Something For Everyone
History, Nature And Charm Abound Along The Toledo Bend Forest Scenic Parkway
By Karla Wall
Experience The Toledo Bend Forest Scenic Byway. The 160-mile Toledo Bend Forest Scenic Byway, officially opened in early May of this year, highlights all the Sabine Parish area has to offer. The four-hour drive along Hwy. 191 offers travelers an opportunity to soak up the charm of the towns and villages; experience world-class fishing, beaches and boating in the 186,000-acre Toledo Bend Reservoir; and learn a bit about the area’s unique and colorful history by visiting the many historical sites located along the route; play a round or two of golf at the renowned Cypress Bend and Toro Hills courses; hike or bike the many loops and trails located along the drive; wander the lush gardens and stay in one of the rustic but well-appointed cabins at Hodges Gardens State Park (formerly known simply as Hodges Gardens); or watch birds and other wildlife from one of the many observation posts along the route.
You can access the route at Hwy. 191 in Stanley, La., and drive south; Hwy. 10 in Beaver, La., and drive northwest; or Hwy. 11 west of DeRidder and drive north. It’s also accessible from Hwys. 117, 171 and 8 from Leesville.
For history buffs, the drive offers a chance to travel the El Camino Real (Spanish for king’s highway), along Hwy. 6 in La. The route follows part of the trail, which runs from Old Mexico through south central Texas and into Natchitoches Parish, that was taken by Spanish and French explorers, and later by American pioneers and settlers such as Stephen F. Austin.
Visit Ft. Jesup, just east of Many on Hwy. 6. The fort was established in 1822 by then-Lt. Col., later president, Zachary Taylor in order to establish law and order in the area known as “no man’s land.”
The area, a 13-mile-wide strip on both sides of the Sabine River from the Gulf of Mexico to the El Camino Real, was known as “no man’s land” because, during the first years of the 19th Century, the area wasn’t owned by any government — it was an area no country wanted to lay claim to. Thus there was no law, and no law enforcement. Thus, the area was inhabited mainly by outlaws, who could ply their trade without fear of punishment.
The fort was in operation for about 26 years, and is now a state historic site, located off Hwy. 6, east of Many. You’ll find a museum, the original kitchen and mess hall, reconstructed officers’ quarters, a visitor’s center, a gift shop and a picnic area. Guided tours are offered. The site is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 am-5 pm. For more information, call 318-256-4117, or 888-677-5378.
The Museum of West Louisiana in Leesville, the Vernon Parish Courthouse, and the small village of Fisher, along the El Camino Real, will delight history enthusiasts.
To learn about some of the earliest inhabitants of the Sabine Parish area, visit the Adai Indian Nation Cultural Center, located in Robeline, about 45 minutes away from Toledo Bend. The grounds are set up with historically accurate teepees and dwellings. The Caddo Adai Indian Nation Cultural Museum, located on the center’s grounds, offers a glimpse into the life of the early Caddo Adai Indians, and you’ll also find an arts and crafts shop. The museum is open Monday-Friday, 9 am-5 pm. For more information, call 472-1007.
Also at the center is St. Anne’s Catholic Church, the oldest Catholic church in the Louisiana Purchase. Tours can be arranged through the center.
For the outdoorsman, the byway is simply a playground. Toledo Bend offers not only fishing and boating, but beachcombing, swimming and wildlife watching. Around 30 marinas dot the lakeside along the byway, providing starting points for boating, canoeing, jet skiing and other excursions. Numerous resorts offer great food, lodging and watersports accommodations.
There are many observation towers from which to birdwatch, perhaps catching a glimpse of the bald eagles that inhabit the area.
Mountain bikers and hikers can choose a loop trail of one to more than six miles in length, encompassing rolling hills, open forest, Toledo Bend, and the region’s highest point.
Try the ATV/biking trail at Cow Bayou Wilderness, and check out the bald eagle nest hike and nature exhibits at South Toledo Bend State Park.
For golfers, it doesn’t get much better than the course at Cypress Bend in Many. Cypress bend offers a beautiful and challenging 18-hole course that winds through inlets and bluffs. Cypress Bend is also a complete luxury resort, featuring a hotel, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, pavilions, restaurants, a fitness center and meeting rooms. For information, visit cypressbend.com.
Discover small towns that are big on charm: Pleasant Hills, Zwolle, Fisher, Florien and Many will all take you back to a bygone era. Shop small stores and flea markets for unique items; visit the many quaint and historic churches, homes and government buildings in these small villages.
The Toledo Bend Forest Scenic Byway offers something for everyone, and fun for the whole family.
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Sabine Parish
Towns, Villages
Sabine Parish is probably best known for Toledo Bend, hunting and fishing, hiking and biking trails, and wildlife watching. But the small towns and villages of the area are a good reason to visit, on their own.
