The Caddo Commission Opens the Proverbial Can of Worms

The Caddo Commission meeting last week, on October 19, was a choreographed waste of taxpayer time as obviously the vote on the Confederate monument was already in long before the meeting ever took place.  The vote to remove the monument was 7-5, but everyone knew two things going in to the meeting:

1. The vote would be to remove; every Commissioner had already signaled their vote.  There was no suspense whatsoever and no use for the citizen comments.  The intention to remove was made perfectly clear when the Commission rejected the recommendation of their own Citizens Advisory Committee. 

2. The vote would be purely symbolic.  The Commission knows that the monument does not belong to them - this is not contested.  The Commission also knows that there is a pending lawsuit filed by John Settle for the purpose of determining who owns the land underneath the monument.

The forerunner of the Caddo Commission, The Caddo Parish Police Jury, donated that parcel of land to the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1903, a donation which is recorded in the Police Jury minutes.  That no property deed was ever executed is the Parish's evidence that they own the land, but in fact, the heirs of Larkin Edwards may be the owners of that parcel and the entire courthouse square as no deed for that entire block can be found either.

It's a can of worms.

Via KTBS:

 The official parish position is that they own the land -- that the courthouse has been there since the early part of the 1900s and ownership has passed to the parish through what amounts to frontier rights. An opposing position is that the courthouse square belongs to the descendants of Larkin Edwards, a friend of the Caddo Indians who sold much of the land that was the original Shreveport.  

There is no record that proves Edwards ever sold the land that is now the courthouse square. Early maps show it was to be a Public Square.

Women weren't allowed to vote and had virtually no property rights in 1903 so it's not surprising that no deed was issued.

And what of "squatter's rights," or adverse possession?

This one will be a tangled knot for the judges and attorneys to unravel and is sure to play out in the courts for years -- all at a cost to the Caddo taxpayer.

The cost to move the monument will be exorbitant.  Despite claims in the meeting last week that the monument is "just a piece of concrete," it is in fact a priceless and irreplaceable work of art, regardless of how one feels about the subject matter.

The 20' x 20' base is indeed concrete, but Clio, The Muse of History, is carved from white marble and the four generals are carved from hard gray Texas granite.  There is a 12' tall column upon which a youthful soldier of white marble stands, and he is about 7' tall.

Much, much more than a piece of concrete.

The ownership of the monument is not contested.  It belongs to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a heritage organization founded in 1894.  The UDC is a non-profit organization and is currently raising money for their legal defense fund.  You can contribute either online or with a check.  Go to the UDC website or Facebook page.

At any rate, the meeting on October 19 was pure choreography.  The room was standing room only filled with "citizens" who wanted the monument removed.  To someone who had not been paying attention to this process, one would believe the entire city wants this monument removed.  At one point in the meeting, Caddo Commission President Steven Jackson asked those in the room in favor of removal to stand and I'd say 95% of the room stood up.  Pure choreography (I doubt he would have suggested that had he not already known the answer).

Some of the citizen comments were simply outlandish nonsense, some had valid points or concerns, and maybe the most moving was the 81-year old woman in the wheelchair who spoke for removal and reminisced about how dangerous it was for blacks back in those days.

I heard one comment after another about "Bloody Caddo" - a phrase I've seldom heard in my 58 years living here.  I've read lots of history about our neighboring parishes, Caddo and Bossier, and know plenty of atrocities took place here as in many other places in the South, but I've never heard "Bloody Caddo" mentioned by so many people in so short a time as in that meeting.  Was that coincidence?

One woman came up and spoke about the stench of the smoke and blood, and about brains being blown out, body parts in trees, and such.

It went on for a couple of hours and it was after 6:00 before the Commissioners began putting their two-cents on record, but of course it was already done.

It was a circus, a sham.

Within hours the United Daughters of the Confederacy filed for an injunction to stop the removal as everyone knew would happen.

The Caddo Commission resolution for removal does not say when the monument will be moved, where it will be moved or stored, and does not mention any kind of structural engineer to examine the monument in order to prevent damage.  Since they don't own the monument the Commission (aka taxpayer) will be responsible for any damages cause in the move.  They will also, in all likelihood, be responsible for damages incurred as the monument loses status on the National Historic Register because of the removal.

Commission President Steven Jackson said the attorney fees will not cost anything as legal action will be handled "in house" but don't we pay the salary for the parish attorney now?  And if he thinks the Commission won't have to outsource some of this legal work and hire an attorney, he's way off the mark.  This is going to go on for years and be very, very expensive.

The only winners will be the attorneys.

You can thank the Commission for that.  By the way, they will be bringing up millage renewals soon - remember that as you consider how prudent this Commission is with your tax dollars.


Anyone want to start looking for the heirs of Larkin Edwards?  Start here.

