of 64 city blocks, created by eight streets running west from the Red River and eight streets running south from Cross Bayou, one of its tributaries.
Shreveport soon became a center of steamboat commerce, mostly cotton and agricultural crops. Shreveport also had a slave market, though slave trading was not as widespread as in other parts of the state. Steamboats plied the Red River, and stevedores loaded and unloaded cargo. By 1860, Shreveport had a population of 2,200 free people and 1,300 slaves within the city limits.
Civil War
"The Old and the New": Tall monument in Shreveport's historic Oakland Cemetery, which dates to 1847, is seen with the distant Regions Bank Tower, the city's tallest building, behind it.
During the American Civil War, Shreveport was the capital of Louisiana from 1863 to 1865, having succeeded Baton Rouge and Opelousas after each fell under Union control. The city was a Confederate stronghold throughout the war and was the site of the headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate Army. Fort Albert Sidney Johnston was built on a ridge northwest of the city. Because of limited development in that area; the site is relatively undisturbed.
Map of Shreveport in 1920
Justin Vincent Gras
Skyline of Shreveport in 1953
Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium, home to the "Louisiana Hayride" from 1948 to 1960.
Isolated from events in the east, the Civil War continued in the Trans-Mississippi theater for several weeks after Robert E. Lee's surrender in April 1865, and the Trans-Mississippi was the last Confederate command to surrender, on May 26, 1865. Confederate President Jefferson Davis tried to flee to Shreveport, intending to go down the Mississippi, when he left Richmond but was captured en route in Irwinville, Georgia.
Throughout the war, women in Shreveport did much to assist the soldiers fighting mostly far to the east. Historian John D. Winters writes of them in The Civil War in Louisiana:
"The women of Shreveport and vicinity labored long hours over their sewing machines to provide their men with adequate underclothing and uniforms. After the excitement of Fort Sumter, there was a great rush to get the volunteer companies ready and off to New Orleans...Forming a Military Aid Society, the ladies of Shreveport requested donations of wool and cotton yarn for knitting socks. Joined by others, the Society collected blankets for the wounded and gave concerts and tableaux to raise funds. Tickets were sold for a diamond ring given by the mercantile house of Hyams and Brothers...[9]
A Confederate minstrel show gave two performances to raise money for the war effort in Shreveport in December 1862. The Shreveport Ladies Aid Society announced a grand dress ball for April 6, 1863. That same month students at the Mansfield Female College in Mansfield in De Soto Parish presented a vocal and instrumental concert to support the war.[10]
The Red River, which had been opened by Shreve in the 1830s, remained navigable throughout the Civil War. Water levels got so low at one point that Union Admiral David Dixon Porter was trapped with his gunboats north of Alexandria. His engineers quickly constructed a temporary dam to raise the water level and free his fleet.
By 1914, neglect and lack of use due to diversion of freight traffic to railroad lines resulted in the Red River becoming unnavigable. In 1994, the United States Army Corps of Engineers restored navigability by completion of a series of lock-and-dam structures and a navigation channel. Today, Shreveport-Bossier City is being re-developed as a port and shipping center.
20th century
In 1895, Justin Vincent Gras (1868-1959), a native of France, opened the largest grocery and liquor store in Shreveport. "What is good for Shreveport is good for me" became his motto. Gras turned to real estate and by the 1920s was the largest landholder in Caddo Parish. Gras and his wife, Eugenie, donated $2.3 million to establish the Community Foundation of North Louisi8ana. During World War I, Gras rebuilt the home church of his native village in the Pyrenees. He is interred at St. Joseph Cemetery in Shreveport.[11][12]
By the 1910s, Huddie William Ledbetter—also known as "Lead Belly", a blues singer and guitarist who eventually achieved worldwide fame—was performing for Shreveport audiences in St. Paul's Bottoms, the notorious red-light district of Shreveport which operated legally from 1903 to 1917. Ledbetter began to develop his own style of music after exposure to a variety of musical influences on Shreveport's Fannin Street, a row of saloons, brothels, and dance halls in the Bottoms. Bluesmen Jesse Thomas, Dave Alexander, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the early jazz and ragtime composer Bill Wray and composer Willian Christopher O'Hare were all from Shreveport.
Shreveport was home to the Louisiana Hayride radio program, broadcast weekly from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. During its heyday from 1948 to 1960, this program stimulated the careers of some of the greatest figures in American music. The Hayride featured musicians such as Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, who made his broadcasting debut at this venue.
In 1963, headlines across the country reported that musician Sam Cooke was arrested after his band tried to register at a "whites-only" Holiday Inn in Shreveport. Public facilities in Louisiana were still segregated, an example of the kinds of injustices that the Civil Rights Movement was working to change.[13] In the months following, Cooke recorded the civil rights era song, "A Change Is Gonna Come." In 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act to end segregation of public facilities.
In the mid-1990s, the coming of riverboat gambling to Shreveport attracted numerous new patrons to the downtown and spurred a revitalization of the adjacent downtown and riverfront areas. Many downtown streets were given a facelift through the "Streetscape" project, where brick sidewalks and crosswalks were built, and statues, sculptures, and mosaics were added. The O.K. Allen Bridge, commonly known as the Texas Street bridge, was lit with neon lights that were met with a variety of opinions among residents.[14]
Shreveport was named an All-American City in 1953, 1979, and 1999.[15]
Geography
Shreveport has several cemeteries, with Forest Park, on St. Vincent Avenue, being one of the largest in the state.
Landscape
Shreveport sits on a low elevation overlooking the Red River. Pine forests, cotton fields, wetlands, and waterways mark the outskirts of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 120.8 sq mi (312.9 km2), of which 105.4 sq mi (272.9 km2) is land and 15.4 sq mi (40.0 km2), or 12.79%, is water.[4]
Climate
Shreveport has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). Rainfall is abundant, with the normal annual precipitation averaging over 51 inches (1.3 m), with monthly averages ranging from less than 3 inches (76 mm) in August to more than 5 inches (130 mm) in June. Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes occur in the area during the spring and summer months. The winter months are normally mild, with an average of 35 days of freezing or below-freezing temperatures per year, with ice and sleet storms possible. Summer months are hot and humid, with maximum temperatures exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 91 days per year, with high to very high relative average humidity, sometimes exceeding the 90 percent level.
