Difference between revisions of "Shreveport"
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*[[Dallas Greene]], fire chief, 1965-1989 | *[[Dallas Greene]], fire chief, 1965-1989 | ||
*[[Tim Greening]], journalist | *[[Tim Greening]], journalist | ||
| + | *[[James Henderson]], president of the University of Louisiana System, former presideny of Northwestern State University, and Shreveport native | ||
*[[Sarah Hudson-Pierce]], journalist and publisher | *[[Sarah Hudson-Pierce]], journalist and publisher | ||
*[[Joseph B. Johnson]], educator who was president of Grambling State University from 1977 to 1991; began his teaching career in Shreveport | *[[Joseph B. Johnson]], educator who was president of Grambling State University from 1977 to 1991; began his teaching career in Shreveport | ||
Revision as of 23:06, February 18, 2018
Shreveport is the third largest city in the state of Louisiana. The metropolitan city had a population of 392,302 in 2000.[1] Shreveport is located in the north west corner of the state where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. The city is named after Capt. Henry Miller Shreve, a river boat captain credited with clearing a major logjam from the Red River in the 1830s, allowing trade to flourish in the region. Barksdale Air Force Base, headquarters of the 8th Air Force, is located across the Red River in Bossier City. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II are the primary aircraft at the base, which opened in 1933. Shreveport was also a major oil business center and Standard Oil of Louisiana was based in the city until it was absorbed into Standard Oil (Esso) of New Jersey. Shreveport is the home of Louisiana State University in Shreveport (LSUS), Centenary College, Southern University at Shreveport, and Louisiana Baptist University.
History
Shreveport weathered the Great Depression better than most towns. The city's civic improvement projects, begun in the 1920s and completed by 1930, helped to sustain the optimistic view that prosperous times awaited. Transportation and educational improvements, supported by federal dollars, continued even in hard times. The Chamber of Commerce waged a publicity campaign to boost retail sales and project optimism. The Chamber also established a farmer's market and lobbied for state road funds. Construction at Barksdale Field, at the time the largest airfield in the world, began in 1931. Barksdale provided jobs and injected cash into the local economy.[2]
Shreveport sports
In the 1990s, Shreveport had a professional football team, the Shreveport Pirates, from the Canadian Football League. The Pirates, like all of the American CFL teams, had folded by 1996. Shreveport was a potential city to temporarily house the NFL's New Orleans Saints after Hurricane Katrina, but they instead played at San Antonio and at LSU Stadium in Baton Rouge. The Saints would play the Dallas Cowboys in Shrveport during the 2006 NFL preseason.
Notable people
- John Richard Ballard, judge
- Jack Barham, photographer for The Shreveport Times
- Eric Brock, historian
- Tommy Brown, cardiologist
- Richard Burford, dairy farmer and former state representative from Stonewall in south Caddo Parish
- Jerry Byrd, sportswriter
- Lane Crockett, former entertainment editor and nationally syndicated columnist for The Shreveport Times
- J. Earl Downs, former Shreveport public safety commissioner
- Wayne DuBose, Southern Baptist clergyman
- Forrest Dunn, businessman and state representative from 1972 to 1984
- Craig Durrett, journalist
- Rick Edmonds, state representative from Baton Rouge; native Shreveporter and former resident
- Herman Farr, civil rights activist
- Jerry Gaw, historian; resided in Shreveport, 1978-1983
- Alexander Banks George, state senator, mayor of Minden, and circuit court judge based in Shreveport in mid-19th century
- B. H. Gilley, historian
- Dallas Greene, fire chief, 1965-1989
- Tim Greening, journalist
- James Henderson, president of the University of Louisiana System, former presideny of Northwestern State University, and Shreveport native
- Sarah Hudson-Pierce, journalist and publisher
- Joseph B. Johnson, educator who was president of Grambling State University from 1977 to 1991; began his teaching career in Shreveport
- J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., former U.S. senator
- Horace Ladymon, former president of defunct Beall-Ladymon Corporation, now Stage Stores, Inc.
- A. M. Leary, businessman and politician
- Russell Long, former U.S. senator
- Charlton Lyons, businessman and gubernatorial candidate
- Susybelle Lyons, Shreveport socialite
- Vincent Marsala, chancellor of LSU in Shreveport, 1995 to 2012
- Fred C. McClanahan, businessman and Republican politician
- Reuben McKellar, Texas-born planter who served as Shreveport mayor from 1896 to 1900
- C. Wade Meade, historian
- Elmo Norton, businessman and political activist
- Don Owen, newscaster and public service commissioner
- Rogers M. Prestridge, former municipal judge in Bossier City; later attorney in Shreveport
- Gene Reynolds, state representative for Webster Parish; Shreveport native
- H. J. Sachs, English professor at Louisiana Tech University; retired to Shreveport
- Charles Scott, former district attorney
- B. L. "Buddy" Shaw, educator and member of both houses of the Louisiana state legislature
- Shreveport Journal, defunct afternoon newspaper
- Ansel Stroud, former adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard
- Harold Terry, former sheriff and marksman
- Jeffrey P. Victory, retired state Supreme Court justice
- Randall Webb, former president of Northwestern State University
- Earl Williamson, former mayor of Vivian and long-term member of the Caddo Parish Police Jury
- Jerry Wray, watercolor artist