40 Facts About Shreveport Louisiana

1.

Shreveport Louisiana was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, a corporation established to develop a town at the juncture of the newly navigable Red River and the Texas Trail, an overland route into the newly independent Republic of Texas.

FactSnippet No. 744,646
2.

Standard Oil of Shreveport Louisiana and United Gas Corporation were headquartered in the city until the 1960s and 1980s.

FactSnippet No. 744,647
3.

Shreveport Louisiana was established to create a town at the meeting point of the Brown Bricks and the Texas Trail.

FactSnippet No. 744,648
4.

Shreveport Louisiana soon became a center of steamboat commerce, carrying mostly cotton and agricultural crops from the plantations of Caddo Parish.

FactSnippet No. 744,649
5.

Shreveport Louisiana had a slave market, though slave trading was not as widespread as in other parts of the state.

FactSnippet No. 744,650
6.

In 1873, Shreveport Louisiana lost 759 citizens in an 80-day period to a yellow fever epidemic, with over 400 additional victims eventually succumbing.

FactSnippet No. 744,651
7.

Shreveport Louisiana had come to the city four years before to work for his uncle, and had quickly learned English and the mercantile business.

FactSnippet No. 744,652
8.

Shreveport Louisiana had originally proposed a site adjacent to Cross Lake, but the United States Department of War deemed this location inappropriate due to the lack of suitable terrain for the facility's future expansion.

FactSnippet No. 744,653
9.

Technically, Barksdale AFB is neither in Bossier City nor Shreveport Louisiana but, like all military bases, is an autonomous community with its own infrastructure.

FactSnippet No. 744,654
10.

In September, 1941, the capture of the city of Shreveport was the objective of a U S Army war game, or military exercise, known as the Louisiana Maneuvers.

FactSnippet No. 744,655
11.

The city of Shreveport is 188 miles from Dallas, 98 miles from Tyler, and 41 miles from Marshall, Texas; 215 miles from Little Rock and 73 miles from Texarkana, Arkansas; and 250 miles from the state capital of Baton Rouge, 99 miles from Monroe, 69 miles from Ruston, and 30 miles from Minden, Louisiana.

FactSnippet No. 744,656
12.

Since then, Downtown Shreveport Louisiana has seen minor changes until the 2010s; the whole of Shreveport Louisiana has been improving roads since the mid-2010s, with continued road projects in 2018.

FactSnippet No. 744,657
13.

The busiest thoroughfares and areas of Shreveport Louisiana are the Youree Drive area, the Shreveport Louisiana Downtown Riverfront, and Highland neighborhood.

FactSnippet No. 744,658
14.

Shreveport Louisiana is home to a branch of the National Weather Service which provides forecasts and warnings for the greater Ark-La-Tex region.

FactSnippet No. 744,659
15.

At the 2020 census, Shreveport Louisiana remained a predominantly Black and African American city, with 57.

FactSnippet No. 744,660
16.

Shreveport Louisiana is home to Shreveport Louisiana Community Church, an Evangelical church affiliated with Assemblies of God.

FactSnippet No. 744,661
17.

The Shreveport Louisiana branch was later absorbed by Standard Oil of New Jersey.

FactSnippet No. 744,662
18.

Shreveport Louisiana suffered severely from this recession, and many residents left the area.

FactSnippet No. 744,663
19.

Casinos in Shreveport Louisiana-Bossier include Sam's Town, Bally's, Horseshoe, Boomtown, and Margaritaville.

FactSnippet No. 744,664
20.

Shreveport Louisiana is a major medical center of the region and state.

FactSnippet No. 744,665
21.

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport operates at expanded facilities once used by the former Confederate Memorial Medical Center.

FactSnippet No. 744,666
22.

Shreveport Louisiana was home to Shreveport Louisiana Operations, a General Motors plant that closed in August 2012.

FactSnippet No. 744,667
23.

Shreveport Louisiana is home to many theatres, museums, and performing arts groups, including:.

FactSnippet No. 744,668
24.

Mardi Gras in Shreveport did not survive the cancellations caused by World War I Attempts to revive it in the 1920s were unsuccessful, and the last Carnival celebrations in Shreveport for decades were held in 1927.

FactSnippet No. 744,669
25.

Mardi Gras in Shreveport Louisiana was revived beginning in 1984 with the organization of the Krewe of Apollo.

FactSnippet No. 744,670
26.

The Houston franchise of the professional World Football League relocated to Shreveport Louisiana rebranded as the Shreveport Louisiana Steamer midway through the 1974 season, but the franchise along with the WFL folded midway through the 1975 season.

FactSnippet No. 744,671
27.

Baseball teams in Shreveport Louisiana have gone through eight different name changes and seven different leagues all since 1895.

FactSnippet No. 744,672
28.

Shreveport Louisiana almost had a USL expansion team in 2020 before its rejection by the city council, though USL League Two announced the establishment of Blue Goose SC in 2022.

FactSnippet No. 744,673
29.

The Shreveport Louisiana Mudbugs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team that has competed in the North American Hockey League since 2016.

FactSnippet No. 744,674
30.

The LSU–Shreveport Louisiana Pilots compete in the NAIA as a member of the Red River Athletic Conference.

FactSnippet No. 744,675
31.

Shreveport Louisiana has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes—from the smallest towns to the very largest cities.

FactSnippet No. 744,676
32.

NeighborhoodScout found Shreveport Louisiana to be one of the top 100 most dangerous cities in the United States.

FactSnippet No. 744,677
33.

Ayers Career College is a Shreveport Louisiana-based college that offers career training in the medical and HVAC fields.

FactSnippet No. 744,678
34.

The Shreveport Louisiana Sun is the area's primary African American newspaper.

FactSnippet No. 744,679
35.

Shreveport Louisiana is home to several radio stations, particularly KWKH and KEEL, which have reputations beyond the city.

FactSnippet No. 744,680
36.

Don Owen, a member of the Shreveport Louisiana Public Service Commission from 1984 to 2002, is a former news anchorman on KSLA.

FactSnippet No. 744,681
37.

Shreveport Louisiana's past reflects the need for mass transit and public roads.

FactSnippet No. 744,682
38.

Commuter rail systems in Shreveport Louisiana flourished for many decades, and rail car lines extended out to rural areas.

FactSnippet No. 744,683
39.

Barksdale Air Force Base is located in Bossier Parish across the river from Shreveport Louisiana, which annexed and donated the land for its construction in the 1920s.

FactSnippet No. 744,684
40.

Shreveport Louisiana is home to the two 108th Cavalry Squadrons, the reconnaissance element of the 256th Infantry Brigade.

FactSnippet No. 744,685