The extreme temperatures range from −5 °F (−21 °C) on February 12, 1899,[16] to 110 °F (43 °C) on August 18, 1909.[17]
| Climate data for Shreveport, Louisiana (Shreveport Regional Airport), 1981–2010 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high, °F (°C) | 85 (29) |
89 (32) |
92 (33) |
94 (34) |
102 (39) |
104 (40) |
107 (42) |
110 (43) |
109 (43) |
103 (39) |
94 (34) |
88 (31) |
110 (43) |
| Average high, °F (°C) | 57.3 (14.1) |
61.5 (16.4) |
69.5 (20.8) |
76.9 (24.9) |
83.8 (28.8) |
90.1 (32.3) |
93.4 (34.1) |
94.1 (34.5) |
88.2 (31.2) |
78.2 (25.7) |
67.5 (19.7) |
58.5 (14.7) |
76.58 (24.77) |
| Average low, °F (°C) | 36.7 (2.6) |
40.1 (4.5) |
46.8 (8.2) |
54.0 (12.2) |
63.1 (17.3) |
69.9 (21.1) |
73.1 (22.8) |
72.6 (22.6) |
66.1 (18.9) |
55.1 (12.8) |
45.7 (7.6) |
38.1 (3.4) |
55.11 (12.83) |
| Record low, °F (°C) | −2 (−19) |
−5 (−21) |
11 (−12) |
25 (−4) |
38 (3) |
52 (11) |
58 (14) |
53 (12) |
42 (6) |
28 (−2) |
16 (−9) |
5 (−15) |
−5 (−21) |
| Average precipitation, inches (mm) | 4.20 (106.7) |
4.75 (120.7) |
4.14 (105.2) |
4.19 (106.4) |
4.93 (125.2) |
5.40 (137.2) |
3.64 (92.5) |
2.73 (69.3) |
3.16 (80.3) |
4.96 (126) |
4.53 (115.1) |
4.76 (120.9) |
51.38 (1,305.1) |
| Average snowfall, inches (cm) | .6 (1.5) |
.5 (1.3) |
Trace | 0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
.3 (0.8) |
1.4 (3.6) |
| Average precipitation (≥ 0.01 in) days | 9.0 | 9.1 | 9.2 | 7.6 | 9.5 | 9.2 | 8.1 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 9.6 | 101.2 |
| Average snowy (≥ 0.1 in) days | .3 | .3 | .1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .1 | .8 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 158.1 | 175.2 | 213.9 | 231.0 | 266.6 | 297.0 | 319.3 | 300.7 | 249.0 | 235.6 | 177.0 | 158.1 | 2,781.5 |
| Source: NOAA [18] HKO (sun, 1961−1990),[19] The Weather Channel (extreme temps)[20] | |||||||||||||
Neighborhoods
Pine Wold house (Fairfield Avenue at Kirby Street) was designed by Edward F. Neild, who created some of the designs for the interior of the White House in the Truman administration as well as the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Pine Wold was constructed in 1903 by lumberman T. J. Jones and expanded in 1919 by oilman J. P. Evans. For a time the Mighty Haag Circus wintered on the grounds, and the circus elephant Trilby is buried there.
Shreveport encompasses many different neighborhoods and districts. Below is a list of the various areas in the Greater Shreveport area of Caddo Parish:
Acadiana Place
Allendale
Allendale-Lakeside, interloop of neighborhoods
Anderson Island
Azalea Gardens
Blanchard
Braemar Estates
Broadmoor
Broadmoor Terrace
Brunswick Place
Caddo Heights
Cedar Grove
Centenary Area
Chapel Creek
Cherokee Park
Cooper Road
Crescent Wood
Cross Lake, some not in city
Eden Gardens
Ellerbe Road Estates
Ellerbe Woods
Evangeline Oaks
Fairfield Heights
Forbing
Fox Crossing
Garden Valley
Glen Iris
Greenwood
Greenbrook
The Haven
Hidden Trace
Highlands
Hollywood
Hollywood Heights
Huntington
Ingleside
Jackson Square
Jewella-South Park
Hyde Park
Keithville
Lakeside
Lakeside Acres
Ledbetter Heights or The Bottoms
Long Lake Estates
Lynbrook
Madison Park
Mooretown
Norris Ferry Crossing
Norris Ferry Estates
Norris Ferry Landing
North Highlands
Parkside
Pines Road
Pierremont
Pierremont Place
Pierremont Ridge
Provenance
Queensborough
St. Charles Place
Shreve Island
Shreve Lake Estates
South Broadmoor
South Highlands
Southern Hills
Southern Trace
Spring Lake
Stoner Hill
Sunset Acres
Towne South
Twelve Oaks
Shadow Pines Estates
Steeple Chase
Stoner Hill
University Terrace
Waterside
West End
Western Hills
Wright Island
Yarborough
In the Highland section, along Fairfield Avenue, more than a half dozen homes have been designated as historic. These include residences once occupied by Lieutenant Governor Thomas Charles Barret, who served early in the 20th century; a Broadway director, Joshua Logan; a former governor, Ruffin Pleasant, and wife; a physician and developer, George W. Robinson; a Coca Cola bottler, Zehntner Biedenharn; the first mayor of Bossier City, Ewald Max Hoyer, who took office in 1907; and a major real estate owner, John B. Slattery, whose home is one of five remaining structures in Shreveport designed by the noted architect N. S. Allen.[21]
A.C. Steere School, expanded in 1938, is named for developer Albert Coldwell Steere, the founder of the Broadmoor neighborhood; the institution was added in 1991 to the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Edward F. Neill of Shreveport.
Robinson Place in Shreveport, former home of physician and developer George W. Robinson; later the residence of Douglas and Lucille Lee, owners of Lee Hardware Company.
Historic residence of late Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Thomas Charles Barret at Fairfield and Prospect
Walker House on Fairfield Avenue was once the home of the Coca-Cola bottler Zehntner Biedenharn.
Bliss-Hoyer House, built by Abel and Nettie Bliss, was later the home of Ewald Max Hoyer, the first mayor of Bossier City, who continued to reside in Shreveport.
Demographics
Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1850 1,728 —
1860 2,190 26.7%
1870 4,607 110.4%
1880 8,009 73.8%
1890 11,979 49.6%
1900 16,013 33.7%
1910 28,015 75.0%
1920 43,874 56.6%
1930 76,655 74.7%
1940 98,167 28.1%
1950 127,206 29.6%
1960 164,372 29.2%
1970 182,064 10.8%
1980 206,989 13.7%
1990 198,525 −4.1%
2000 200,145 0.8%
2010 199,311 −0.4%
Est. 2014 198,242 [22] −0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[23]
2013 Estimate[2]
As of the 2010 census the population of Shreveport was 199,311. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 42.5% White, 50.4% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 1.2% from some other race and 1.5% from two or more races. 6.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.[24]
There were 91,501 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were married couples living together, 21.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.12. Population ages ranked as follows: 26.9% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. The city ranks third in the nation of cities over 100,000 population with significant gender disparity: for every 100 females there were only 87.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were just 82.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,526, 72.4% of the national median of $42,148, and the median income for a family was $37,126. Males had a median income of $31,278 versus $21,659 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,759. About 18.7% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Shreveport
In Shreveport, City Hall is known as "Government Plaza".
Water tower from SW section of Shreveport
U.S. Courthouse in Shreveport
The Louisiana State Office Building in Shreveport was originally the headquarters of the former United Gas Corporation.
Founded in 1836 and incorporated in 1839, Shreveport is the parish seat of Caddo Parish. It is part of the First Judicial District, housing the parish courthouse. It also houses the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, which consists of nine elected judges representing twenty parishes in northwest Louisiana. A portion of east Shreveport extends into Bossier Parish due to the changing course of the Red River.
The city of Shreveport has a mayor-council government. The elected municipal officials include the mayor, Cedric Glover, and seven members of the city council. Glover, a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, is the first African American to hold the position. Under the mayor-council government, the mayor serves as the executive officer of the city. As the city's chief administrator and official representative, the mayor is responsible for the general management of the city and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Shreveport
Regions Tower, the tallest building in downtown Shreveport
Health care is a major industry in Shreveport. Christus Schumpert Medical Center is a leading cancer-treatment facility in the South.
