Caddo Parish Courthouse - Shreveport, LA (The Death of the Butterfly Man)

501 Texas St.

Shreveport, LA 71101

32.512156,-93.749811

            We begin our next story in 1838, when a newly created Caddo Parish was in need of a parish seat and center for local government. A temporary courthouse, if you wish to call it that, was established at the private residence of Thomas Wallace. Wallace would later become an important figure in Shreveport and Caddo Parish history, also giving Wallace Lake its name. Obviously, this would only be temporary, and by 1840, the parish then used a structure at the corner of Texas and Market Streets. In April of 1855 the building was sold at a sheriff’s sale, leaving the parish without a courthouse once again so they rented a structure in the 500 block of Market Street from Ephraim C. Hart. Finally, in 1860, someone would come up with the ingenious idea that maybe, just maybe, the city needed a permanent courthouse so a two-story colonial-style structure would be erected.
            As we have learned, during the Civil War, Louisiana was a state without a capitol, as

Photograph of the original Caddo Courthouse.

legislature would move from New Orleans, to Baton Rouge, to Opelousas, to Shreveport, finally returning for good to Baton Rouge. During the times that the temporary capitol was in Shreveport, it set up shop at the Caddo Parish Courthouse. By the time the capitol was returned to Baton Rouge, the building was in great disrepair and would ultimately be demolished in 1889. In 1892, a new Romanesque-style courthouse was built and would remain as the center of local government until 1926 when it too, was demolished and replaced with the current courthouse that stands there today.

Beauregard Gothic Jail - Deridder, LA (The Famed Hanging Jail)

Courthouse Square

Deridder, Louisiana

30.846396,-93.288203 

        Although not necessarily one of the most haunted places I have investigated, the Beauregard Gothic jail has long been one my favorite places to visit. Possibly it is due to my years working inside of prisons; I have always been fascinated with this ornate structure. It’s not often you find a building so beautiful that was meant to house the complete opposite. This jail is definitely that example.
This three-story Gothic structure was built in 1914 and operated as the local jail until 1984. Its design is quite ingenious, as a single spiral staircase takes you to each floor. The first floor consists of a few offices and what I can best describe as a “drunk tank”, as it is one large dormitory-style room. The second and third floors are similar, as there are four identical cells that branch out from the small rotunda. A dumb waiter took food and supplies through the different levels.
         Another interesting feature is the underground tunnel that connects the jail to the adjacent courthouse. This conveniently allowed officers to escort inmates directly from the jail to a back staircase of the courthouse that led directly into the court room. This definitely kept security at a maximum and never allowed the inmates to come in contact with anyone from the general public. The most notable section of the jail is the third floor, which served as a makeshift gallows of sorts, as several executions were carried out here. Two in particular would go down in the record books due to one of Beauregard Parish’s most heinous crimes!