Caddo / Bossier Parish Map

[cindyb1969]

Does anyone have a link of the Bossier / Caddo Parish line? I keep reading information about how parts of Shreveport are in Bossier Parish. Also, a road near my old neighborhood apparently disappeared into the Red River at some point. Does the river mark the boundary? What happens when it changes course, as it seems to have when Wells Island Road disappeared?

I always thought all of Shreveport was in Caddo and all of Bossier was in Bossier.

Color me confused!

[dimebag1980]

Does anyone have a link of the Bossier / Caddo Parish line? I keep reading information about how parts of Shreveport are in Bossier Parish. Also, a road near my old neighborhood apparently disappeared into the Red River at some point. Does the river mark the boundary? What happens when it changes course, as it seems to have when Wells Island Road disappeared?

I always thought all of Shreveport was in Caddo and all of Bossier was in Bossier.

Color me confused!

[Rardy]

What neighborhood is the one where the road may or may not have disappeared into the river? If it's in Old Bossier, you need to take into account that many roads in Old Bossier were removed and replaced with the sprawling Louisiana Boardwalk complex.

The Red River has changed course countless times over the years since the original parish line was drawn between Caddo and Bossier, and that has caused some major logistical problems between Bossier and Caddo Parishes. There has been talk about setting the path of the Red River as a non-static parish line, meaning that whenever the river would shift from here on out, the parish lines would automatically change. To date, however, this has not been done and old maps are still being used.

You're not the only one who is confused. None of this came to light until the casinos began paying out their taxes and the parishes started fighting over the money. Before then, it was always assumed that the Red River was the parish line, until it went to court. It was then decided that the actual parish lines come from historical accounts, not the present-day path of the river.

Below is a map of Caddo Parish, but along the eastern edge you can see where the Red River flows and where the parish line is. There are definitely areas where the parishes overlap and governmental jurisdiction issues arise constantly.

[dimebag1980]

The 2004 Rand McNally Atlas shows the "dot" for Bossier City west of the Red River, in what I'd assumed was Caddo Parish. I looked later and it does seem like there are some built up areas west of the Red that are technically considered Bossier. Weird.

[cindyb1969]

The road that has disappeared is in North Shreveport. It's Wells Island Road. Parts of the road are still there, but there is a HUGE chunk of it missing where those parts used to connect. The river is now there! (I looked on MapQuest and did an ariel (sp?) view.

I was watching a newsclip on KSLA news website about how they could not clean out an old bayou near my old neighbhorhood because it was actually part of Bossier Parish, but in Shreveport and what a major pain in the neck of red tape it was to get it done. Apparently everyone wants to claim land when the deal is good, and no one wants to claim it when it's work to be done. The people in the neighborhood (Highland Park) had snakes literally falling out of trees from the overgrowth in the bayou, and no one would come clean it up.

I knew that the Red River had changed its course from time to time (like near the duck park near Captain Shreve High School) but had NO IDEA how much and how recently until looking at Mapquest. Very interesting!!!

Thanks for the info!

[dimebag1980]

The road that has disappeared is in North Shreveport. It's Wells Island Road. Parts of the road are still there, but there is a HUGE chunk of it missing where those parts used to connect. The river is now there! (I looked on MapQuest and did an ariel (sp?) view.

I was watching a newsclip on KSLA news website about how they could not clean out an old bayou near my old neighbhorhood because it was actually part of Bossier Parish, but in Shreveport and what a major pain in the neck of red tape it was to get it done. Apparently everyone wants to claim land when the deal is good, and no one wants to claim it when it's work to be done. The people in the neighborhood (Highland Park) had snakes literally falling out of trees from the overgrowth in the bayou, and no one would come clean it up.

I knew that the Red River had changed its course from time to time (like near the duck park near Captain Shreve High School) but had NO IDEA how much and how recently until looking at Mapquest. Very interesting!!!

Thanks for the info!

[baffroom]

Yep, I grew up in Shreveport but attended Bossier High thanks to my neighborhood being in Bossier Parish. The Wright Island neighborhood behind Anderson Island is part of Bossier Parish. The Willows apartments off of Clyde Fant is part of it too. Apparently the bayou that goes around that neighborhood (forming the "island") used to be the red river before it changed course, or was forced to change course to straighten it out

[dimebag1980]

Yep, I grew up in Shreveport but attended Bossier High thanks to my neighborhood being in Bossier Parish. The Wright Island neighborhood behind Anderson Island is part of Bossier Parish. The Willows apartments off of Clyde Fant is part of it too. Apparently the bayou that goes around that neighborhood (forming the "island") used to be the red river before it changed course, or was forced to change course to straighten it out

[baffroom]

Wow, I had no idea! I really didn't know any Shreveport students had to attend Bossier schools due to these screwy parish lines.

[cindyb1969]

AFAIK, Wright Island is the only section of Shreveport that does that. We had maybe 20 or so students that went to Bossier schools when I was growing up there.

[dimebag1980]

That's just crazy! If you look close enough on MapQuest, the Shreveport Downtown airport is actually in Bossier Parish.

Brian, the trip did make me miss Shreveport. I know that there is still crime, but it was pretty bad when I left. I don't see it as being any worse in that regard....but I do see LOTS of great growth. And the river looks amazing! It was just beautiful to not see those horrible sandbars anymore!!!

Yes, Wells Island Road used to connect. I guess when they dammed up the river for the casino industry (That is what they did, right?) it made it shift course slightly. It had to have taken out a couple of houses in the process. Look on MapQuest and look at the aerial view and you'll see what I mean.