Shreveport Convention Center
The Shriners Hospital for Children, now at the corner of Samford Avenue and Kings Highway, was the first of its kind in the United States. It was established in 1922.
Shreveport was once a major player in United States oil business and at one time could boast Standard Oil of Louisiana as a locally based company. The Louisiana branch was later absorbed by Standard Oil of New Jersey. Beginning in 1930, the nation's busiest pipeline operator and massive integrated oil company, United Gas Corporation, was headquartered in Shreveport, until its hostile takeover by Pennzoil in 1968 and subsequent forced merger. In the 1980s, the oil and gas industry suffered a large economic downturn, and many companies cut back jobs or went out of business, including a large retail shopping mall, South Park Mall, which closed in the late 1990s and is now Summer Grove Baptist Church. Shreveport suffered severely from this recession, and many residents left the area.
Because Shreveport has the highest property taxes in Louisiana, many incoming residents do not locate within the city itself. Growth has therefore trended toward the southwest into DeSoto Parish or east to Bossier City and beyond. Political analyst and consultant Elliott Stonecipher describes Shreveport as "a far less vibrant community" than Bossier City because many lower-income Shreveport residents who pay no property taxes are heavily dependent on public services, a situation far less common in Bossier City. Stonecipher said that Bossier City economically resembles much of East Texas, more so than neighboring Shreveport.[25]
Shreveport has largely transitioned to a service economy. In particular, the area has seen a rapid growth in the gaming industry, hosting various riverboat gambling casinos, and, before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was second only to New Orleans in Louisiana tourism. Nearby Bossier City is home to one of the three horse racetracks in the state, Harrah's Louisiana Downs. Casinos in Shreveport-Bossier include Sam's Town Casino, Eldorado Casino, Horseshoe Casino, Boomtown Casino, and Diamond Jacks Casino (formerly Isle of Capri). The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau is the official tourism information agency for the region. The bureau maintains a comprehensive database of restaurants, accommodations, attractions, and events.
In May 2005, the Louisiana Boardwalk, a 550,000-square-foot (51,000 m2) shopping and entertainment complex, opened across the Red River in Bossier City, featuring outlet shopping, several restaurants, a 14‑screen movie theater, a bowling complex, and a Bass Pro Shops.
A new 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m2) convention center was recently completed in downtown Shreveport. It includes an 800-space parking garage. An adjoining Hilton Hotel opened in June 2007. The city's direct construction and ownership of the Hilton Hotel has been a controversial issue as to the proper use of public funds. The Shreveport Convention Center is managed by SMG.
Shreveport is a major medical center of the region and state. The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport operates at expanded facilities once used by the former Confederate Memorial Medical Center. Major hospitals include Christus Schumpert, Willis Knighton, and the Shriners Hospital for Children.
As of November 2008, excitement has centered around the Haynesville Shale, with many new jobs in the natural gas industry expected to be created over the next few years. Residents in the region are enjoying large bonuses for signing mineral rights leases up to $25,000 per acre. However, the recent economic downturn has resulted in a lower market price for natural gas and slower-than-expected drilling activity. The city itself stands to profit by leasing the mineral rights on public lands in the near future as neighboring municipalities have already done.
Shreveport was home to Shreveport Operations, a General Motors plant that closed in August 2012. The plant produced the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, and the Isuzu i‑Series.[26] In January 2013, the plant was purchased by Elio Motors.[27]
Top employers
According to the City's 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[28] the top employers in the metropolitan area are:
# Employer # of Employees
1 Barksdale Air Force Base 10,284
2 Caddo Public Schools 6,815
3 State of Louisiana 6,549
4 University Health 6,200
5 Willis-Knighton Health System 6,145
6 Bossier Parish School System 2,926
7 City of Shreveport 2,729
8 Christus Schumpert Health System 1,800
9 Harrah's/Horseshoe Casinos 1,800
10 U.S. Support 1,585
Film industry
Robinson Film Center is a non-profit organization on Texas Avenue in downtown Shreveport with new and older film offerings, matinees and evenings.
Tax incentives offered by the state government have given Louisiana the third largest film industry in the country, behind California and New York. Louisiana is sometimes called "Hollywood South".[29] A number of films have been made in Shreveport. Facilities include sound stages, prop rental facilities, the Fairgrounds Complex, and the Louisiana Wave Studio, a computer-controlled outdoor wave pool.[30]
Selected films shot in Shreveport include:
The Guardian (2006): Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner
Factory Girl (2006): Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce
The Great Debaters (2007): Denzel Washington
Mr. Brooks (2007): Kevin Costner, William Hurt, and Demi Moore
Premonition (2007): Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon
Cleaner (2007): Samuel L. Jackson
The Mist (2007): Thomas Jane, Toby Jones and Marcia Gay Harden
Soul Men (2008) Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac
Year One (2008): Jack Black and Michael Cera
W. (2008): Josh Brolin, Richard Dreyfuss and James Cromwell
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008): John Cho and Kal Penn
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2009): Matt Czuchry, Jesse Bradford and Geoff Stults
Super (film) (2010): Ellen Page, Rainn Wilson
Shark Night (2011)
Straw Dogs (2011): James Marsden, Kate Bosworth
Drive Angry (2011): Nicolas Cage
Trespass (2011): Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman
Battle: Los Angeles (2011): Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan
The Iceman (2012): Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013): Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara
Olympus Has Fallen (2013): Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman
Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)
Dark Places (2015): Chloë Grace Moretz, Charlize Theron
I Saw the Light (2015): Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen
Additionally, several television series have been shot in Shreveport and the surrounding area, including The Gates (2010), and Salem (2014). The Louisiana Film Prize has spurred the creation of over 200 short films shot in Shreveport and northwest Louisiana by filmmakers from around the world since its inception in 2012.
Education
Centenary College entrance
C. E. Byrd High School
The former Line Avenue School now houses part of the Northwestern State University nursing program in Shreveport.
Main article: Caddo Public Schools (Louisiana)
Caddo Public Schools is a school district based in Shreveport. The district serves all of Caddo Parish. Its founding superintendent was Clifton Ellis Byrd, a Virginia native, who assumed the chief administrative position in 1907 and continued until his death in 1926. C. E. Byrd High School, which was established in 1925 on Line Avenue at the intersection with East Kings Highway, bears his name.
Shreveport has several colleges, including the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College (founded at Jackson, Louisiana, in 1825; relocated to Shreveport in 1908) and Louisiana State University in Shreveport, which opened as a two-year institution in 1967. It became four-year in 1976. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, the only medical school in northern Louisiana, opened in 1969. Shreveport also has one of the largest nursing schools in northern Louisiana, the Northwestern State University College of Nursing. Louisiana Tech University at Shreveport-Bossier City was launched in 2012 offering their Executive MBA and main campus undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the university's Shreveport Center.[31]
Southern University, Shreveport (SUSLA), offers a two-year associate's degree program. (The four-year institution, which is historically black, is in Baton Rouge.)
Founded in 1973, Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary is also located in Shreveport at 6301 Westport Avenue.
