Historic Louisiana

It was a clear, cool fall day in the year
1890. The trees were just starting to lose their
leaves to the approach of old man winter as
the first of the people began to arrive. Some
came by horse-drawn cart. Some arrived
mounted on horseback. However they came,
before long the cotton field of Fayette Causey
was soon reverberating with their excitedly
chattering voices. They were, for the most
part, settlers of a nearby farm community
known as Lind Grove. The occasion was
nothing less than the opening up of their
little corner of Northeast Louisiana to travel
by railroad!
The boundary of what would one day be
called Bonita is basically defined by a north
bend in the scenic Bayou Bonne Idée.
Settlement of this corner of Morehouse Parish
began in 1857 with the completion of the
Boyd Smith House. The high-arched roofline
of this Victorian-style residence enclosed a
spacious thirteen-room interior and was built
by the Dawson Family.
More settlers followed, dotting the
landscape with their farms so that there was a
considerable number available to watch as the
first train arrived on that crisp autumn day. It
must have been indeed exciting to watch as it
plied toward them, belching out a thick
column of smoke, its whistle knifing through
the still, quiet country air. There would have
been much to talk about for it was rumored
that the railroad tycoon, Jay Gould rode in his
private car at the rear of the train. They
wanted to get a glimpse of that. He was not
the real VIP, though. They didn’t realize it but
it was actually the conductor who was about
to decide what the name of their future town
would be.
With its audience anxiously watching, the
sleek iron horse screeched to a stop. Out
popped the conductor who gazed across the
lush, green countryside with frank appreciation
of its beauty. On that day, the name was born,
for the conductor had been given the task of
christening all the stops along the rail. And,
though the town would not be officially
incorporated until December 1903, she still
retains the name given her on that auspicious
day by a simple conductor: Bonita, which is
Spanish for “Beautiful.”
Today Bonita continues to live up to her
name. The verdant green fields and majestic
stands of hardwood and pine adorn the banks
of a beautiful Louisiana bayou, making it a
highly desirable place to live. The friendly,
hometown attitude of its inhabitants harks
back to those simple, honest farmers that
gathered in that cotton field so long ago to
watch the first train arrive.
Looking to the future, Bonita is striving to
diversify its economic base beyond agriculture.
Recent efforts have included moving a historic
cypress building next to City Hall. The
building, which was the office of an early doctor
in the area, will serve as the Village Museum.
The Village Museum will be one of the
attractions to entice travelers to stop in Bonita.
Another is the transformation underway to
turn City Hall into a visitor’s welcome center.
Being the first incorporated municipality
south of Arkansas, Bonita already serves as an
unofficial welcome center.
Also underway is a feasibility study on a
man-made lake in the Bonita area. The Village
has secured the blessings of the Morehouse
Parish, Police Jury, the Morehouse Economic
Development Corporation (MEDCO), the
Morehouse Tourism Commission, the Chamber
of Commerce, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), and private citizens in
pursuing a mixed use lake.
Other development ideas that have been
floated include a doll museum, a candy kitchen,
a business incubator and a gourmet coffee shop.
VILLAGE OF
BONITA
✧
Top, left: Awaiting the ribbon cutting for the
opening of the Village Museum, Saturday,
May 25, 2002 are Eloise Means, town clerk
for twenty-two years; Patsy Woodard;
Mayor Mike Lytle; and Irma Coleman.
Above: David Hill Jr. is in his seventies and
still working as maintenance supervisor for
the Village of Bonita. In this picture, he is
explaining how horses and mules were used
to till the land.
Below: Billie Owens sits next to pictures
of her parents, Dr. Melvin Williams
Owens and Letha Ellen Marshall Owens
during dedication of the Bonita Museum.
The building was originally Dr. Owen’s
office, c. 1920.
SHARING THE HERITAGE
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