Although most of early transportation in North Louisiana was by water there were some well used trails at an early date. “The Old Natchitoches Road” was one that ran from Lake Providence to Natchitoches. The geographer William Darby published what many believe to be the first known trails on it. He described the trail, later known as the “Old Natchitoches Road,” when he spoke of an Indian trail at Grand Encore, located north of Natchitoches, on the new bed of the Red River as being: ...joined by another which was known as the Ouachita trail, and which led directly to the Licks, and thence through the hills, directly northeast to a Choctaw Village on the banks of Bayou Cheniere au Tondre, and thence to cross the Ouachita at the site of Monroe and to continue on up the Ouachita and into southeast Arkansas and to the Mississippi.
This trail was used extensively by the Indians to transport salt from Louisiana salt works to the many Indian villages along the route. It was also a part of Sieur de Bienville’s route to Natchitoches by way of Chatham in 1700 on his trip from Lake Providence to Natchitoches.
Following Bienville’s exploration, white men began to drift into Ouachita River Valley country or what was to become known as the “Ouachita District,” which would comprise most of northeastern Louisiana. Ouachita Parish, created, March 31, 1807, named for the Ouachita Indians, was one of the original twelve counties in 1805 and comprised basically the same area in northeastern Louisiana as did the “Ouachita District.” Most of the early arrivals to this area were hunters and trappers, or traders engaging in bartering with the Indians. Nobody was interested in settlement and the pursuit of agriculture, though there is a record that a Frenchman, Jean Bon, engaged in Indian trade and also acquired a large tract of land at Point Pleasant on Bayou Bartholemew. Others came but there was no serious attempt to colonize until the coming of Don Juan Filhiol in 1785. Filhiol was a Frenchman commissioned by Don Estevan Miro, Spanish military governor of Louisiana Province from 1785-1791. Don Juan Filhiol established the settlement known as the “Post of Ouachita,” which later became the city of Monroe.
There was no agricultural settlement in the area until a John Stow arrived in 1802 with a land grant obtained from the government of Spain. The grant lay eight miles east of Vienna in present day Lincoln Parish. Legend related that Stow and his wife Dorcas lived under three flags before his first crop was harvested. This occurred when Louisiana was ceded from Spain to France and then sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. He had first settled along the Ouachita River but was “flooded out” and decided to move to higher ground in the “piney hills” in the early nineteenth century. When Stow settled on his “piney hills” grant the land was literally uncharted. After the land was surveyed in 1813 and 1821 it was charted as Township 19, North, Range 2 West.
When Jackson Parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Union, Ouachita, and Claiborne Parishes, John Stow’s land was split by the newly created boundary between Union and Jackson parishes. A land of conveyance of 1853 shows John Stow to be a “resident of Jackson Parish.” John Stow lived the remainder of his life in the same place being a resident, successively of Ouachita Territory, Ouachita Parish, Union Parish, and Jackson Parish without ever having moved. He died July 28, 1861 at the age of 81 years.
Today the name Stow is often found with the “e” added but early records show Stow as the correct spelling. Stowe Creek, which flows through John Stow’s earlier plantation is spelled with a final “e”.
There was little development in North Louisiana until 1812 when migration began to slowly move toward the area. The settlements of Natchitoches and Monroe belong to the early French and middle Spanish periods but their importance was limited to use as military posts and centers for Indian trade until immigrants from the southeast began to move in and establish cotton as an agricultural base. One group in particular came in considerable number. The Scotch-Irish, most of whom had come to America in the years immediately preceding the American Revolution, were forced to settle along the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. Earlier settlers had taken most of the land along the eastern coast. The Scotch-Irish were hard-working and thrifty people and as land opened up in the “new west,” many found Louisiana, with its rolling piney hills an acceptable climate, a most desirable place to live and build a new life from themselves.