Ayers Career College is a Shreveport-based college that offers career training in the medical and HVAC fields.[32]
Since July 2007, Shreveport is home to a local Remington College campus. This location offers both diploma and degree programs, and is active in the Shreveport Community.[33]
Virginia College is a new college that opened early 2012. Located in Shreveport/Bossier City, Virginia College offers career training in areas such as Business and Office, Health and Medical, and Medical Billing.[34]
Religion
The Episcopal St. Mark's Cathedral on Rutherford Street
First United Methodist Church on Texas Street in downtown Shreveport. The sanctuary dates to 1913.
Sanctuary of J. S. Noel, Jr. Memorial United Methodist Church in the Highland sections of Shreveport dates to 1913.
First Presbyterian Church is located at 900 Jordan Street in Shreveport near the large State Office Building.
Shreveport has churches of many denominations and sizes. At the head of Texas Street is the large First United Methodist Church, established at that site in 1884. The current sanctuary dates to 1913. The church is pastored by Pat Day. Among its former pastors were D. L. Dykes, Jr., and John E. Fellers. The fiberglass steeple of the church fell onto a passing car during a severe thunderstorm in 2009. It has since been replaced.
A second Methodist congregation is named for J. S. Noel, Jr. The church was begun as a mission in 1906. Methodist layman James Noel and his wife, Fannie, provided financially for the church in its early years. The congregation decided to name the church for the Noel's late son. Like First United Methodist, it opened in the current sanctuary in 1913 and grew rapidly. A fire gutted the building in 1925, and only a portion of the loss was covered by insurance. The members expanded their ranks and rebuilt at the 500 Herndon location. The current Noel Memorial pastor is Flint Shea.[35]
Holy Trinity Catholic Church built in Romanesque revival style
The large Holy Trinity Catholic Church located downtown was founded in 1858. Five priests died of yellow fever in 1873. The current sanctuary in Romanesque revival style architecture dates to 1896.[36]
A large First Baptist Church was once pastored by Monroe E. Dodd, an early radio minister and founder of the former Dodd College for Girls. Former Governor Jimmie Davis, a Shreveport city commissioner too, taught history for a year under Dodd's tutelage. Other large Baptist congregations include Calvary Baptist, Broadmoor Baptist, and Summer Grove Baptist. The last was previously pastored by Wayne L. DuBose, now a Baptist denominational officer. Westview Christian Church is an independent Christian church that serves the area as well with members from diverse denominational backgrounds.
Shreveport is home to Shreveport Community Church, an inter-denominational church belonging to the Assemblies of God. [37] [38]The congregation has experienced exponential growth from the 100 members in 1950 to the more than 6,000 it claims now. It is pastored by Denny Duron, who succeeded his father, Rodney Duron, after 45 years at the pulpit. The church has an education program in Evangel Christian Academy, a pre‑K through 12th grade private school that has produced an average of 1 million dollars of scholastic scholarships for its graduating seniors every year. The church has produced a biblical musical, "Songs of the Season", during the Christmas holidays for the past 20 years at the Historic Strand Theater in downtown Shreveport.
Particularly striking in size and architecture is St. Mark's Cathedral, an Episcopal congregation at 908 Rutherford Street in the Highland section of Shreveport. St. Mark's dates its establishment to the first religious service held in Shreveport in 1839.
The Jewish community dates to the organization of Congregation Har El in 1859, which later became B'nai Zion Temple, today the city's Reform congregation and largest synagogue. Agudath Achim, founded in 1905 as an Orthodox congregation, is today a traditional Jewish synagogue. Foster E. Kawaler, the current rabbi, is focused on rebuilding the congregation, which dwindled in size during the second half of the twentieth century. Shreveport, historically, has had a large and civic-minded Jewish community and has elected three Jewish mayors.[39]
Sports
Shreveport and Bossier City shared an Arena Football League team named the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings and a Central Hockey League team, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, during the late 1990s and the 2000s. However, the teams shut down operations in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Shreveport and Bossier City now share an all women's flat track roller derby team named the Twin City Knockers. The team is the newest competing sport in the area being founded in January 2010.
Baseball in Shreveport has an extensive past. The city had affiliated Minor League Baseball teams from 1968 to 2002. The most memorable team was the Shreveport Captains of the Texas League. Baseball teams in Shreveport have gone through eight different name changes and seven different leagues all since 1895. Shreveport's most recent independent baseball team, the Shreveport-Bossier Captains, ceased operations in 2011 and moved to Laredo, Texas.
Shreveport's rugby team, the Shreveport Rugby Football Club, was founded in 1977, making it the oldest continuously competing sport team in Shreveport. It is a member of USA Rugby and participates in the Texas Rugby Football Union.
Shreveport is the home of the Shreveport Aftershock of the Independent Women's Football League. The Aftershock play in the Midsouth Division of the Eastern Conference of the IWFL. The home field for the Aftershock is Independence Stadium.[40]
Shreveport had an expansion team of the defunct World Football League known as the Shreveport Steamer in 1974. They played at State Fair Stadium (now known as Independence Stadium) from September 1974 through October 1975. The Steamer were originally the Houston Texans before moving to Shreveport in September 1974. In their inaugural season they had a record of 7‑12‑1. They went 5‑7 in their final season in 1975. Shreveport also hosted a Canadian Football League team in the mid-1990s known as the Shreveport Pirates. Bernard Glieberman, a Detroit real estate developer, was owner of the Ottawa Rough Riders of the CFL. In 1994, he sold the team and purchased the expansion franchise that ultimately wound up in Shreveport. He was allowed to take a handful of Ottawa players with him, including quarterback Terrence Jones. However, the Pirates became yet another unsuccessful American CFL team. Their first victory did not come until the 15th week of their initial season, and in 1995, all of their victories came against Canadian teams. By 1996 the team had folded.
