SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) - The Agurs neighborhood in Shreveport is north of the city's historic downtown. But Agurs hasn't always been a neighborhood in Shreveport. Agurs was once located on a natural island that was enclosed by the Red River, Cross Bayou, and Twelve Mile Bayou. Here's a part of the little historic village's history. Village of Agurs Agurs sits on Douglas Island, the only natural island in Shreveport, roughly bounded by Cross Bayou, Twelve-Mile Bayou, and Red River. Agurs saw business activity as early as the 1830s. William Bennett, James Huntington Cane, and Mary Bennett Cane were the first business owners. Mary was Bennett’s wife, and upon his death, she married Cane. Bennett died in 1837. Cane died in 1846. Mary died much later, in 1902. They ran their Bennett and Cane Trading Post on a bluff named for them in downtown Shreveport, a short distance from the Spring Street Museum. They operated a ferry between the trading post and the Bossier side of the Red River. They also had a minor operation on the north side of Cross Bayou at its mouth. The latter is the first known business in Agurs. This is shown on a Confederate defense map of Shreveport drawn in 1864. A portion of the Map of the inner defenses of Shreveport: Shreveport and Environs by Confederate Major Richard Venable, 1864, in the Hill Memorial Library, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Copies are located at the Northwest Louisiana Archives, Louisiana State University Shreveport, and the Spring Street Museum in Shreveport. The Confederate defense map shows Agurs as heavily wooded with some open pastureland, three homes, and a cattle yard. The Confederates used Cross Bayou as a naval construction base, which may have fueled the expansion of industry away from downtown Shreveport. Digital Map of Agurs. Research and cartography by Gary D. Joiner, Ph.D Adjoining Douglas Island to the north are Freestate and Wells Island. Both are considered part of the Agurs neighborhood. Beyond these and to the east are the Cherokee Park neighborhood and the Downtown Airport. The people who lived in Agurs mainly were located on the south and west sides, with the interior evolving from agriculture to light and heavy industry. Industrial activity began with the discovery of gas and oil in Caddo Parish. The village was firmly in place by 1903 and expanded progressively by World War One. It was named for W.C. Agurs, the largest landowner. The people in Shreveport who made the first fortunes in the oil and gas industry used Agurs as a centralized location to handle the needs of the drillers. The village was never incorporated as a town, but that did not hinder its significance. By 1926, its population numbered about 400 residents and contained 387 acres. The oil and gas boom saw new streets and railroad activity. This is seen clearly in aerial photographs by the Fairchild Aerial Survey Company in December 1925. History of redlining in Shreveport: Part 1 The City of Shreveport wanted to expand into three adjoining municipalities in 1926. These were Agurs, South Highlands, and Cedar Grove. It would later absorb the Town of Summer Grove in the same manner. The citizens of Agurs voted for the annexation, followed shortly after by the voters in Shreveport. Agurs’ mayor, V.H. Beach, handed the town’s books over to Shreveport’s Mayor, L.E. Thomas, and Agurs became an instant neighborhood. Display advertisement in Album of Facts Relating to Shreveport of To-Day: The Metropolis of Red River Valley, the third largest inland cotton market in the world (Shreveport, LA: The Shreveport Progressive League, September 1904). Agurs thrived with commerce during the Great Depression and World War II. Oil and Gas and related manufacturing concerns guaranteed it. Early Shreveport automobile dealerships were located there until they moved away from downtown after the war. The Brewster Company created an extensive complex that began as an iron foundry in 1910 and expanded into drilling rig construction and drilling pipe. The buildings remain today, as do most commercial buildings from the 1930s onward. One of a series of aerial images captured by the Fairchild Aerial Survey Company in December 1925 for Delta Airlines as the company sought a site for a new airport. Downtown Airport’s location was chosen from this. Source—Fairchild Aerial Photograph Collection, Northwest Louisiana Archives, LSU Shreveport. Research and Cartography by Gary D. Joiner, Ph.D. The Sanborn Fire Insurance Company mapped Shreveport on a scale of one inch, equal to fifty feet, between 1885 and 1961. Their purpose was to define fire risks, and their maps, although outdated regarding street improvements, still provide the most accurate depiction of the city in their snapshots of time. Agurs was captured in 1935 and again in 1961, the latter as a minor update. The Sanborn system captured buildings in the accurate shape and location. City blocks and lots are shown per legal plats. Most important to their purpose, building information is complex and precise. Wooden buildings are colored in yellow. Residences are labeled with a “D” for dwelling. Brick or brick-clad buildings are colored pink. Sanborn Fire Insurance Company, Volume 3, Plate 332. Sanborn Fire Insurance Collection, Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4014sm.g03401196103/?sp=37&r=-0.304,0.167,1.302,0.755,0 Almost all of these were commercial structures, and the name of the business and its use were labeled. Metal buildings are colored light blue, and corrugated structures are colored gray. More significant buildings show interior dimensions and structural supports. Rail lines and spurs are portrayed. Streets are shown in their widths, and fire mains with hydrants are also