Previous Posts on This Blog:
On Mysterious Flowers and Monuments (9/17/17)

Caddo Monument Rally Bringing Outside Agitators to Shreveport (9/16/17)

The Caddo Parish Confederate Monument is Not Being Moved (9/10/17)

Mitch's Masked Men Scrape Jefferson Davis from his Pedestal (5/11/17)

In Defending Jefferson Davis, Arlene Barnum is a Class Act (4/30/17)

List of Offensive Monuments, Streets, Names in NOLA ...is Puzzling (4/23/17)
Confederate Monument Removal Scheduled for 1:00 a.m. Monday (4/22/17)
The Confederate Battle Flag Rises Again in South Carolina (2/6/17)
Can the Violence in NOLA be Alleviated with Equity Circles? (12/26/16)
Shreveport Work of Art Still Needs Funding for Restoration (10/22/16)
Can You Help Clio? Restoration Fundraiser is Now Underway (9/5/16)
Epperson Demands UDC Remove Confederate Monument Within the Year (7/6/16)
Epperson's Continued Attack on the Confederate Monument (6/22/16)
Report from the Caddo Commission Meeting in Which Ken Epperson Blasts "Jake-Leg Bloggers" (6/9/16)
Caddo Parish Confederate Monument Under Attack (5/19/16)
Joseph Welsh Texada's Life Mattered Too (1/31/16)
The Heartbreaking Removal of the New Orleans Confederate Monuments (1/17/16

A Courthouse Compromise to Appease All

Caddo Courthouse interior

There are few historians in our area I admire more than John Andrew Prime.  Mr. Prime was recently a member of the Citizen's Advisory Committee appointed by the Caddo Parish Commission for the purpose of determining the fate of the contested Caddo Parish Confederate monument which stands on the north side of the courthouse on a small parcel of land given to the United Daughters of the Confederacy by the Caddo Parish Police Jury in 1903.

That Citizens Advisory Committee voted to make a recommendation to the Caddo Parish Commission to leave the Confederate monument in place and to erect two additional monuments: one to Reconstruction and one to Civil Rights.  This recommendation was the result of months of town hall meetings with the citizens of Caddo parish and the result of study of hundreds of emails and comments from these citizens.

In the end, the Commission rejected the hard work of the committee and in a recent meeting voted to move the Confederate monument.

Mr. Prime, on the other hand, a voice of reason in all this madness, is on the right track.

Mr. Prime realizes that a community divided can only fall upon itself.

Mr. Prime has proposed a grand compromise.

If a Confederate monument standing on courthouse grounds insults Lady Justice and impedes the right of a fair trial for some of our citizens, then we should move the courthouse.

It's not a folly or a whim.

It makes good sense.

Mr. Prime wrote in The Shreveport Times on September 20, 2017:

On the other hand, removing the courthouse to a bigger, better location provides a remedy for the justice complaints and most other ills opposed by the howling anti-history mob. Turning the current courthouse into a museum, dedicated in part to telling the local story of the Civil War, the Reconstruction that led to bloody decades that led in turn to today's era of Civil Rights, also offers an alternative sure to kindle further public debate and discourse, as well as a tourism opportunity of the first order. No doubt the public, as well as historians from many walks of life in Shreveport and Caddo Parish, could offer suggestions for the building.  

 An alternative to building a new courthouse might be to repurpose a building on land already indebted to the city or parish, with copious parking, easily accessible by modern highways. 

What about Mall St. Vincent, the recipient of public largess recently through $16 million in upgrades by the city, owned by Canadian developers following insolvency declarations and reportedly available almost for the asking? It's right off I-49 and I-20, has tons of parking, and is easily accessible from most parts of Shreveport.

How about that!  A solution to appease all sides!

Brilliant!

The Caddo Parish Courthouse is actually outdated for modern use and a new courthouse is certainly needed.  The current building is architecturally and historically significant and has been renovated through the years to include new elevators, plumbing, and electrical upgrades.  It's perfect for a museum.

Why not use currently owned Caddo parish land on Cross Bayou for the site of a new courthouse?  Shreveport has a Triple A bond rating which means we can borrow money at a low interest rate - why not use that?  And I'm willing to bet that private investors would even step up to invest in this civil compromise if for no other reason than to put an end to this issue that is certainly going to cause terrible division within our city.

We don't want to be New Orleans.

If this monument controversy goes forward it will ensnare the city in years of litigation; it's already in the courts thanks to John Settle's lawsuit, but even if that is dismissed, as the Caddo Commission has requested, that won't end the issue of who owns the land under the monument.  This will go on for years and only enrich the lawyers.

The Commission rejected the first compromise offer which the Citizen's Advisory Committee proposed.  Certainly they will have the good sense to entertain and at least explore the idea of a new Caddo Courthouse which would benefit the parish and appease both sides of the monument issue.

