Calcasieu Parish history

The first courthouse at Marion, a crudely built log cabin, was completed in August of 1841.

Back to our timeline: The 1850's America is built with immigrants arriving in waves from northern Europe.

In 1852, however, Jacob Ryan secured the removal of the seat of justice from Marion to the east bank of Lake Charles.

The Sabine Pass Lighthouse is built in 1856 by the US government.

The village of Charleston, founded and named for about a decade, decides to incorporate and rename itself Lake Charles in 1867.

The 1870's and 80's mark a period of great growth for the area.

The 1890's: Improvements to utilities, communications and transportation continue to connect Southwest Louisiana with the state and nation.

1910 The Great Fire of 1910 destroys about 30 blocks of Lake Charles including the Courthouse, the City Hall and the Catholic Church.

On April 4, 1911, the Police Jury decided to build a new courthouse on the old site.

1918 The 1918 hurricane wrecked or altered hundreds of homes in Southwest Louisiana and destroyed a large portion of Gerstner Field.

Lake Charles Junior College opens on the old parish poor farm in 1939.

1948 The Calcasieu River Bridge, also known as the I-10 or Pistol Bridge is opened for traffic on Highway 90.

1950 The decade of Truman and Eisenhower As the American consumer demanded more goods post war and the economy of southwest Louisiana became more interconnected with the mainstream, our future was more clearly connected with the ups and downs of the overall American market.

Until the 1960's, there were two public school systems in Calcasieu parish: City Schools (Central, the ward schools, Lake Charles High) and the Parish Schools.

In 1967, a Parish Government Building was completed to house the various offices of the Police Jury.

With the creation in the mid- 1980's of the Chennault Industrial Airpark in Lake Charles, aircraft refurbishment and maintenance has become an important component of the local economy, and continues to grow.