DERIDDER, LA - History in West Louisiana
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- Louisiana is filled with incredible history from bayous and aristocrats to saloons and outlaws. Deridder is a shining example of this state's storied past. Stop by if you're going through, baby! #louisiana #roadtrip #deridder #history #louisianahistory
Host: Kyle Crosby
Camera/Editor: Daniel Sheridan
We are in Deridder in, what I like to call, the Wild West portion of Louisiana. Situated near the Texas border, Deridder was a part of the notorious No Man’s Land, and has its fair share of saloon and outlaw stories you’d associate more with cowboys than typical Louisiana culture. Just goes to show that this state has it all. The early settlers were the Attakapas tribe, whose region stretched from the San Jacinto River to Vermillion Bay and Bayou Teche.
The Kansas City railroad passed right through this area in 1896 on its way from Kansas City to Port Arthur. The post-office was named Miersburg because the postmaster’s last name was Miers. The railroad workers had used this spot for a camping place for the workmen and anyone wanting to get near the railroad, so land was bought for the town site. Pretty soon, wood homes were built up and a depot was established.
A man named Jan de Goeijen would bring the first railroad to the area and named the town DeRidder after his sister-in-law, Ella de Ridder. Ella was from a small Dutch town called Geldermalsen but at an early age she ran away from home and was presumed dead by her family. They later discovered that shockingly, she had traveled to Louisiana and met her future husband, who’s brother named a town after her. Must’ve been one hell of a lady.
By that time, DeRidder had a sawmill and timber was the prime industry of the area. The longleaf pine was the primary tree used in the industry, and it’s an old legend that the largest pine in the world grew where Deridder stands now. Obviously, if this were true, the tree wouldn’t last much longer and was cut down, but in 1903, DeRidder was finally incorporated as a town.
As is a common theme in Louisiana history, in April 1904, an event would alter Deridder considerably in the form of ash and flame. A large portion of the business section of DeRidder was destroyed by fire that was apparently caused by an arsonist. A grand jury collected enough evidence for this to indict a gambler named George Smith, who had reportedly already left town. Had this arsonist been arrested, he would’ve been locked up in some uninteresting and bland jail for the rest of his miserable life. However, anyone arrested in Deridder only 10 years later in 1914 would be placed in one of the most unique looking jails in the country.
The building known as the "Old Beauregard Parish Jail" was built in 1914 and has the characteristics of the collegiate Gothic Revival architectural style, with shallow arches, dormer windows, and a central tower. This style was popular with colleges, universities, and churches around the time. The iron bars in most of the windows give the structure an eerie and almost haunting appearance. Inside, there's a spiral staircase that leads up to three floors of jail cells. Another wild fact is that each of the 9 cells had a toilet, shower, lavatory and window, which seemed like Buckingham Palace compared to other jails and even most homes didn’t have indoor plumbing. But don’t let the aesthetic deceive you. Conditions were cramped with about a dozen inmates per cell sharing these amenities and hard steel bunks for sleeping. To add a little more ominous flavoring, a long dark tunnel connected the jail to the courthouse so there was no interaction between inmates and the public.
It was built to house 50ish prisoners with 13-21 inch thick walls made of reinforced concrete with a blasted finish and it feels like not even Godzilla could break out of here. However, it wouldn’t be Louisiana Dread without a little paranormal activity.
On August 28, 1926, two men named Joe Genna and Molton Brasseaux hired Joe Brevelle, a taxi driver, to bring them from DeRidder to the small town of Tullos. Once out of Deridder, the duo stole $14 from Brevelle, killed him, dumped his body in the old Pickering Mill pond in Vernon Parish, and stole his car. If Brevelle’s body wasn’t found by boys fishing in the pond, the two men might have gotten away with their crimes. The body and taxi records led to their arrest and convictions. They were hanged in the Beauregard Parish Jail on March 9, 1928.
It was the only hanging to occur in the DeRidder prison, but the gothic building would be forever known as the “Hanging Jail” because of this. These two men are still wandering around the jail that is now their forever home as people reported noises and wailing coming from inside the cells with no one around, as well as footsteps walking behind you. Even more creepy, tourists to the jail can even see a noose eerily hanging from the 3rd floor where the hanging took place.
