Editing West Carroll Parish, Louisiana (section)

===US annexation and development===
After the United States' [[Louisiana Purchase]] of 1803, all of Northeast Louisiana was considered part of [[Ouachita Parish]], including West Carroll. In 1807, a [[Methodist]] minister, Moses Floyd, settled on the west bank of the [[Bayou Macon]]. Later a trading post known as "Floyd" developed, and the village began to grow. It developed less than a mile from the Poverty Point site.

As the European-American population of Ouachita Parish continued to increase, the area was organized into smaller parishes; in 1832 [[Carroll Parish]] was carved out of Ouachita by the state legislature. This was in the period of [[Indian Removal]], when most members of local tribes were moved to [[Indian Territory]] (now Oklahoma) to extinguish their land claims in Louisiana.

The parish seat was located in [[Lake Providence]] on the banks of the Mississippi River. Throughout the early part of the 19th century, the European-American population of the western portion of Carroll Parish continued to grow; its economy was based mainly on cotton production and timber. By 1855 the population had grown to the point where there were enough votes to move the parish seat west of the [[Bayou Macon]] and [[Floyd, Louisiana|Floyd]] was selected. This area had developed into a thriving trading post due to [[steamboat]] traffic on the Macon. In 1856 construction began on the new courthouse, which was finished in late 1857.

With the move of the parish seat, more professionals and tradesmen settled in Floyd, and the town grew markedly. It developed as a typical frontier town with a hotel, post office, general store, and saloons.

In January 1861 the Louisiana Legislature voted to secede from the Union and declare itself a free and sovereign state. Less than two months later, Louisiana joined the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]. According to the book, ''Between the Rivers,'' the war resulted in a divide that would eventually lead to the creation of West Carroll Parish:
<blockquote>
When the Confederate Flag flew over the court house in Floyd, it was saluted by nearly everyone, but not so with our neighbors across the river. Plantation|Planters to the east, either out of conviction to their consciences or to save their property, signed an oath of allegiance to the United States, thus bringing a rift among neighbors who were willing to lose everything including their lives, for the cause of the South; and, they felt very bitter toward any neighbor signing such an oath.</blockquote> (Note: This oath was required after Union forces occupied Louisiana.)

There was little fighting in this area associated with the Civil War. Union efforts were focused on trying to gain and maintain control of the Mississippi River, especially at [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]].

Some historians believed that [[insurgent]] activity, such as the [[Quantrill Gang]], which operated primarily in [[Missouri]], replaced regular forces. This area was isolated and vast lowland swamps surrounded Floyd. [[Frank James]] was said to come through with Quantrill in the winter of 1863–1864, on their way to and from Texas. In the early 1870s during Reconstruction, Frank and his brother [[Jesse James]] continued their outlaw activities, robbing banks for personal gain from Missouri to Texas.

During the [[Reconstruction era]], local leaders opposed those appointed by the federally appointed state government. Some people worked against the provision of rights to [[freedmen]]. In the 1870s, chapters of the [[White League]] developed throughout Louisiana, paramilitary groups that intimidated Republicans, suppressed voting by freedmen, and supported white Democrats returning to power in the state legislature.