Location sites were often selected by advance scouts. Then large groups who were often related or who were good friends in the old community would travel together to their new found home sites. Many of the early communities in the area of the present town of Chatham were formed in this manner. Also, a very high percentage of the early arrivals to the area were from Georgia. One such group that was of great importance to the early settlement and subsequent founding of Chatham was known as “The Second Wagon Train.” No information is available on a first wagon train, but considerable evidence exists on the second. On November 10, 1857, families composed of the Hearnes, Shells, Jordans, and Carrolls combined and loaded into ox wagons before setting forth on a forty-five day journey that would take them to Jackson Parish, Louisiana in time for Christmas Eve, 1852. The Hearnes had been here two years earlier staying long enough to plant a cotton crop near what is now Brooklyn Church, located about eight miles east of Chatham. The worms ate the cotton and a sickness claimed the life of one woman, Mrs. John Wesley Carroll. The Hearnes returned to Georgia but in 1857 they finished a crop there and longed once more to return to Jackson Parish. Gathering some friends, the Hearnes decided to try again to settle the pine country of North Louisiana. This time the group had grown to approximately 40 people, including three slaves. A better time of the year could have been selected for the difficult trip since the streams were often swollen by the winter rains, making crossing treacherous. In some cases the wagon train waited for hours while the wagons were floated across. Joshua Shell kept a diary that records most of the events along the way, including a log that recorded the miles traveled each day.
There has been considerable difference of opinion among the local population of Chatham as to just when the names Avard and Chathamville were in use. Some people have said that all of the town was first called Avard and that later, Avard was changed to Chathamville, and in 1908 the “ville” was deleted leaving the name Chatham. Others say the names of Avard and Chathamville were in use simultaneously: Avard west of the tracks and Chathamville to the east. There is substantial evidence that indicates the latter argument is correct; however, further evidence indicates the name Avard existed only because of its selection as the name for the new post office. Within a year after Avard Post Office was established in 1905, the people of the community were referring to the community as Chathamville.
The official minutes of the Masonic Lodge for the period record that as early as February 2, 1906, a petition was circulated among their membership of Dally Lodge for “the removal of Dally Lodge to a place three miles east by the name of Chathamville.” On May 28 and 29 of the same year, “Having received the consent of the Grand Lodge for the removal of Dally Lodge to Chathamville, the lodge furniture and fixtures were moved from Dally to Chathamville.” A map has been preserved that shows the name was Chathamville. It shows the railroad, city blocks, and a general layout of Chathamville at that time. All available evidence indicates that the only place the name Avard was found in the community was on the post office. Noah Chatham was successful in having that removed in 1908.
By 1905 the town had been surveyed and staked off by Sam Collins. Collins worked for Tremont Lumber Company as a surveyor and it is believed that his residence was the second to be constructed in Chathamville after Dr. Wilder’s home. On July 4, 1905, Collins, serving as the official representative of Tremont Lumber Company, stood on the depot loading platform and auctioned off the town lots. Prices varied anywhere from $5.00 to $25.00 depending on how close to the commercial sector it was located. A few lots where the businesses exist today brought a higher price. People came from miles around by horseback, wagons, buggies, and even trains to attend the auction. All of the outlying communities were represented. People from Dally, Brooklyn, Hood’s Mill, and Womack all bought stock in the future of Chatham by their purchase of lots and the establishing of residences and businesses. The owners of the three earliest mercantile businesses in Chatham all had previous experience in business in their respective communities before coming to Chatham. Dr. Samuel Wilder had a store at Dally; John Anders owned and operated one at Brooklyn; and W.D. Womack had connections with a store owned by Charlie Womack in the community of Womack.
Since the very beginning of Chatham’s existence the timber industry has been the reason for and stimulus behind the economic well-being of the people living there. The cutting of the virgin pine timber made the construction of railroads a necessity which in turn gave birth to small villages and towns such as Chatham.
Logging camps and sawmills provided much needed jobs, especially in times of economic depression, although the timber industry was not immune to adverse economic conditions either. There have been innumerable sawmills in the vicinity of Chatham over a period of years. At one time there were five big sawmills located on the Trmont and Gulf Railroad alone: Tremont, Eros, Dodson, Jonesboro, and Rochelle. Although the logging and marketing of timber has changed drastically over the years, the timber industry still is the main economic pursuit of the people of Chatham.
