Sugartown

History

Although some individual families had come into the lower Calcasieu region earlier, the first permanent settlement in Southwest Louisiana at or around Sugartown occurred before 1818 when the area was part of the Neutral Strip. It was home to the first cotton gin west of the Calcasieu River (which operated more than 40 years), the first local school, the earliest cemetery, and the earliest church in the area. At the turn of the 20th century, Sugartown consisted of a Masonic Lodge, school, churches, racetrack, saloons, boarding houses, stores, supply houses and a doctor's office. Although never legally incorporated, Sugartown was the center of organized community life, the recognized trade, business and economic center of the area until, due to the growth of the timber industry and the location of the railroad, DeRidder supplanted it in the early 20th century. The Sugartown township was first surveyed in 1807, after the Louisiana Purchase. The village was first a way-station and overnight camping stop for travellers because Sugar Creek is easy to ford at this point. Sugartown eventually became the major stopping point on the well-travelled and direct route from Lake Charles to Alexandria. Large cattle drives were made along this route from the holding point near what is now the Beauregard Regional Airport to the rail shipping point at Lecompte. The Sugartown Male and Female Academy was established in 1870. It is generally recognized that this school marked the beginning of the educational system of Southwest Louisiana. W. H. Baldwin, a graduate of Columbia University, was its first professor. Pupils came to him from approximately ten parishes in Louisiana and from several counties in East Texas. Graduates of the academy became leaders in medicine, ministry,…

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  293
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  265
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  258
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  193
• Pine Warbler

  Setophaga pinus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  188
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  186
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  181
• Luna Moth

  Actias luna Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  154