Shreveport is the birthplace, home, or former home of several American football stars and other noteworthy sports figures, among them:
Ken Anderson (1975–2009), NFL player for Chicago Bears
Evelyn Ashford (born 1957), winner of sprint gold medals at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympics
Scott Baker (born 1981), starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs
Miller Barber (born 1931), pro golfer, 3‑time winner of the United States Senior Open
Arnaz Battle (born 1980), NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Alana Beard (2004–present), WNBA player for the Washington Mystics in Washington, D.C.; Duke University alum
Albert Belle (born 1966), LSU baseball player and former Major League Baseball player
Josh Booty (born 1975), former NFL quarterback and MLB third baseman
Terry Bradshaw (born 1948), Pro football Hall of Fame quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers; actor and television commentator
James Britt (born 1960), NFL player for Atlanta Falcons
Art Carmody (born 1984), NCAA football all-time leading scorer for a placekicker with 433 points
Tina Chandler (born 1974), IFBB professional bodybuilder
Morris Claiborne (born 1990), NFL cornerback for Dallas Cowboys 2012: Round 1, Pick 6 Debuted in 2012 for the Dallas Cowboys
Roosevelt Collins (born 1968), American player of gridiron football
Steve Cox (born 1958), NFL player for Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins
Joe Delaney (1958–1983), NFL player for Kansas City Chiefs
Kendrick Farris (born 1986), United States Olympian in weightlifting (2008); placed eighth
Eddie Fisher (born 1936), MLB relief pitcher for Chicago White Sox
Joe Ferguson (born 1950), NFL player for Buffalo Bills
Ryan Harrison (born 1992), professional tennis player
Lee Hedges (born 1929), champion high school football coach in Shreveport/Bossier City
Charlie Hennigan (born 1935), NFL player for the Houston Oilers
Jacob Hester (born 1985), NFL player for the San Diego Chargers
Stan Humphries (born 1965), former quarterback for the San Diego Chargers
Antawn Jamison (born 1976), basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers
Essex L. Johnson (born 1946), NFL running back Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Grambling State University Hall of Fame
David Allen Lee (born 1943), NFL player for the Baltimore Colts
Tommy Maddox (born 1971), NFL player for Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers
Bob Oliver (born 1943), Major League Baseball player
Robert Parish (born 1953), Basketball player, four-time NBA champion and member of Basketball Hall of Fame
Barbara Payne (born 1932), only Louisiana native to play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its twelve-year history
Scotty Robertson (1930–2011), basketball coach at Byrd High School, Louisiana Tech University, and four NBA teams
Austin Ross (born 1988), pitcher for Milwaukee Brewers
B. J. Ryan (born 1975), Major League Baseball player
Patrick Scott (born 1964), NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
Reggie Smith (born 1945), Major League Baseball outfielder and coach
Freddie Spencer (born 1961), Grand Prix motorcycle champion, including winning both the 250cc and 500cc in the same year, 1985
Tommy Spinks (1948–2007), NFL player for the Minnesota Vikings
Hal Sutton (born 1958), professional golfer
Stromile Swift (born 1979), NBA player
Pat Tilley (born 1953), NFL player for the St. Louis Cardinals
David Toms (born 1967), professional golfer
Randy Walker (born 1951), NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
Todd Walker (born 1973), Major League Baseball player
Charles Washington (born 1966), NFL and CFL player
Vernon Wells (born 1978), Major League Baseball player with the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels
A. L. Williams (born 1934), high school and college football coach
Richard Williams, father and tennis coach of Serena and Venus Williams
David Woodley (born 1958), NFL quarterback for Miami Dolphins. During his career he was the youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl.
Shreveport was mentioned as a potential city to house the NFL's New Orleans Saints in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. It was passed over in favor of the much larger San Antonio, Texas, and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, though the Saints ended up remaining in New Orleans. The Saints did play a game in Shreveport against the Dallas Cowboys during the 2006 NFL preseason.
Shreveport's Independence Stadium has served as host of the Independence Bowl since 1976.[41] The stadium is also the home of the Port City Classic which started in 2010 when Louisiana Tech University defeated Grambling. Independence Stadium is the third largest stadium in Louisiana, with a seating capacity of 61,000 people, only behind the Mercedes-Benz Superdome of 72,000 and Tiger Stadium of 102,431 in Baton Rouge.
Visual and performing arts
Shreveport is home to several theatres, museums, and performing arts groups, including:
Academy of Children's Theatre
Artspace Shreveport
Barnwell Memorial Garden and Art Center
East Bank Theatre - Bossier City
Hayride Diner/Soundstage 516
Louisiana State Exhibit Museum
Louisiana Dance Theatre
Marjorie Lyons Playhouse on the Centenary College Campus
Meadows Museum of Art - Centenary College
Multicultural Center of the South
"Once in a Millennium Moon" Mural by Meg Saligman
Peter Pan Players, which closed its doors May 7, 2012, after thirty-nine years of theater.[42]
Power and Grace School of Performing Arts
R. W. Norton Art Gallery
River City Repertory Theatre, the professional theatre for Shreveport-Bossier
RiverView Theatre
Robinson Film Center
Shreveport House Concerts www.shreveporthouseconcerts.org
Shreveport Little Theatre www.shreveportlittletheatre.com
Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet
Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
Shreveport Opera
Shreveport Symphony Orchestra
Southern University Museum of Art
Spring Street Museum
The Strand Theatre
Events and tourism
Cinco De Mayo fiesta Shreveport
Highland Jazz & Blues Festival, held annually the second Saturday of November since 2003
Holiday in Dixie, annual springtime festival, began 1949
Independence Bowl, held annually close to New Year's since 1976
Louisiana Film Prize, short film competition and film festival.
Mardi Gras Parades
Mudbug Madness, annual celebration of crawfish, held each May since 1984
Red River Revel, annual autumn arts festival which began in 1976, largest outdoor festival in northern Louisiana
The State Fair of Louisiana, held annually each autumn since 1906
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras celebrations in Shreveport date to the mid‑19th century when krewes and parades were organized along the lines of those of New Orleans. Mardi Gras in Shreveport did not survive the cancellations caused by World War I, however. Attempts to revive it in the 1920s were unsuccessful, and the last Carnival celebrations in Shreveport for decades were held in 1927. Mardi Gras in Shreveport was revived beginning in 1984 with the organization of the Krewe of Apollo. The Krewes of Gemini, Centaur, Aesclepius, Highland, Sobek, Harambee, and others, followed during the next decade and a half. The first krewe to revive parading was Gemini in 1989. Today, Mardi Gras is again an important part of the cultural life of the Shreveport metropolitan area.[43]
Recreation and attractions
Barksdale Global Power Museum, Barksdale Air Force Base, Bossier City
Chimp Haven, chimpanzee sanctuary, Keithville, LA (Shreveport suburb)
Clyde Fant Park, along the Red River, named for Mayor Clyde Fant
Cross Lake
Ford Park on Cross Lake
Gators and Friends, alligator and exotic animal park, Greenwood, LA (Shreveport suburb)
The Gardens of the American Rose Center
Hirsch Memorial Coliseum at Louisiana State Fairgrounds
J. Bennett Johnston, Jr. Waterway Regional Visitor Center - History of Red River
Mall St. Vincent
Louisiana Boardwalk - Bossier City, opposite the Shreveport Central Business District
Splash Kingdom Water Park
Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, located in a landmark building at the State Fair Grounds
Meadows Museum of Art
Marlene Yu Museum
Multicultural Center of the South
Pioneer Heritage Center at Louisiana State University in Shreveport campus
R. W. Norton Art Gallery and adjacent azalea park
Red River National Wildlife Refuge
Riverwalk Park
Sci-Port - hands-on science center with IMAX Theater
Shreveport Municipal Auditorium and Louisiana Hayride Museum
Shreveport Water Works Museum
Spirit of the Red River, river cruise boat
Spring Street Historical Museum
Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum, Haughton in Bossier Parish
Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary, Frierson, LA (Shreveport suburb)
Media/press
Further information: Media of Shreveport
KSLA, CBS affiliate, is the oldest television station in Shreveport. Established in the former Washington Youree Hotel in 1954, it was moved to Fairfield Avenue in the early 1970s.
Shreveport is served by a variety of print publications. The major daily newspaper serving the Shreveport-Bossier and Ark-La-Tex area is the Shreveport Times. Its headquarters are located in downtown Shreveport near Interstate 20. A second major paper, the afternoon Shreveport Journal, ceased publication in 1991.
