Editing Springhill, Louisiana (section)

==History==

Webster Parish was first permanently settled about 1818 near Overton south of the parish seat of Minden. According to genealogical findings, William Farmer, Samuel Monzingo, J. A. Byrnes, and Joseph Murrell were the first settlers in the area. These settlers formed an area that was initially referred to informally as "Piney Woods."  In 1894, though still unincorporated, what would eventually become Springhill took the name "Barefoot, Louisiana" on the notions of a Mrs. Maxwell, who assigned the name based on her observations that many men in the community went to work without shoes. The town that is today Springhill was finally incorporated in 1902. The first mayor was N.B. Taylor, who followed a year thereafter by B.D. Wilson. Peter Modisette was the mayor from 1914 to 1925.<ref name=sch>Springhill City Hall, Springhill, Louisiana</ref>

Springhill City Hall is located opposite the Springhill Civic Center, a meeting hall which cost $500,000 and was financed in the late 1960s under a voter-approved bond issue, with millage taxes levied against property owners.<ref>"Springhill Tax Beat, Center Is Approved", ''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'', November 6, 1967, p. 1</ref>

More recent mayors included Ed Shultz (1942–1954), Charles McConnell (1954–1958), Jesse L. Boucher (1958–1962), James Allen (1962–1974), M. A. Gleason, Jr. (1974–1978), Johnny D. Herrington (1978–1986 and 1995–2006), a brother-in-law of Boucher, James Curtis Smith (1987–1994), and Carroll Breaux, who assumed office on January 1, 2007.<ref name=sch/> Breaux, an [[Independent (politics)|Independent]], is the first non-[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] to serve as Springhill mayor. He unseated Herrington, 973–782, in the [[nonpartisan blanket primary]] held on September 30, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/09302006/09302006_60.html|title=Louisiana primary election returns, September 30, 2006: Webster Parish|publisher=[[Louisiana Secretary of State]]|access-date=April 1, 2014}}</ref> Breaux was succeeded in 2019 by another No Party mayor, Ray Huddleston.

The 1979 film ''[[Five Days from Home]]'', which was directed by and starred [[George Peppard]], was filmed primarily in Springhill. Peppard's third wife, [[Sherry Boucher]], is a Springhill native; her father, Jesse L. Boucher was a businessman and developer who served as mayor of Springhill.