33Titles
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Vernon Parish Library
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Lake Charles.
1889 to 2025Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
518,292Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Consider how daily life in Lake Charles may have changed over time, and explore the collection shared by Vernon Parish Library with that in mind. Its thirty-three titles include material from 1889 to 2025.
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Selected titles
The titles shared by Vernon Parish Library include “Leesville High School Homecoming” as well as “Yearbook, Vernon HS (Lion)”.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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Ways to explore
Share a question about Lake Charles with family or classmates, then explore the sources that can help you investigate it.
The collection may offer another perspective on a question you bring to it; use what is documented to guide your next step. Share what you learn about Lake Charles with family, classmates, or neighbors, and invite them to bring their own questions. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.
Explore the collection
Titles in this collection
Browse thirty-three titles and 518,292 digitized pages, with material from 1889 to 2025. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Vernon Parish Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.
Every search for the past starts with a question. Explore the titles below, follow the sources that speak to it, and see what new detail appears.
Leesville High School Homecoming
1,430 pages from 1973 to 2007
Newspaper, American Press (Lake Charles)
2,712 pages from 1889 to 1896
Newspaper, Leesville Clarion Ledger (Leesville)
40 pages in 1969
Newspaper, Leesville Leader (Leesville)
28 pages in 2005
Newspaper, Leesville Leader (Leesville)
395,402 pages from 1901 to 2025
Newspaper, Leghorn Times Herald (Simpson)
502 pages from 1944 to 1947
Newspaper, Llano Colonist (New Llano)
13,480 pages from 1927 to 1937
Newspaper, Peoples Friend (Leesville)
72 pages from 1889 to 1895
Newspaper, Peoples Friend (Leesville)
16 pages in 1890
Newspaper, Senior Advocate (Vernon Parish)
2,748 pages from 1988 to 1990
Newspaper, Star Press (Leesville)
32 pages in 1928
Newspaper, Vernon Journal (Leesville)
4,616 pages from 1981 to 1983
Newspaper, Vernon Parish Democrat (Vernon Parish)
752 pages from 1929 to 1930
Other, History of Vernon High School Football
214 pages in 2022
Other, Jack Hadnot Collection
5,222 pages in 1901
Other, Leesville High School Wampus Cat Football History
464 pages in 2022
Other, Old Louisiana Plantation Homes And Family Trees
4,432 pages in 1901
Yearbook, Anacoco School (Chief)
5,086 pages from 1960 to 1997
Yearbook, Bosier HS (Les Memoires, Bosier)
948 pages from 1952 to 1955
Yearbook, Evans School (Eagles)
9,818 pages from 1950 to 2021
Yearbook, Faith Christian Academy (Patriot)
2,426 pages from 2008 to 2022
Yearbook, Hicks School (Pirate)
6,230 pages from 1958 to 2019
Yearbook, Hornbeck School (Hornet)
3,316 pages from 1950 to 1981
Yearbook, Leesville HS (Wampus Cats)
20,820 pages from 1911 to 2025
Yearbook, Leesville Junior HS (Cat Tracks)
3,340 pages from 1966 to 2022
Yearbook, Louisiana School of Math Science Art (Natchitoches)
662 pages from 2019 to 2020
Yearbook, Ouachita HS (Roarer, Monroe)
736 pages from 1950 to 1952
Yearbook, Pickering School (Red Devil)
6,636 pages from 1950 to 1987
Yearbook, Pitkin School (Tigers)
7,104 pages from 1959 to 2009
Yearbook, Rosepine School (Spotlight)
3,568 pages from 1943 to 1979
Yearbook, Simpson School (Bronco)
14,602 pages from 1946 to 2025
Yearbook, Vernon Elementary School (Panther Pride)
510 pages from 1995 to 2010
Yearbook, Vernon HS (Lion)
328 pages from 1965 to 1968
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About the Archive
About The Vernon Parish Library's History Archives
The Vernon Parish Library archive contains a wide variety of content, including the town's newspapers and the school's yearbooks. In partnership with Advantage Archives , the library is able to provide free access to these valuable historical resources. The archive currently includes:
About the Library
About The Vernon Parish Public Library
The Vernon Parish Public Library has been a pillar of the community since its establishment in the 20th century. It has grown from a small collection of books in a modest building to a modern institution offering books, digital resources, community programs, and educational tools. Over the years, the library has adapted to meet the changing needs of Vernon Parish’s diverse population, providing vital services through periods of war, economic hardship, and cultural shifts. The library fosters a love of learning and supports personal growth through various resources, from children’s reading programs to job-seeker assistance. The library is dedicated to preserving local history, housing a vast collection of historical documents, photographs, and records that chronicle Vernon Parish from its earliest days to the present. The digitalization of historical content enhances public accessibility and preserves materials as backups in case the originals are damaged or lost. The Vernon Parish Public Library hosts various events, workshops, and seminars throughout the year, providing a space for residents of all ages to come together, exchange ideas, and celebrate their unique culture and heritage.
About the Community
About Vernon Parish
Established on March 30, 1871, Vernon Parish was named after George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. The parish economy has been largely based on pine products since its inception, with the logging and lumber business thriving since 1897 with the arrival of the Kansas City Southern Railway, still in operation today. Leesville, known as "No Man's Land of Louisiana," became the seat of Vernon Parish in 1871 and was incorporated on February 15, 1900. Founded by Dr. Edmund E. Smart and named by his father, Senator R. Smart, after Confederate hero General Robert E. Lee, Leesville was laid out on Dr. Smart's plantation, with his home still standing on the corner of 1st and Lulu Streets.
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Build a path another reader can retrace
Explore a person, organization, or place connected with Lake Charles through the descriptions in the collection details shared by the Vernon Parish Library. Keep a possible connection distinct from a confirmed one until the source details support it. Keep a concise record of the words you searched, the sources you checked, and the references you found. This makes the next step easier to evaluate.
Keep useful and unsuccessful searches in the same research trail. Try a related name, place, organization, or period where the collection allows, and check each result in context before extending it into a family or community story. Note which source supports each connection.
A research trail is most useful when it leaves room for what is not yet known. Record the title, date, and page or item reference where available, along with what remains uncertain and which question you want to follow next. Those details help keep a possible connection from becoming an unsupported conclusion.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Vernon Parish Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.
Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.
Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.
Learn about partnerships
Stories, research tips, and archive news
Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.
May 7, 2025
Why Microfilm is still important in 2023
Preserving documents on microfilm has been a popular method of storage for many years, and it still holds many benefits today. Here…
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May 7, 2025
Don’t Search For An Obituary By Only Searching For An “Obituary”
In the quest to trace our roots and understand our heritage, obituaries often serve as a crucial starting point. Obituaries are undoubtedly…
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April 9, 2025
Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries: Exploring Cold Cases and Unconventional Clues
Even the most esteemed police forces in the county encounter perplexing cold case files. These unsolved mysteries often leave investigators and genealogists…
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April 1, 2025
This Week in History: March 31st through April 6th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. This week in history, there is absolutely nothing to talk about… April Fools! April…
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March 24, 2025
This Week in History: March 24th through March 30th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. It has officially been a year since I started writing This Week in History,…
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March 18, 2025
It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?
We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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