INTRODUCTION

Minden, Louisiana, was founded in 1835 by Charles Veeder, a German American entrepreneur. In the more than 180 years since that time, the town has experienced times of triumph and tragedy like most communities in our country. Each of these events in some way changed the landscape, personality, and character of the town. While progress has been fairly stable in Minden, progress always implies change. In those changes, things are invariably lost. The title of this book, Lost Minden, reflects those things—both physical structures and individuals—that have been lost during those years of growth but have also shaped the community and are still remembered today.

When the original plat for Minden was designed, it was in the form of a parallelogram, and the town developed with the two long sides of that shape becoming two parallel streets with a middle ground in between. Those two streets have borne different names over the years. Today, the northern street is Main Street, and the southern street is Broadway, but for most of our history, locals knew them as “Front Street” to the north and “Back Street” to the south. The middle ground between those two streets was broken into two large portions. The eastern portion was home to businesses, while the western section was originally common green space. After Minden became a parish seat with the creation of Webster Parish in 1871, the green space was converted to public use. Eventually, three different Webster Parish courthouses would be built in that green space, along with a large section where, at the start, horses and buggies were hitched. Beyond that lot, a large Civic Park was created in the early 20th century. Today, the hitching lot is a parking lot, and the third Webster Parish Courthouse sits on what was the park. Many memories of good times in the old park remain, of those who experienced it before it was replaced in the early 1950s.

The eastern end of the middle ground with the businesses is a unique aspect of Minden life, particularly during the years of Jim Crow. Under segregation, white residents almost exclusively shopped the stores on the north side of Front Street. While there were black businesses in the largely black sections of Minden, the stores on Back Street became the black business district. The stores in the middle ground with front doors on Front Street and back doors on Back Street accepted customers both white and black, each using the “appropriate” door. For a terrible period, any black person seen on Front Street without apparent justification risked arrest or, at the very least, harassment. From the 1890s to the 1960s, these two communities were a living embodiment of “separate but equal” with all that entailed—the mores of segregation extended into the economic life of the community. The images in chapter 1 largely focus on the business structures along the parallelogram, thus the title “The Parallelogram and Beyond.”

Minden has always been a city of churches and an active community, with its citizens being enthusiastic participants in civic events. In the early years, downtown was dotted with the churches of several denominations, and even today, at least five churches remain active in the downtown area. Beyond the spiritual implications of these congregations, the unique architecture of the churches left lasting memories. In terms of community cohesion, the populace embraces causes for the public good. For example, Minden gives more per capita to St. Jude’s Research Hospital than any community in the United States; its annual February telethon produces more than $1,000,000 in donations. The St. Jude’s project is only the most modern expression of the community spirit present in our town. A major part of this community spirit has been driven by religion. In fact, an editorial writer in 1901 stated that, in Minden, “the shadows of a spire are athwart the hearthstones of each home.” Community-sponsored athletics, entertainment, and celebrations were the norm in Minden and left indelible marks on the heritage of the town. So, the images that focus on that religious and community spirit give chapter 2 the title “Shadows of Spires athwart the Hearthstones.”

Although Minden was not formally incorporated until 1854, the community made its first foray into local government years earlier, and that attempt focused on a very specific role of government. In 1838, three years after Minden was founded, Mindenites attempted to stimulate public education in the town. Minden residents, led by Charles Veeder, persuaded the Louisiana legislature to grant the town $1,500 for the purpose of “erecting a building for academic purposes.” They created the Minden Academy, one of the first public schools in the state of Louisiana, and cemented the marriage between government and education that has always been prevalent in Minden. When a change in the Louisiana constitution forced the school to alter its policy of providing free tuition to needy students, a private male academy and female college emerged in 1850 to replace the original academy. In the first quarter of the 20th century, E.S. Richardson was hired as superintendent of Webster Parish Schools. Under his leadership, the school system was modernized and become a model copied across the nation. Within a period of 15 years, Minden, after having never built a public school since the 1830s, erected two modern brick facilities with public funding. Minden’s founder had intended the town to be a parish seat, and while it was never achieved while he lived in Minden, the creation of Webster Parish in 1871 made Minden the seat of government for the parish. This status entailed the construction of government buildings over time. Because of this close relationship between education and its government sponsor, the chapter on education and government, chapter 3, is titled “Erecting a Building for Academic Purposes.”

I hope this book helps keep the readers’ “lost” memories of Minden alive.