Other smaller non-daily newspapers in the area include The Shreveport Sun, the Caddo Citizen. Bossier City is served by the daily Bossier Press-Tribune. The Barksdale Warrior is the weekly newspaper of record for the Barksdale Air Force Base. In addition alternative publications include, The Forum Newsweekly, City Lights, SB Magazine and "The Shreveport Catalyst".
Twice annually, North Louisiana History, the journal of the North Louisiana Historical Association, is published in Shreveport.
Shreveport and Bossier City are served by two major cable television systems: Shreveport is served by Comcast and Bossier City is served by Suddenlink.
Shreveport is home to several radio stations, particularly KWKH and KEEL, having reputations beyond the city. The three commercial television outlets are KSLA, CBS, founded in 1954; KTBS-TV, ABC, founded in 1955, and KTAL-TV, arrived in Shreveport in September 1961 as the NBC station. KTBS was an NBC station, with occasional ABC programs, from 1955–1961, when it switched affiliation to ABC. KTAL, formerly known as KCMC of Texarkana, was a CBS outlet prior to conversion to NBC, when it began to cover Shreveport as well as Texarkana. Don Owen (1930-2012), a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from 1984–2002, is also a former news anchorman on KSLA.
Military installations
Barksdale Air Force Base is located in Bossier Parish across the river from Shreveport, which donated the land for its construction in the 1920s. Named for pioneer army aviator Lt. Eugene Hoy Barksdale and originally called Barksdale Army Air Field, it opened in 1933 and became Barksdale Air Force Base in 1947. Headquartered here are the Air Force Global Strike Command, 8th Air Force, 2d Bomb Wing, and 307th Wing. The primary plane housed here is the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. In earlier years, the base was the home to other famous planes, including the B-47 Stratojet.
Shreveport is home to the two 108th Cavalry Squadron, the reconnaissance element of the 256th Infantry Brigade. Three of the squadron's four cavalry troops are located at 400 East Stoner Avenue in a historic armory known as "Fort Humbug". This was named due to the Confederate Army burning logs to look like cannons and placing them along the Red River. This caused Union ironclad ships sailing north on the Red River to be tricked into turning back south.[44]
Transportation
Main article: Transportation in Shreveport
Highways and roads
Shreveport's past reflects the need for mass transit and public roads. As far back as the 1870s, residents used mule-drawn street cars that were converted to electric-motorized cars by 1890. Commuter rail systems in Shreveport flourished for many decades, and rail car lines extended out to rural areas. In 1930 trolleys and rail cars began to be replaced by buses, although motor buses did not finally replace all trolley service until the 1960s. In the 1960s, the Interstate Highway System came to the area with the construction of Interstate 20.
The local public transportation provider, SporTran, provides moderately extensive bus service throughout Shreveport and Bossier City. Sportran operates seven days a week on seventeen bus routes (five night routes) from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., with no night service on Sunday.
The highway system has a cross-hair and loop freeway structure similar to that of Texas cities like Houston and Dallas. The loop consists of the Outer Loop Freeway Interstate 220 on the north and the Inner Loop Freeway, Louisiana Highway 3132, on the south, forming approximately an 8-mile-diameter (13 km) semi-loop around downtown. Another loop is formed by the Bert Kouns Industrial Loop (Louisiana Highway 526) and circles further south bisecting Interstate 49. Interstate 49 is currently under construction to extend north to Interstate 30 in Arkansas.
Shreveport lies along the route of the proposed Interstate 69 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) superhighway that will link Canada, the U.S. industrial Midwest, Texas, and Mexico.
Airports
Shreveport is served by two airports. The larger is Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV), established in 1952, and is served by Allegiant Air (to Las Vegas), American Airlines (to Dallas/Ft. Worth), United Airlines (as United Express) (to Houston) and Delta Air Lines (to Atlanta and Memphis). The smaller airport, Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), was built in 1931 and is located north of the Downtown Business District along the Red River. It is currently a general aviation/reliever airport, but was originally Shreveport's commercial airport.
Notable people
For Shreveport's notable sports figures, see separate list in "Sports" above.
Dustin C. Dare (born 1977), local business man and minister.
Dave Alexander a.k.a. "Omar Sharif" (1938–2012), blues musician
Caesar Antoine (1836–1921), one of three African Americans to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana; tenure, 1872 to 1876; state senator from Caddo Parish, and Shreveport businessman
Kevyn Aucoin (1962–2002), make-up artist and photographer
Lonnie O. Aulds (1925–1984), state representative from 1968 to 1972, real estate developer[45]
John N. Bahcall (1934–2005), astrophysicist, best known for contributions to the solar neutrino problem
Robert W. Bates (born 1941), former head of the United States Secret Service in Shreveport; commercial horticultural nurseryman in Forest Hill in Rapides Parish[46]
Reuben Bell (1945–2004), African American soul singer and songwriter for blues artist Bobby "Blue" Bland
Thornton F. Bell (1878-1938), judge of the 1st Judicial District Court, 1912-1919 and 1921-1938
Valerie Bertinelli (born 1960), actress, most famous for role of "Barbara Cooper Royer" on sitcom One Day at a Time; lived in Shreveport as a child
Brian Blade (born 1970), award-winning jazz drummer for Brian Blade and the Fellowship, EmmyLou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Seal
Alexander Boarman (1839–1916), mayor of Shreveport, U.S. representative, federal judge
Al Bolton (1925-2014), meteorologist at KSLA-TV and KRMD radio from 1954 to 2001
Betsy Boze née Betsy Vogel (born 1953) President, The College of The Bahamas
Tim Brando (born 1956), CBS Sports announcer, born in Shreveport and still resides there
Billy Bretherton (born 1968), star of A&E's Billy the Exterminator
Eric John Brock (1966–2011), Shreveport and North Louisiana historian[47]
Clifford Cleveland Brooks (1886-1944), native of Georgia, cotton broker in Shreveport prior to 1918, member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1924 to 1932 from northeast delta parishes[48]
Kix Brooks (Leon Eric Brooks, III, born 1955), country musician, half of duo Brooks & Dunn
Overton Brooks (1897–1961), congressman from Louisiana's 4th congressional district from 1937 to 1961 and namesake of the Shreveport Veterans Affairs Hospital
C.L. Bryant, African-American Baptist minister and conservative radio talk show host over KEEL radio in his native Shreveport
Sherri Smith Cheek Buffington (born 1966), Louisiana state senator from south Caddo and De Soto parishes
Dewey E. Burchett, Jr. (1939-2009), state district court judge for Bossier and Webster parishes, 1988-2008; born in Shreveport[49]
Roy A. Burrell, Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Caddo and Bossier parishes since 2004; former member of the Shreveport City Council[50]
James Burton (born 1939), guitarist; former backup guitarist for Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson
C. E. Byrd (1859–1926), founder of C. E. Byrd High School
Sam Caldwell (1892–1953), mayor of Shreveport, 1934–1946
Harvey Locke Carey (1915-1984), lawyer and politician[51]
Thomas G. Carmody (born 1961), state representative and former member of the Shreveport City Council
