Davis House - Shreveport, LA (The King of Cotton)

804 Wilkinson St.

Shreveport, LA 71104

32.4858,-93.746294

            As one drives down busy Line Avenue, it’s hard to believe that at the turn of the twentieth century, this main artery of the city was a simple dirt road. However, this did not deter Ella Hunt Montgomery from building her lavished dream home. Ella was the granddaughter of the extremely wealthy David “King David” Hunt, who earned millions in Natchez, Mississippi as a planter. At a time when cotton was king, so was David, as he owned a total of twenty-five plantations and one thousand seven hundred slaves during his pinnacle.
            Obviously, financial constraints were not an issue that Ella had to deal with. In search of a good location to build her home, she would opt for the Highland neighborhood, as its grounds were high enough to avoid flooding that often took place from the nearby Red River. In 1916, she would build her home on the corner of Wilkinson Street and Line Avenue. Here, she would really put a personal touch on her prized home, decorating it with lavished furnishings and such amenities as push button lights and high ceilings. As mentioned, the area of Line Avenue was in its infancy at this time but Ella’s home played a huge role in assisting the flourishing area in expanding a growing Shreveport southward.

Morris-Isreal House - New Orleans, LA (Skeletons in Your Closet....Literally!)

1331 First St.

New Orleans LA, 70103

29.930273,-90.08085

            I had a hard time deciding on whether or not to give this location its own blog or simply add it to the list of “honorable mentions”. Although a private residence, I decided to devote more than just a quick summary of the home, as I truly feel its past deserves a little more recognition than that. As I mentioned, this is a private residence and is not open to tours, loiters and/or solicitors, so please be courteous and not bother the fine people who own the home. Simply read these pages and file it in your “haunted New Orleans” mental file.
            Construction of the home began around 1860 by an Irish architect by the name of Samuel Jamison for local, Joseph C. Morris. Construction would be greatly delayed for eight to nine years due to a little spat known as the Civil War. By 1869, the home had finally been complete and was quite luxurious for the time. Stepping away from the traditional Greek Revival of the time, the home stood out in the neighborhood with extremely ornate amounts of wrought-iron work, almost appearing to be a riverboat, as opposed to an actual residence.