Here’s a quick overview of the charming small towns you’ll want to include on a tour of the parish.
Converse
Established in 1906, the town of Converse was the site of the parish’s first hospital, a two-room affair built in 1908 in the back of the town’s drug store.
Located on the Kansas City Southern railroad, the town was in prime position to take advantage of the oil boom of the 1920s, and it grew, with the addition of a church, a new two-story high school and a cotton gin. This boom period also saw the construction of a new hospital, a modern medical center that could handle 14 patients and boasted an operating room.
Many
Many, often called the “land of green gold,” was founded in 1843, when the state legislature divided Natchitoches Parish to create Sabine, DeSoto and Bossier Parishes.
Named after Col. James B. Many, a commander at Ft. Jesup in the 1820s, Many is the parish seat, and the largest town in the parish.
The area was probably chosen as the site of the parish seat (the first choice was Ft. Jesup, but it was a military installation, and was a few miles from the center of the parish) because at the time of the parish’s creation, it housed a popular tavern and store, located at a crossroads along the El Camino Real (the ancient trail from Mexico City to Natchitoches, traveled by early Spanish explorers and early U.S. settlers), and was a stopping place for travelers along that route.
Many offers all of the conveniences of a large city, with shopping, a newly-renovated airport, and a state-of-the-art hospital. But it staunchly retains a sense of its rich history, and its identity as a small Louisiana town.
Florien
Located about 10 miles south of Many on Hwy. 171, Florien was established in the late 1800s, and lays claim to what is perhaps the oldest home in the parish: Corley Cabin, a two-story log home built in 1859. You’ll also want to check out Dover House, built just after WWI, about 1920.
Florien is the site of the state’s annual barbecue cookoff. It’s also home to the Boise timber company, one of the parish’s leading employers.
Florien can also boast what is known as the only gold mine in the area, located on high ground in the woods west of the town. The mine was old when the parish was first settled, and it’s not known who dug the area; theories include early Native Americans, early Spanish settlers, and it could even have been constructed as a hideout for the Murrell gang, outlaws who operated in the area before it became part of the U.S.
Fisher
All of the towns and villages of Sabine Parish honor the area’s history, and strive to keep the feel and look of a small town. But perhaps none more so than the sawmill village of Fisher, located six miles south of Many on Hwy. 171. In fact, the town was designated a Louisiana Landmark in 1979, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Districts that same year.
Fisher is like a step back in time. The town was built in 1899, during the waning days of the sawmill/lumber boom, by the Louisiana Longleaf Lumber Co., which owned all of the homes in the town until as late as 1966, when they were sold to Boisie Cascade, who sold them to the residents of the town. Longleaf was the area’s largest sawmill, and one of the most important on the Kansas City Southern railroad.
You’ll want to check out the many historical buildings in the area, including the Commissary Building, the city hall building, old Fisher Baptist Church building, the old opera house and the post office. If you can make it during the Christmas season, all the better; the historic buildings are decorated to the nines with lights.
Zwolle
The charter for the town of Zwolle was granted in 1898. It’s history, as with most towns in the area, is tied to the railroad and the timber/lumber industry. It’s still home to Weyerhauser timber co., which employees around 212 people in the area.
Among Zwolle’s first buildings were three churches: St. Joseph’s, built in 1831; First Methodist, built in 1897; and First Baptist, built in 1900.
The Pelican Drug Store was built in 1902, and was owned and operated by A.S. Keelan for 21 years. The bank building was built in 1905.
Today, Zwolle is perhaps best known for its tamales, believe it or not, and you can’t leave without sampling at least a few of the many tamale vendors in the area. In fact, pick up a copy of the Zwolle Tamale Trail brochure to help you choose a few places to sample from.
The town is also host to the Loggers and Forestry Festival, held each year in May; and the Choctaw-Apache Powwow.
Pleasant Hill
Pleasant Hill is well known to Civil War buffs as the site of the war’s bloodiest conflict west of the Mississippi.
It was established in 1844 by a settler from Alabama named John Jordan, who was joined by so many family members and friends from back east that the site he selected as a home became a thriving village.
A cotton farming community, and a prosperous one, by the time the Civil War began, Pleasant Hill had established a post office, a Methodist church, a boys’ college, a girls’ school and a hotel. But the town’s fortunes changed on April 7, 1864, when Federal troops ransacked the area, looting stores, occupying homes and stealing livestock and food.
On April 9, when soldiers returned to Pleasant Hill from a foray into Mansfield, Confederate troops caught up with them, and the ensuing battle claimed more than 1,200 lives.
In 1881, after recovering from the war, the town moved two miles from its original site to follow the new Texas and Pacific railroad. The town was incorporated in 1883.
Today, the town’s place in Civil War history is celebrated each year with a re-enactment, held on April 9, the date of the battle. The event draws thousands of visitors.
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