Pat Carroll (born 1927), Emmy Award-winning actress and comedian
Joe T. Cawthorn (1911-1967), lawyer, businessman, and politician from Shreveport and Mansfield; represented Caddo Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1940 to 1944
Clem S. Clarke (1897-1967), oilman and Republican politician
Van Cliburn (1934–2013), pianist
Johnnie L. Cochran (1937–2005), criminal defense attorney
Clyde Connell (1901–1998), abstract impressionist sculptor
Peggy Connelly (1931-2007), singer and actress
Charlie Cook (born 1953), author of The Cook Political Report
John William Corrington (1932–1988), novelist, screenwriter, poet, and dramatist
Jeff Cox (born 1965), judge of the Louisiana 26th Judicial District Court; resident of Bossier City, born in Shreveport
Jack Crichton (1916–2007), Texas oil and gas industrialist and 1964 Republican gubernatorial nominee in Texas, reared in Shreveport
Scott Crichton, judge of the Louisiana 1st Judicial District Court in Shreveport since 1991[52]
Monroe E. Dodd (1878–1952), pioneer radio evangelist, pastor of First Baptist Church of Shreveport, 1912–1950, founder of Dodd College for Girls
J. Earl Downs, Shreveport public safety commissioner, 1954 to 1962; later moved to Franklin, North Carolina
James U. Downs, superior court judge in North Carolina, 1983-2013; born 1941 and reared in Shreveport[53]
Tom Drummond (musician), bass player for Better than Ezra
Craig Durrett (1955-2015), journalist with The Shreveport Times and KTBS-TV[54]
John H. Eastman (1861–1938), mayor of Shreveport from 1910 to 1914
William Edenborn (1848–1926), industrialist and inventor from Winn Parish, died in Shreveport and is interred at Forest Park Cemetery
William C. Feazel (1895–1965), influential oilman and politician, U.S. senator (1948)
William J. Fleniken (1908-1979), U.S. attorney and 1st Judicial District Court judge for Caddo Parish[55]
Craig Flournoy (born 1951), journalist and educator; born in Shreveport, formerly with The Shreveport Journal and The Dallas Morning News; journalism professor at the University of Cincinnati[56]
J. Howell Flournoy (1891–1966), sheriff of Caddo Parish from 1940 until his death in office
Homer Flynn, spokesman for the avant garde music and visual arts group The Residents, member of their production company Cryptic Corporation and rumored to be the founding member and lead singer of the group
John A. Franks (1925-2003), oilman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner
Davidson Garrett (born 1952), poet and actor, and New York City yellow taxi cab driver, best known for his book King Lear of the Taxi: Musings of a New York City Actor/Taxi Driver (Advent Purple Press, 2006)
A. B. George (1829-1899), Alabama native, mayor of Minden from 1856 to 1858, state senator, district attorney, and upon relocation to Shreveport, a judge of the appeals court[57]
Alfred Goodwill (1830-1905), English immigrant and tailor in Shreveport in 1850s; established largest general store in Louisiana in Minden in 1880s[58]
James M. Goslin (1915-2001), sheriff of Caddo Parish from 1966 to 1976
Hunter Greene (born 1966), Republican former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from East Baton Rouge Parish and current family court judge in Baton Rouge, born in Shreveport
Bob Griffin (born 1934), journalist and sportscaster at KSLA; later with KTBS-TV and KEEL (AM); moved to Shreveport in 1961
Pike Hall, Jr. (1931-1999), school board member, state appeal court judge, and associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1990 to 1994, Shreveport lawyer[59]
William Pike Hall, Sr. (1896-1945), state senator from 1924 to 1932; Shreveport attorney[60]
George W. Hardy, Jr. (1900-1967, mayor of Shreveport from 1932 to 1934; and judge of the Louisiana circuit court of appeal from 1943 to 1967[61]
John Spencer Hardy (1913–2012), Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force; chief of operations for the United States Army Air Corps in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II[62]
Don Hathaway (born 1928), sheriff of Caddo Parish, 1980-2000; last Shreveport public works commissioner, 1970-1978
Augustus F. Hawkins (1907–2007), congressman (1963–1991)
George E. Hearn (1926–2010), psychologist at Louisiana College, reared in Shreveport
William Kennon Henderson, Jr. (1880–1945), founder of radio station KWKH[63]
Edgar Hull (1904–1984), co-founder of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport; resided in Shreveport in 1928 and from 1966-1973.[64]
Hubert D. Humphreys (1923–2009), Louisiana historian and author
John Brennan Hussey (born 1934), mayor of Shreveport, 1982-1990[65]
George W. Jack (1875–1924), federal judge
Wellborn Jack (1907–1991), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1940 to 1964; Shreveport attorney
Whitfield Jack (1906-1989), Shreveport attorney; United States Army colonel in World War II, and United States Army Reserve major general, brother of Wellborn Jack[66]
Alphonse J. Jackson (1927-2014), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 1992; Shreveport educator; spent later years in Baton Rouge
Tom Jarriel (born 1934), television reporter and investigative correspondent, winner of multiple Emmy Awards
Mike Johnson, Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Bossier Parish; constitutional attorney in Benton; reared in Shreveport[67]
Don E. Jones, mayor of Bossier City from 1984 to 1989, businessman, born in Shreveport in 1949[68]
Willie Jones, singer and The X Factor contestant in 2012
William Joyce (born 1957), author and illustrator of children's books; screenwriter
Claude King (1923–2013), country music singer and songwriter known for "Wolverton Mountain"
Harold R. "Hal" King (1945–2010), suspense novelist
Horace Ladymon (born 1929), Shreveport businessman
Malcolm Lafargue (1908-1963), U.S. attorney in Shreveport; defeated U.S. Senate candidate in 1950
Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter) (1885–1949), blues guitarist/singer
Alexander McIntyre Leary, mayor of Minden from 1903 to 1905; later businessman and director of the Home Owners Loan Corporation in Shreveport[69]
Walter C. Lee (born 1934) former Caddo Parish school superintendent; former elected member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
W. Burch Lee (1883-1938), state representative for Webster Parish, 1914-1916; clerk of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Shreveport, 1918-1933; born in Farmerville in Union Parish[70]
Jim Leslie (1937-1976), journalist turned advertising executive, assassinated in Baton Rouge; speculation focused on George W. D'Artois as the man behind the crime.[71]
Jared Leto (born 1971), actor, lead singer/rhythm guitarist of Thirty Seconds to Mars
Joshua Logan (1908–1988), Broadway director of South Pacific and Mister Roberts, reared in Shreveport
Walter M. Lowrey (1921–1980), historian
William Hawthorn Lynch (1929–2004), journalist and first Louisiana inspector general; formerly with The Shreveport Times
Charlton Lyons (1894–1973), oilman and politician
Hall Lyons (1923-1998), oilman and politician
Judi Ann Mason (1955–2009), television writer, producer and playwright
Mary Miles Minter (1902–1984), silent film star and a central figure in the scandal surrounding the 1922 murder of pioneer movie star William Desmond Taylor
Jim Mitchell (1946-2015), a native of Shreveport, served as judge of the Louisiana 30th Judicial District Court in Leesville from 2009 until his death.[72]
H. Lane Mitchell (1895-1978), Shreveport public works commissioner from 1934 to 1968
Robert Mizzell (born 1971), award-winning country singer-songwriter
Edward F. Neild (1884-1955), architect of Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum and many public buildings in Shreveport and Louisiana
