Shreveport is a progressive city in Northwest Louisiana steeped in Southern Style! Rich in attractions, festivals, cultural activities, fine food, recreational facilities, restaurants, shopping areas, museums and the best in riverboat gaming, which are unsurpassed.

Early pioneers came to...

Early pioneers came to the area today known as Shreveport and Bossier City more than a century and a half ago, recognizing the value of the fertile land along the Red River.

Migration to this area increased after Captain Henry Miller Shreve, a steam boat captain and superintendent of Western River Improvement, cleared a great logjam known as the 'Great Raft' in the 1830s. The Great Raft stretched 165 miles along the Red River. Captain Shreve's work opened the area to commerce, marking the beginning of growth and prosperity for the area.

In 1835, eight businessmen formed the Shreve Town Company. The group acquired the town site in 1837 from Larkin Edwards, who had obtained the property from the Caddo Indians, whom he served as an interpreter. The town, later to be named Shreveport, was incorporated in 1839. Agriculture was the area's mainstay in those days, but the lumber industry and light manufacturing developed through the 1880s with the assistance of railroads. In the early 1900s came the oil boom, serving as the impetus for industrial and commercial expansion.

Bossier City had its beginnings in the 1840s, starting as a small trading post known as Cane's Landing. The site was incorporated in 1907 and named Bossier City. The town became the home of Barksdale Air Force Base in 1933 and since that time has been one of the fastest growing cities in the state.

Shreveport-Bossier serves as the trade and cultural center of the 200-mile radius extending into Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, known as the Ark-La-Tex.

Southern hospitality and heritage run deep in the soul of these two cities, which offer a variety of attractions, cultural activities, festivals and cuisine. From Louisiana Downs, one of the nation's largest thoroughbred racetracks, to the American Rose Center, North America's largest park dedicated to the rose, and three dockside riverboat casinos - Shreveport-Bossier offers a gamut of activities and opportunities to delight visitors and residents alike.

This content is licenced under a creative commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 licence and has been copied from World66.com.