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Thanks 👍. I'll definitely check this out next time I go to DeRidder.
It’s such a cool and unique building!
Hello from the twin cities Shreveport/Bossier! Thank you for your wonderful videos.
Glad you like them! I’ll be back there soon to do a ton more!
😂 Shreveport in the building hello neighbor and it's hard to find some good stories of our town
Keep making these. Thank you.
Will do!
Now you stomping around in my neck of the woods. Everything is spot on with what you just told , you got some serious research done right there my friend . You already tried steamboat Bills and there’s a another little spot called Cecil’s right there. Foods pretty decent as well as over towards Dequincy to try your gumbo review. A little place called the Coconut Lounge I hit the last time I was in town couple weeks ago. Love the videos man, Keep up the great work!
Thank you for the kind words my friend!
Very interesting video. I love that your expanding to other parts of our great state! Keep ‘em’ coming!
I intend to tell the whole history of this glorious state! From top to bottom, left to right.
I love this! I love old history and ghost stories!
Well you’ve come to the right RUclips channel 😂💀
At the beginning of the video there is a restaurant called Cecil's right behind the narrator. Cecil taught me about frying chicken at my very first job, MasterChef. Eventually those MasterChef stores were closed down and he opened steakhouses. Which is what you see behind the announcer.
MasterChef was also the first restaurant in Leesville to open an all u can eat buffet.
Oh wow that’s so cool! Thank you for sharing!
@@LouisianaDread How did you know Cecil Doyle or about MasterChef if you don't mind me asking?
Funny, I grew up here 😂😂 still have family there. The jail is also 2 doors down from a large church. It is a very out of place building for the rest of the community. They used to have haunted houses there, not sure if they still do. It’s pretty scary and I remember hitting my leg on one of the solid concrete beds. Big ouch! Nice job!!
Thank you for the compliment. It was fun to film out there and it’s definitely a super eerie vibe going on.
They still have the haunted house here in DeRidder every year, my son works in the haunted house every year as a Jason type killer.
I live here currently they still dothe haunted house and the church down the street was left abandoned a while back and is set for to be demolished this summer
@@danielledoyle5670 are you related to coach Doyle or David Doyle? I used to work for them when I lived in Leesville. I only ask because of the last name.
@@NonyafriggnBuisness I don't actually know, the Doyle's I'm in are from out past Pitkin at tenmile but I might be related to one of them but as far as I now were the only Doyle's from ten mile that live in deridder
I go there every year. Many Ghost hunts at the Gothic Jail and touring the doll museum across the street. Thanks for the history lesson. New sub here.
I’m happy you enjoy my content!
@@LouisianaDread Very Welcome, have a great weekend.
Just subscribed..love scary history and ole houses from Victorition Era..hey from South Carolina
Hey South Carolina! I’m happy you enjoy the content!
Another great story by a great storyteller. Love it, Kyle.❤️🇺🇸🍻
Glad you enjoyed it!
I just found your channel and Im subscribing. Love Louisiana history even though I don't live there
Thanks for subbing! We have new content every Monday!
Years ago, a family friend told me when he dated the keepers daughter that weird things happened in there all the time. I can remember passing there as a kid & seeing the prisoners' arms hanging out the windows.
That’s wild!!
Great content! Thank you.
I’m happy you enjoy my friend!
Thanks for the information, keep up the good work !!!
Thank you for the compliment, my friend! I’m happy you’re apart of the Louisiana Dread community!
So interesting as usual thank you Kyle❤🇺🇸🍻🥰
My pleasure my friend!
Louisianimal over here😝 I love learning things , just found ya and subbed.
Welcome! I hope you enjoy the channel because much more content is coming REAL soon!
I was a paranormal investigator for a few years. 2 places stand out most. American Cemetery in Natchitoches was one with so many findings. The other was Houmas House in Darrow. Houmas is what made me decide to stop. Kevin was always extremely kind and welcoming. We were called to go out there twice. First time we didn’t find anything. The second time is when I knew I was done.