Barbara Norton (born 1946), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 3 in Caddo Parish since 2008[73]
Henry Warren Ogden (1842–1905), member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 4th congressional district and Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Oliver (William Oliver Swofford, 1945–2000), singer, songwriter, and musician
W. Darrell Overdyke (1907–1973), historian at Centenary College
Don Owen (1930–2012), news anchor at KSLA-TV from 1954 to 1984 and member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from 1985 to 2002[74]
Frank Page, radio broadcaster at KWKH in Shreveport, who introduced Elvis Presley to the country music show known as the Louisiana Hayride; worked at KWKH for a time alongside singer/songwriter Nat Stuckey and singer Jim Reeves; born Raymond Franklin Page in Malvern, Arkansas[75][76]
Mitchell Parish (1900–1993), lyricist for "Stardust", "Sleigh Ride", and "Stars Fell on Alabama"
Charles B. Peatross (1940-2015), judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport[77]
Mike Powell (born 1961), former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Caddo and Bossier parishes and former member of the Caddo Parish School Board; Shreveport attorney[78]
Steve Prator (born 1951), sheriff of Caddo Parish since July 1, 2000
Keith M. Pyburn (1910-1967) - state representative for Caddo Parish 1948-1952; attorney in Shreveport and later Washington, D.C.[79]
Barrow Peacock (born 1970), Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate for Caddo and Bossier parishes
Andrew Querbes (1864–1939), mayor of Shreveport from 1902 to 1906; banker and police juror
Joseph A. Redding (1894–1984), United States Army major general who commanded the Louisiana National Guard's 39th Infantry Division in the 1950s
Gene Reynolds (born 1950), state representative from Webster and Bossier parishes; native of Shreveport
Larkin T. Riser (born 1949), sheriff of Webster Parish from 1996 to 2004; lived in Shreveport in early years
Robert Roberts, Jr., Union Parish native, mayor of Farmerville c. 1900, mayor of Minden 1905-1906, state representative for Webster Parish 1908-1914, and judge of the 26th Judicial District, attorney in Shreveport after 1925[80]
William Armsted Robinson, co-founder of DHL Express
Buddy Roemer (born 1943), former governor of Louisiana and U.S. representative
Brittney Rogers (born 1982), Miss Louisiana USA 2003
Angelo Roppolo (1920–2012), political consultant
Tommy Sands (born 1937), singer born in Chicago, resided in Shreveport during his childhood
John Thomas Scopes (1900–1970), defendant in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial
Charles R. Scott, state court judge in Shreveport from 1982 to 2007 and the Caddo Parish district attorney from 2009 until his death in office on April 22, 2015.[81]
Alan Seabaugh (born 1967), attorney and state representative
Aaron Selber, Jr. (1927–2013), businessman and philanthropist
George W. Shannon (1914-1998), editor of Shreveport Journal, 1953-1971
V. C. Shannon (1910–1989), state representative from 1972 to 1979
Virginia Shehee (1923-2015), businesswoman, civic figure, and state senator from 1976 to 1980
Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born 1977), blues guitarist
Jimmy G. Shoalmire (1940–1982), historian
Phil Short (born 1947), former state senator for St. Tammany Parish; reared in Shreveport; resident of Virginia
LeRoy Smallenberger (1912-2002), lawyer, judge, and Republican state chairman from 1960 to 1964
Andy Sidaris (1931–2007), Hollywood film producer, director, actor, and screenwriter
C. O. Simpkins, Jr. (born 1947), music historian, biographer, and physician
John Bernard Slattery, (1844-1927), District Attorney (1876), U.S, Commissioner, businessman and large land owner in Caddo Parish, Built the Slattery House on Fairfield in 1903 which is on the National Register of Historic Places (designed by local architect N. S. Allen), built the Slattery Building (1924)
George Luke Smith (1837–1884), congressman, businessman
Jasper K. Smith (1905-1992), member of Louisiana House of Representatives from Caddo Parish, 1944 to 1948 and 1952 to 1964; city attorney of Vivian, born in Shreveport
Frank Spooner (born 1937), oil and natural gas producer, lived in Shreveport from 1960 to 1967, when he moved to Monroe; ran for Congress in 1976 against Jerry Huckaby[82]N.
Tom Stagg (1923-2015), judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Keith Stegall (1955), hit songwriter, performer, Grammy winner, grew up and performed in Shreveport-Bossier
Jesse N. Stone (1924–2001), president of Southern University System, 1974–1985; civil rights activist
Elliott Stonecipher (born 1951), political analyst, consultant, and pollster
Jimmy Strain (1926-1973), physician, developer, and state representative from Caddo Parish from 1968 to 1972
Harold Terry (born 1925), sheriff of Caddo Parish, 1976 to 1980
Jesse Thomas (1911–1995), blues guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist
Lee Emmett Thomas (1866–1935), mayor of Shreveport 1922–1930; Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives 1912–1916
Stanley R. Tiner (born 1942), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
Tommy Tomlinson (1930-1982), Louisiana Hayride guitarist with Johnny Horton and other rockabilly musicians
Charles Emery Tooke, Jr. (1912-1986), state senator from Caddo and DeSoto parishes 1948-1956, Shreveport lawyer
Jeffrey P. Victory (born 1946), justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court since 1995
Lauren Vizza (born 1991), served as Miss Louisiana 2012
Cole Vosbury (born 1991), singer
Dayton Waller (1925-2015), businessman and former state representative.[83]
W. Scott Wilkinson (1895–1985), attorney and former state representative
Hank Williams, Jr. (born 1949), country music singer born in Shreveport but resides in Tennessee
Patrick C. Williams (born 1963), African-American Democratic state representative for Caddo Parish since 2007
Rush Wimberly (1873–1943), member of both houses of the Louisiana Legislature from Arcadia; relocated to Shreveport in 1913 to practice law[84]
Jesse Winchester (born 1944), musician, songwriter
Mississippi Winn (1897–2011), a supercentenarian and the last living child of ex-slaves
Wayne Winterrowd (1941–2010), horticulturist and author known for his lush gardens in southern Vermont[85]
Faron Young (1932–1996), country musician and songwriter
Peter Youree (1843–1914), Shreveport businessman; built city's first skyscraper
Mark Zeltser (born 1947), award-winning pianist
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, John D. Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack, and Tom Hall worked together at Softdisk, a computer company located in Shreveport. While working at Softdisk, these programmers developed technology which eventually led to the creation of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. They later left Softdisk to form id Software in order to produce these games.
See also
Portal icon Louisiana portal
Houston E. & W. T. Ry. Co. v. United States, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court commerce clause ruling commonly known as "The Shreveport Rate Cases"
List of people from Shreveport, Louisiana
References
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"W. Burch Lee Funeral Here in Afternoon: Former Clerk of Federal Court Expires After Week of Illness". The Shreveport Times through findagrave.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
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External links
City of Shreveport official website
National Weather Service Shreveport office
Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau
Shreveport/Bossier webpage
The Times newspaper
www.Shreveport.com
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
