Downtown Shreveport Museum Offers History Lessons Worth Visiting
Everyone should know more about their surroundings and the history behind the city they live in. The Spring Street Museum in downtown Shreveport is one of the oldest buildings the city has to offer, and it retains its original interior and exterior.
The museum started as a variety of businesses, with the first occupant being Tally’s Bank in 1866. Now the museum, which opened in 1977, traces Shreveport’s history and houses diverse exhibits and artifacts.
During my time there I learned about the Yellow Fever Mound epidemic of 1979. This epidemic caused 759 of Shreveport’s 45,000 citizens to lose their lives. This particular epidemic was the third greatest to strike the United States. Almost all of the lost ones were buried at Oakland Cemetery in Shreveport, and most of them were buried in a mass grave called the Yellow Fever Mound in the cemetery’s southwestern quadrant.
The museum is free for all, so if you’re looking for a budget-friendly event, this is the place to be. This trip will last the family about an hour.
There are two floors of the museum with the first floor being exhibits that highlight many of the objects found in the museum’s collection, with the second floor being a Victorian parlor set to the 1870s and 1880s time frame. When you walk in, the first attraction that appears is this big antique history book in the middle of the floor that features a short film about the Civil Rights movement in Shreveport. There is also a Civil War exhibit, historic maps, transportation exhibit, and trolley stop locations.
The museum is located at 525 N Spring Street, in downtown Shreveport. Its collection of artifacts includes: vintage clothing dating back to 1835, antique toys and maps, firearms and swords, plantation records, photographs, Persian rugs, and original 18th and 19th century furniture, accessories and paintings. Its regular hours are Wednesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information and tour requests, visit: http://www.springstreetmuseum.org/.
