A Brief History of the Morehouse Parish Library

The Morehouse Parish Library first opened its doors in 1940, as part of a state-wide demonstration to determine the viability of the various small parishes supporting and maintaining local library systems. The following year, 1941, the citizens of Morehouse Parish officially ushered in the library by passing a local library tax. Following the election, branch libraries were opened in other municipalities in the parish: Bonita, Collinston, Mer Rouge, and Oak Ridge. Also during the 1940’s the Librarian and the Library Board decided to locate a second branch in Bastrop (Dunbar Branch), to serve the majority black population near the black schools.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the libraries and the population of Morehouse Parish continued to grow. In fact, the Main Branch in Bastrop outgrew its facilities and in 1963 opened a newer, larger library in the central part of the town across from the courthouse, which is now the Assessor’s Office. Morehouse Parish began to change, with the outlying towns decreasing in population. Bastrop thrived because it remained the Parish seat and with the presence of the two International Paper Company paper mills, the Bastrop Mill and the Louisiana Mill, the the population continued to grow.

The Library expanded as well, to keep up with the needs of the population. Children’s programs were added, as well as cultural programs for adults. The addition of microfilm reels with census records and copies of the Bastrop Daily Enterprise and the Bastrop Clarion from the earliest days of the parish, brought new patrons: genealogy researchers and patrons researching Bastrop’s past. From school children and scout members printing the front pages of the paper on the days of their births, to club members preparing programs around bygone events, to family members seeking obituaries - the microfilm machine had a central place in the Library.

In 1996, the Library moved again to its current location at 524 E. Madison in the old Savings & Loan building. The building is beautiful and added much needed parking. In 2002, the library was becoming fully automated with barcoded books, electronic checkout kiosks, and an Internet website. As technology has progressed, so has the Library. Today, one only needs to enter the library once to register for a library card to become a member of the Morehouse Parish Virtual Library. Using our website, patrons can download e-books, e-audiobooks, e-comics, e-graphic novels, and even digital movies. All are procured using a device and the internet. Items checked out of the virtual library never have late fees, damage assessments, or dog ears. They simply disappear after an appropriate time.

Our Parish is changing once again. The outlying towns have lost population but remain agricultural centers. Bastrop no longer has any paper mills; our tax base has decreased but the library’s importance to the community has increased as a portal to the internet; for people searching for jobs, unemployment benefits, and social security information, as a source of entertainment and a repository of the history of our people and our area.

Most of the photos on this page are courtesy of the State Library of Louisiana. If you have any historical information about the Library or Morehouse Parish that you would like to share, such as photos, written material, or other artifacts - please call us at (318) 281-3696 or come by any Branch. We can scan your photos and written material, and take photos of any physical memorabilia you may have, so that you can keep all of your treasures! Your information will be added to our Website which is the perfect place to archive and store our History. If we don’t preserve and record our culture now, it will be eventually be lost from the pages of history.