drawn. Sanborn did not map every square foot of Shreveport. Areas with no buildings, therefore no insurance risk, were ignored. Some pages do not abut others. Most of Agurs is found on sheets 332 and 344. Plate 332 lies north of Cross Bayou and strides North Market Street. This is the core of the original village. Digital aerial photography of the Agurs neighborhood (2020). Source—Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments (NLCOG). Research and Cartography by Gary D. Joiner, Ph.D. The Map is very close to what the HOLC valuators saw in 1940. It is perplexing that they chose to ignore Agurs as a commercial and industrial area. This punished the residents, almost all of whom worked in the industrial firms or small businesses that supported them. Agurs was the first Class D – Hazardous area defined by the HOLC (D-1). The HOLC D-1 description reads: D-1 This section is formerly the incorporated village of Agurs. Population 60% white and 40% negro - composed of low income class of laborers and cheaper mechanics. Very little residential development and practically all of it is cheaper rental property. There is some industrial development in this section and quite a few filling stations and lunch stands along the main highway which runs through the section. Area about 10% built up. Age of properties 1 to 30 years - single family dwellings predominate, mostly of cheap construction and poorly maintained. No shifting of population. The section is in what is known as the river bottoms. Sources: Eric J. Brock, “Agurs Used to Be An Independent Village,” Presence of The Past, Shreveport Journal, March 11, 1995. "AGURS, VILLAGE OF" Handbook of North Louisiana Online Published by LSU-Shreveport. https://nwla-archives.org/handbook/agursVillageOf.htm Eric J. Brock, “Agurs—Luck, Hard Work Paid Off,” Shreveport Times, 5 Oct. 1979, 1B. Brock, “Agurs Used to Be An Independent Village.” Towns of South Highlands and Cedar Grove, Ordinance 21 of 1926; Village of Agurs, Ordinance 64 of 1926, City of Shreveport Ordinance 54 of 1958. Brock, “Agurs Used to be An Independent Village.”; Brock, “Agurs Progresses From Farming Community to Industrial Section of Shreveportr.” Presence of the Past, Forum News, May 30, 2001. Sanborn Fire Insurance Company, Volume 3, Plate 332. Sanborn Fire Insurance Collection, Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4014sm.g03401196103/?sp=37&r=-0.304,0.167,1.302,0.755,0 Gary D. Joiner received a B.A. in history and geography from Louisiana Tech University, an M.A. in history from Louisiana Tech University, and a Ph.D. in history from St. Martin’s College, Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. He is a Professor of History at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, where he holds the Mary Anne and Leonard Selber Professorship. He is the director of the Strategy Alternatives Consortium and the Red River Regional Studies Center. His research interests span military history, local and regional studies, and defense-related projects. He is the author or editor of 38 books, including: 9/11: A Remembrance, Henry Chilvers: Admired by All (2018), History Matters, Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862, One Damn Blunder From Beginning to End, Through the Howling Wilderness, No Pardons to Ask Nor Apologies to Make, Little to Eat and Thin Mud to Drink, Mr. Lincoln’s Brown Water Navy, Red River Steamboats, Historic Shreveport-Bossier, Lost Shreveport: Vanishing Scenes From the Red River Valley, Historic Haunts of Shreveport and Wicked Shreveport, Wicked Shreveport, Historic Oakland Cemetery, Local Legends of Shreveport, Shreveport’s Historic Greenwood Cemetery: Stories in Granite and Marble, Red River Campaign: The Union’s Last Attempt to Invade Texas, and The Battle of New Orleans: A Bicentennial Tribute. Dr. Joiner is also the author of numerous articles and technical reports and served as a consultant for ABC, CBS, Fox News, PBS, the Associated Press, A&E Network, C-SPAN, the Discovery Network, HGTV, the History Channel, MSNBC, SyFy, and MTV among others. Among his awards and honors are: the Aaron and Peggy Selber Writing Competition Prize; Albert Castel Award; A.M. Pate, Jr. Award, Listed in the International Biographical Centre (Cambridge, England) Outstanding Academics of the 21st Century; Jefferson Davis Award nomination; Silver Spur Award nomination, Western Writers of America; Army Historical Foundation finalist, Distinguished Writing Award; Douglas Southall Freeman Award nomination, MOS & B; Book of the Month Club featured alternate, History Book Club Main Selection, and Military Book featured alternate; Lifetime Achievement Award and Life Membership, Red River Civil War Roundtable, Alexandria, Louisiana; Charles L. “Pie” Dufour Award, for Preservation and Scholarly Contributions in the field of History, New Orleans Civil War Roundtable; A.M. Pate Distinguished Service Award for Civil War History by the Fort Worth Civil War Round Table; Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation, Preservationist of the Year Award for 2010. Jaclyn Tripp is an investigative reporter with KTAL NBC 6 News in Shreveport, where she focuses on the history, culture, and environment of northwest Louisiana. She is a United States Air Force Veteran, a graduate of Southern Arkansas University and DINFOS, and won the Louisiana Press Association’s award for Best Investigative Reporting. While on active duty, Jaclyn served as a military artist and photographer and as the assistant to Little Rock Air Force Base‘s historian. She's a member of the Edward Murrow Award-winning digital team with KTAL NBC 6 News and KTALnews.com. Tripp was born in Shreveport and is a native of both Webster and Claiborne Parishes. Dr. Gary Joiner took the lead on this article.