By 1911, both Jonesboro and Chatham were growing rapidly and looking to the future. The South Arkansas Southern Railway Company had run the first railroad in the parish through Jonesboro in 1900. In 1903, the Tremont and Gulf Railroad, had run its line from Eros to Winnfield and as a result, Chatham has been founded. These two railways, while providing the impetus for the establishment of new communities, also proved to be the downfall of others. Dally was wiped out after being bypassed, and Vernon, which had been the parish seat since the formulation of Jackson Parish in 1845, would decline rapidly in importance in the early 1900's.
More populous areas of the parish began to clamor for a changing of the parish seat. Both Chatham and Jonesboro made their bids for the new parish seat. Vernon, naturally did not want to see the seat moved. Chatham and Jonesboro were both anxious to have it moved. As early as 1908 a bill was introduced in the Louisiana legislature to authorize a vote on the issue. Bill after bill was introduced; argument after argument was voiced. The people of Chatham felt they should have the seat of government since Chatham was geographically nearer the center of the parish. Finally, it was determined that on February 9, 1911, an election would be held to allow voters to decide the site of the new court house. When the votes were counted, Jonesboro had received more votes than any other community in the parish; however, it was not a majority. It was decided that a run-off must be held. Jonesboro and Chatham were to be rivals for the honor.
It was raining on election day, but a heavy voter turnout was expected. ON May 14, 1911, when all the votes were counted, Jonesboro had won the election by 150 votes. The tally was Jonesboro 1064, and Chatham 914. The next day The Shreveport Times ran a story with the heading: “Jonesboro is to be Jackson Capitol; Won Over Chatham.” Then May 16, people from Jonesboro journeyed to Vernon with several wagons and transferred the records.
The people of Chatham were infuriated over the results of the election, claiming that the election had been “stolen.” A petition was filed contesting the election. Four of Chatham’s leading citizens were appointed to travel to Jonesboro to see what could legally be done. They returned to Chatham and reported that nothing could be done. Thus, the new courthouse was built in Jonesboro where it has remained to the present time.
A hand drawn seal by the Governor of Louisiana, J. Y. Sanders, is found on the proclamation incorporating Chatham as a Village in January 1909. J.M. Collins was elected mayor, and the population was approximately 220. In 1938, Chatham was incorporated as a town. Today the population of Chatham has exceeded 850 people. Despite a tendency of the employable ages to migrate to other areas, Chatham has sustained a population growth trend throughout its existence.
This trail was used extensively by the Indians to transport salt from Louisiana salt works to the many Indian villages along the route. It was also a part of Sieur de Bienville’s route to Natchitoches by way of Chatham in 1700 on his trip from Lake Providence to Natchitoches.
Following Bienville’s exploration, white men began to drift into Ouachita River Valley country or what was to become known as the “Ouachita District,” which would comprise most of northeastern Louisiana. Ouachita Parish, created, March 31, 1807, named for the Ouachita Indians, was one of the original twelve counties in 1805 and comprised basically the same area in northeastern Louisiana as did the “Ouachita District.” Most of the early arrivals to this area were hunters and trappers, or traders engaging in bartering with the Indians. Nobody was interested in settlement and the pursuit of agriculture, though there is a record that a Frenchman, Jean Bon, engaged in Indian trade and also acquired a large tract of land at Point Pleasant on Bayou Bartholemew. Others came but there was no serious attempt to colonize until the coming of Don Juan Filhiol in 1785. Filhiol was a Frenchman commissioned by Don Estevan Miro, Spanish military governor of Louisiana Province from 1785-1791. Don Juan Filhiol established the settlement known as the “Post of Ouachita,” which later became the city of Monroe.
There was no agricultural settlement in the area until a John Stow arrived in 1802 with a land grant obtained from the government of Spain. The grant lay eight miles east of Vienna in present day Lincoln Parish. Legend related that Stow and his wife Dorcas lived under three flags before his first crop was harvested. This occurred when Louisiana was ceded from Spain to France and then sold to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. He had first settled along the Ouachita River but was “flooded out” and decided to move to higher ground in the “piney hills” in the early nineteenth century. When Stow settled on his “piney hills” grant the land was literally uncharted. After the land was surveyed in 1813 and 1821 it was charted as Township 19, North, Range 2 West.
