North Caddo alums, how would you feel about instead, rooting for the North Taylor Rebels against their southern rivals, Mooringsport High? Maybe there would still be another regional high school such as Northwood, but located closer to the parish seat. It's fascinating to ponder how the area and individual towns might have developed had the Louisiana legislature adopted an 1876 bill submitted by Shreveport legislator Albert H. Leonard to create the Parish of Taylor out of the northern portion of Caddo Parish.
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Source: Official Journal of Proceedings of House of Representatives of the State, 11-Jan-1876, Page 35
Per related editorial commentary appearing in the New Orleans Times, the new parish would have been comprised of that part of Caddo north of Cross Lake, with Mooringsport established as Parish Seat. This would certainly have made sense at the time as, being a port, it was the center of commerce in the area.
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Source: New Orleans Times 20-Jan-1876 Page 4 (Proposed Parish of Taylor)
No information could be found on the obviously unpopular Clifton W. Taylor. The Zack Taylor referenced is the former president and only Louisiana resident to hold that office.
Alas, the bill to create the new parish was indefinitely postponed the following month and never revisited.
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Source: New Orleans Times 08-Feb-1876, Page 8 (Parish of Taylor postponed)
With the surge and ebb of the oil and gas boom to come 30 years hence, how might Mooringsport have looked today? I imagine it would still be the pleasant, quaint town it is today, though certainly larger, of course. Some businesses would still be in operation around a courthouse square to support parish government activities. Maybe there'd even be a Walmart (smile)