One I attempted to go to but was turned away is the old nunnery in Covington. I believe it’s the old SSA or something similar. I was relieved when we were turned away.
I’d love to hear more about what you found at Houmas House!
@@LouisianaDread The only evidence I had caught was what sounded like a child humming a song on the veranda. It was something that me and 3 other investigators experienced, but there is no video or audio to back it up. It was 1 specific room that no one felt comfortable in. You always go in pairs, but because of the intense feel, we didn’t feel safe and went in with 4. When you go “lights out”, it heightens your senses. We all were silent (planned. The less senses used the more heightened other senses are). So no visibility or hearing, you can feel the energy surrounding you. As we were sitting, it was as though something evil was next to you. Then it felt like it doubled, then doubled again and again. At the same moment, every single one of us jolted out the room. It was this extreme feeling of evil growing. 2 investigators were very experienced (20+ years) and decided they were also done. When we got to the station where our equipment was set up, we questioned why everyone ran when they did. One investigator had “psychic” abilities, he claimed he seen demons coming in and going in circles around us, it was when they got very close that we all ran. I can’t say I believe in psychic/mediums, but it matched what every one of us felt.
Before the investigation, they were hosting a wedding. We were in the gift shop and noticed a new person working. She told us she was there for another reason than simply selling at a gift shop, she told us Kevin purchased a new item in his collection of antiques, if we were good at what we do, we would figure it out. We always take photos during the day to compare them with photos from the actual investigation so we could see if something can cause a reflection or why a shadow is shaped a certain way. One investigator had the photos of the first time we investigated and she compared them to our day photos. There was an old clay looking mask of some sort that was not there the first time. We questioned her about it and she confirmed that was why she works there. Marie LaVeau was her great (x?) aunt, she also practiced what LaVeau was known for. I’ve always been told if you don’t practice it, you are not allowed to speak on it, so I’m leaving the word out, as a form of respect.Apparently this mask is used to trap spirits. She said she follows the mask to ensure no other “person” lets them out.
I can’t say this woman is indeed what she claimed, it could have been a new employee making up crazy stories. I’d have to contact Kevin to confirm. I have no idea if it’s related to our experience that night. I was completely done with paranormal after that. I analyzed my recordings only because of the respect I have for Kevin and being privileged enough to be invited into such a prestigious place with so much history. We investigated so many plantations and Houmas is by far the most impressive. It was also the only one that we left with experiences and evidence. But, spirits don’t work on our terms.
I spent a night in that jail in the 80's. Scariest night of my life, I will never set foot in the jail again. 👻
That’s incredibly wild!!
Great video 👍👍😁✌️
Thank you, my friend!
Cool history. Louisiana has some of America's earliest history.❤
And most interesting! Thank you for the support, my friend!
South Louisiana was England's dumping ground for their convicted murders and their mentally insane. They mated with the local natives.
Born and raised here my whole life ...as kids we broke into the jail to see the hanging tower
That sounds like a fun and thrilling childhood
@LouisianaDread lol we did to see if we could find ghosts lol
@Chel-mt6lp a small country town does yearly fairs tons of farmers markets lovely homes to buy ..it definitely has zero Starbucks lol
The wild wild west
You right about that!
This is where I live
It’s a great place to grow up I’m sure!
I worked at a radio station in DeRidder for a month.That was all I could take,the townspeople were unfriendly and the people who owned the station were arrogant and obnoxious.
Oh wow that’s an awful experience! I’m sorry you had to go thru that. How were they unfriendly?
@@LouisianaDread I would try to speak to locals,they would act insulted.
Too close to Ft Polk..That’s where I met Drill Sgt Ware….Im not going near that place🥸
😂😂
In golden acres
Greeeeeen acres is the place to be!
Now days the judge can run people over while drunk and nothing happens to her
Did that happen?? Sounds like a wild story.
She is still on the bench
Sat on the bench with an angle bracket on
Sat on the bench with an angle bracket on