When Jackson Parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Union, Ouachita, and Claiborne Parishes, John Stow’s land was split by the newly created boundary between Union and Jackson parishes. A land of conveyance of 1853 shows John Stow to be a “resident of Jackson Parish.” John Stow lived the remainder of his life in the same place being a resident, successively of Ouachita Territory, Ouachita Parish, Union Parish, and Jackson Parish without ever having moved. He died July 28, 1861 at the age of 81 years.
Today the name Stow is often found with the “e” added but early records show Stow as the correct spelling. Stowe Creek, which flows through John Stow’s earlier plantation is spelled with a final “e”.
There was little development in North Louisiana until 1812 when migration began to slowly move toward the area. The settlements of Natchitoches and Monroe belong to the early French and middle Spanish periods but their importance was limited to use as military posts and centers for Indian trade until immigrants from the southeast began to move in and establish cotton as an agricultural base. One group in particular came in considerable number. The Scotch-Irish, most of whom had come to America in the years immediately preceding the American Revolution, were forced to settle along the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. Earlier settlers had taken most of the land along the eastern coast. The Scotch-Irish were hard-working and thrifty people and as land opened up in the “new west,” many found Louisiana, with its rolling piney hills an acceptable climate, a most desirable place to live and build a new life from themselves.
Location sites were often selected by advance scouts. Then large groups who were often related or who were good friends in the old community would travel together to their new found home sites. Many of the early communities in the area of the present town of Chatham were formed in this manner. Also, a very high percentage of the early arrivals to the area were from Georgia. One such group that was of great importance to the early settlement and subsequent founding of Chatham was known as “The Second Wagon Train.” No information is available on a first wagon train, but considerable evidence exists on the second. On November 10, 1857, families composed of the Hearnes, Shells, Jordans, and Carrolls combined and loaded into ox wagons before setting forth on a forty-five day journey that would take them to Jackson Parish, Louisiana in time for Christmas Eve, 1852. The Hearnes had been here two years earlier staying long enough to plant a cotton crop near what is now Brooklyn Church, located about eight miles east of Chatham. The worms ate the cotton and a sickness claimed the life of one woman, Mrs. John Wesley Carroll. The Hearnes returned to Georgia but in 1857 they finished a crop there and longed once more to return to Jackson Parish. Gathering some friends, the Hearnes decided to try again to settle the pine country of North Louisiana. This time the group had grown to approximately 40 people, including three slaves. A better time of the year could have been selected for the difficult trip since the streams were often swollen by the winter rains, making crossing treacherous. In some cases the wagon train waited for hours while the wagons were floated across. Joshua Shell kept a diary that records most of the events along the way, including a log that recorded the miles traveled each day.
There has been considerable difference of opinion among the local population of Chatham as to just when the names Avard and Chathamville were in use. Some people have said that all of the town was first called Avard and that later, Avard was changed to Chathamville, and in 1908 the “ville” was deleted leaving the name Chatham. Others say the names of Avard and Chathamville were in use simultaneously: Avard west of the tracks and Chathamville to the east. There is substantial evidence that indicates the latter argument is correct; however, further evidence indicates the name Avard existed only because of its selection as the name for the new post office. Within a year after Avard Post Office was established in 1905, the people of the community were referring to the community as Chathamville.
The official minutes of the Masonic Lodge for the period record that as early as February 2, 1906, a petition was circulated among their membership of Dally Lodge for “the removal of Dally Lodge to a place three miles east by the name of Chathamville.” On May 28 and 29 of the same year, “Having received the consent of the Grand Lodge for the removal of Dally Lodge to Chathamville, the lodge furniture and fixtures were moved from Dally to Chathamville.” A map has been preserved that shows the name was Chathamville. It shows the railroad, city blocks, and a general layout of Chathamville at that time. All available evidence indicates that the only place the name Avard was found in the community was on the post office. Noah Chatham was successful in having that removed in 1908.