Should the courthouse be relocated, the current building could be a museum with exhibits dedicated to Civil Rights, famous Caddo citizens, the Caddo Indians, and even Larkin Edwards who owned the land upon which the courthouse sits.  Caddo Commissioner Matthew Linn even suggested this at one of the Commission work sessions - his suggestion was to turn the upper floor of the courthouse into a museum.  Why not the entire building?! We can even erect a monument on the south side of the courthouse to Civil Rights, as recommended by the Citizens Advisory Committee.  There is no monument on that side.

This is the potential for organic growth which Shreveport so desperately needs to embrace and will be a chance to assist in the revitalization of downtown. We could even add some retail shops, a coffee shop, a gift shop...the possibilities are there.

But mostly, it's a chance for us to come together.  We can be different.  We can unite.

Are we courageous enough to do it?

The Caddo Parish Courthouse Remains an Impressive Thing of Beauty

Photo by Amanda Currier

As Caddo Parish Commissioner Ken Epperson slips another Confederate monument removal item on the agenda for the Work Session on Tuesday, perhaps this is a good time to note an article in the Louisiana Bar Association Journal this month which profiles historic courthouses throughout the state.

I drive by the courthouse fairly often and have been inside many times, but seldom have taken the time to learn about the history of the building or to appreciate the beauty of its art and architecture.

(I'm going to quote heavily from the LBA journal which quotes heavily from the official Caddo Parish website. No plagiarism is intended and I'll link you back to sources.)

The Caddo Parish courthouse was designed by Shreveport-born architect Edward F. Neild who was apparently a very busy man who designed many well known local buildings including the Louisiana State Exhibit Building at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds, the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center, the gymnasium and Northwestern State University, and many buildings on the Louisiana Tech campus. Beyond the Louisiana borders, Neild designed the Truman library in Independence, Missouri and was a consulting architect on the rehabilitation of the White House during Truman's administration. He also designed two of the Japanese relocation camps in Arkansas during WWII.

(Photo courtesy of Caddo.org: Historic Courthouse)

For the Caddo Parish Courthouse, which dates back to 1926, Neild used pink and gray Tennessee
marble on the floors with a Belgian black marble border. The walls are Rosetta marble and Art Deco flourishes can be seen throughout the foyer especially, and in the exterior ornaments, carving, and large lamps on each side of the entrance.

Like many buildings around here, the courthouse also has its share of haunted stories.  The seventh floor still has the ominous jail cells that once held prisoners and the eighth floor was where the condemned were hung. KTBS reporter Devon Patton took a tour in 2014 and filed this story:

One the eeriest places in the courthouse include the abandoned jail that sits on the 7th floor. Above the jail is the place where the hangman used to execute criminals. We found the latch where the floor would drop the person from the 8th floor to their death.

Interestingly, and perhaps Commissioner Epperson should read this, the article in the Louisiana Bar Association magazine notes the Confederate monument standing on the north side of the courthouse and the oddity that the land it stands on does not belong to the parish but to the Daughters of the Confederacy:

On the Texas Street side of the courthouse, a Confederate Veterans Reunion Monument honors those who died fighting for the Confederacy.Unbeknownst to many, this small tract of land within the perimeter of the courthouse property is actually private property owned by the Daughters of the Confederacy and not to the Parish.

As it has been noted many times, the small plot of land upon which the monument stands was donated to the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1903 along with a donation of $1,000 for the commission of the monument.  It is theirs for use in perpetuity.

As Commissioner Epperson has escalated his push for removal of the monument, a recent story by Gerry May of KTBS news indicates that this could create far more problems than Epperson may be willing to bear:

(Photo courtesy of Caddo.org: Historic courthouse)

In a recent guest column in the Shreveport Times, Epperson wrote, "The Confederate monument is placed illegally on Caddo Parish's property and should be removed immediately by the owners." 

Epperson cites a title search that was done in 2002 to determine ownership of the courthouse land. While the title company wrote, "our records do not disclose a deed," it went on to say "acquisitive prescription would have long since prevailed over any flaw in the dedication of the subject tract." 

And what is "acquisitive prescription?" 

"It's a method of obtaining title to property by use and possession over a certain period of time," explains Caddo Parish Attorney Donna Frazier. It's something that goes back to frontier days. If you stayed on a piece of land for 30 years, you became owner.  

And to that, noted historian Gary Joiner says of the parish, "They're squatters."

The Caddo Parish courthouse opened in 1927 and while the metal detectors and the heavy security were never in Neild's plan, the beauty of his design remains.

Both inside and outside, the Caddo Parish courthouse is worth taking a moment to stop and admire.  And no nasty push by any politician with an agenda can spoil that!





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