Editing Gibsland, Louisiana (section)

== History ==

=== Coleman College ===
{{Main|Coleman College (Louisiana)}}
[[File:Coleman College in Gibsland.png|alt=Coleman College (1915) in Gibsland, Louisiana|thumb|left|[[Coleman College (Louisiana)|Coleman College]] (1915) in Gibsland ]]
Coleman College (also known as Coleman Academy) was a segregated African American secondary school founded in Gibsland in 1887 by O. L. Coleman; it was the first secondary school for Black students in northern Louisiana.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Richings |first=G. F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VJgLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA62 |title=Evidences of Progress Among Colored People |date=1903 |publisher=Geo. S. Ferguson Company |isbn=978-0-598-60814-7 |pages=62–63 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":03">{{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Ian |date=March 30, 2022 |title=Coleman College was the first Black college in north Louisiana |pages=A5 |work=The Town Talk |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122541353/coleman-college-was-the-first-black/ |access-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> It was affiliated with the Baptist Church,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vac5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA400 |title=Survey of Negro Colleges and Universities |date=1929 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |others=United States Office of Education |pages=400 |language=en}}</ref> and supported by the [[American Baptist Home Mission Society]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4s0AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA289 |title=Bulletin |date=1917 |publisher=U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education |others=United States Office of Education |pages=289 |language=en}}</ref> The institution produced primarily teachers and ministers.<ref name=":03"/>

The school remained in the community until the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], in which it closed in 1937.<ref name=":03"/> It later re-opened in Shreveport in 1943,<ref name=":03"/> and remained there until the 1950s.

=== Railroad history ===
First incorporated in 1889, the [[Louisiana & North West Railroad]] Company operates {{convert|62|mi}} of [[short-line railroad|shortline]] between Gibsland and [[McNeil, Arkansas|McNeil]], [[Arkansas]]. The LNW interchanges on both ends of the line: with the [[Union Pacific]] (former St. Louis Southwestern) in McNeil; and with [[Kansas City Southern Railway|Kansas City Southern]] (former MidSouth, ICG) at Gibsland.

For many years the road was well known among [[railfan]]s for its unusual stable of F7 "covered wagons"—unusual motive power of choice for a backwoods southern shortline. In the early 1990s, the F units were sold off to various places, gradually replaced by [[EMD GP7|Geeps]] from various locations. The LNW shops are located at Gibsland, a few hundred yards from one of the busiest interchange diamonds in all of the state. For decades, three different railroads interchanged in Gibsland. The switching activity could get so hectic the daily routine was known among railfans as the "Gibsland Shuffle."

=== Death of Bonnie and Clyde ===
{{See also|Bonnie and Clyde}}
On May 23, 1934, [[Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow]], an infamous pair of bandits, were killed by law enforcement officers off [[Louisiana Highway 154]], south of Gibsland toward Sailes.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=June 14, 2022 |title=History of Bonnie and Clyde Gas Station in Gibsland, Louisiana |url=https://pelicanstateofmind.com/louisiana-love/history-of-bonnie-and-clyde-gas-station-in-gibsland-louisiana/ |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Pelican State of Mind, Pelican State Credit Union |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=July 25, 2017 |title=Louisiana, The Historical 'Trail's End' to Bonnie and Clyde |url=https://www.louisianalife.com/louisiana-the-historical-trails-end-to-bonnie-and-clyde/ |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Louisiana Life |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dison |first=Benjamin Brad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQGRAwAAQBAJ |title=Bienville Parish |date=May 26, 2014 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4396-4530-7 |pages=23 |language=en}}</ref>