By 1905 the town had been surveyed and staked off by Sam Collins. Collins worked for Tremont Lumber Company as a surveyor and it is believed that his residence was the second to be constructed in Chathamville after Dr. Wilder’s home. On July 4, 1905, Collins, serving as the official representative of Tremont Lumber Company, stood on the depot loading platform and auctioned off the town lots. Prices varied anywhere from $5.00 to $25.00 depending on how close to the commercial sector it was located. A few lots where the businesses exist today brought a higher price. People came from miles around by horseback, wagons, buggies, and even trains to attend the auction. All of the outlying communities were represented. People from Dally, Brooklyn, Hood’s Mill, and Womack all bought stock in the future of Chatham by their purchase of lots and the establishing of residences and businesses. The owners of the three earliest mercantile businesses in Chatham all had previous experience in business in their respective communities before coming to Chatham. Dr. Samuel Wilder had a store at Dally; John Anders owned and operated one at Brooklyn; and W.D. Womack had connections with a store owned by Charlie Womack in the community of Womack.
Since the very beginning of Chatham’s existence the timber industry has been the reason for and stimulus behind the economic well-being of the people living there. The cutting of the virgin pine timber made the construction of railroads a necessity which in turn gave birth to small villages and towns such as Chatham.
Logging camps and sawmills provided much needed jobs, especially in times of economic depression, although the timber industry was not immune to adverse economic conditions either. There have been innumerable sawmills in the vicinity of Chatham over a period of years. At one time there were five big sawmills located on the Trmont and Gulf Railroad alone: Tremont, Eros, Dodson, Jonesboro, and Rochelle. Although the logging and marketing of timber has changed drastically over the years, the timber industry still is the main economic pursuit of the people of Chatham.
By 1911, both Jonesboro and Chatham were growing rapidly and looking to the future. The South Arkansas Southern Railway Company had run the first railroad in the parish through Jonesboro in 1900. In 1903, the Tremont and Gulf Railroad, had run its line from Eros to Winnfield and as a result, Chatham has been founded. These two railways, while providing the impetus for the establishment of new communities, also proved to be the downfall of others. Dally was wiped out after being bypassed, and Vernon, which had been the parish seat since the formulation of Jackson Parish in 1845, would decline rapidly in importance in the early 1900's.
More populous areas of the parish began to clamor for a changing of the parish seat. Both Chatham and Jonesboro made their bids for the new parish seat. Vernon, naturally did not want to see the seat moved. Chatham and Jonesboro were both anxious to have it moved. As early as 1908 a bill was introduced in the Louisiana legislature to authorize a vote on the issue. Bill after bill was introduced; argument after argument was voiced. The people of Chatham felt they should have the seat of government since Chatham was geographically nearer the center of the parish. Finally, it was determined that on February 9, 1911, an election would be held to allow voters to decide the site of the new court house. When the votes were counted, Jonesboro had received more votes than any other community in the parish; however, it was not a majority. It was decided that a run-off must be held. Jonesboro and Chatham were to be rivals for the honor.
It was raining on election day, but a heavy voter turnout was expected. ON May 14, 1911, when all the votes were counted, Jonesboro had won the election by 150 votes. The tally was Jonesboro 1064, and Chatham 914. The next day The Shreveport Times ran a story with the heading: “Jonesboro is to be Jackson Capitol; Won Over Chatham.” Then May 16, people from Jonesboro journeyed to Vernon with several wagons and transferred the records.
The people of Chatham were infuriated over the results of the election, claiming that the election had been “stolen.” A petition was filed contesting the election. Four of Chatham’s leading citizens were appointed to travel to Jonesboro to see what could legally be done. They returned to Chatham and reported that nothing could be done. Thus, the new courthouse was built in Jonesboro where it has remained to the present time.
A hand drawn seal by the Governor of Louisiana, J. Y. Sanders, is found on the proclamation incorporating Chatham as a Village in January 1909. J.M. Collins was elected mayor, and the population was approximately 220. In 1938, Chatham was incorporated as a town. Today the population of Chatham has exceeded 850 people. Despite a tendency of the employable ages to migrate to other areas, Chatham has sustained a population growth trend throughout its existence.