Washington Parish has a storied and somewhat infamous history. Once a part of the “Florida Parishes,” which encompassed the current parishes of Washington, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Helena, East Baton Rouge and the Felicianas. Washington Parish was “born” in 1819, in a split from St. Tammany Parish. But in another split in 1869, Tangipahoa Parish was carved from parts of Livingston, St. Tammany and Washington Parish. Since that time, the boundaries of Washington Parish have remained the same.

The town of Bogalusa was founded in 1906 by the Goodyear family from Buffalo, N.Y. In 1907, the Great Southern Lumber Company, owned by the Goodyears, erected a saw mill and it was managed by Col. William H. Sullivan, who went on to become Bogalusa’s first mayor in 1914. It was he who named Bogalusa after the creek running through it. By1908 the saw mill, at the time the world’s largest yellow pine sawmill, began operations. The population in 1907 was about 2,000, but within five years the city’s population had swelled to 8,500. Today, Temple-Inland operates a paper mill on that site and Bogalusa’s population is about 15,000, a drop of more than 5,000 from the town’s heyday during the ‘40s and ‘50s.

During the War of 1812 General Andrew Jackson led his troops from Tennessee, through Columbia, Miss., crossing the Pearl River and continuing through Washington Parish and into St. Tammany to a site in Covington. In blazing that trail, he opened up the area to others from Kentucky and Tennessee to make their way to the area seeking their fortune in the south.

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When it was founded, Bogalusa was a frontier town and it’s been said that one of the jokes of the time was about the criminal who was given a choice of the death penalty or being exiled to Bogalusa. The punch line was, “He placed his head on the block.”

There are accounts from back then that talk about shootings in the parish being common, perhaps because of the many saloons and gambling houses in Bogalusa, particularly in the Richardson area.

By 1919, labor organizers had come to the city, halting operations at the mill for four months. They reopened, but shut down for good in 1934, because all that was left to cut was in a 20-acre pond filled with logs that had sunk to the bottom. Although Sullivan had followed a reforestation program it was not enough, and the saw mill era came to an end.

The mill was sold to Crown-Zellerbach and Bogalusa became a paper mill town. During the paper mill’s peak years, residents would tell visitors who complained of the smell that it was “the smell of money.” Perhaps they still do.

The Daily News’ archives contain many interesting stories and articles from Bogalusa’s past. Here is an example, just as it appeared in the newspaper, of an obituary from the 1930s for a Mr. Leon Fontana, a prominent businessman of the time.

Leon Fontana Passed Away Suddenly

Many Shocked by Sudden Death of Businessman and Realty Owner

 Leon Fontana, prominent in business and political circles and one of the best known residents of the city, passed away about 10 a. m. July 8, 1939, after an illness of about a week and critically ill for two days prior to his death. He had, however, not been in good health for many months, but with the courage that had marked his entire life, made no complaint and his condition, revealed as he was stricken, and a shock to members of his family and his closest friends.

He was first stricken with a stomach ailment, when other complications were found, and 24 hours prior to his death his heart began to fail. He was attended by two Bogalusa physicians and a heart specialist from New Orleans.

Leon Fontana was well known throughout Washington Parish for his business acumen, his cheerful disposition, his contributions to many charities, and his loyalty to his friends. His unexpected death came as a distinct shock to friends and relatives, and from the time of his death until the funeral Monday, a steady stream of visitors came to the family residence on Columbia Street to pay their respects and offer aid and condolence to the bereaved family.

Funeral services were from the Church of the Annunciation, the Rev. Father Placide Dobyns officiating. Interment was in the Ponemah Cemetery.

Family survivors are: his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Fontana of Donaldsonville, La.; his wife, Mrs. Angeline Gullota Fontana; three children, Mrs. Lucille Mayfield, wife of Jack Mayfield, Bogalusa; Miss Lena Mae Fontana, Bogalusa; Pola Fontana, Bogalusa; six sisters, Mrs. Peter Capo, Bogalusa; Mrs. Leon Capo, New Orleans; Mrs. James Roppolo, New Orleans; Mrs. Joseph Malone, New Orleans; Mrs. Lester Duker, New Orleans; Mrs. A. C. DiBartolo, New Orleans; six brothers, Dr. S. J. Fontana, Bogalusa; George Fontana, Bogalusa; Luke Fontana, Slidell; Jack Fontana, New Orleans; Paul J. Fontana, Jr., New Orleans; Anthony Fontana, Donaldsonville.

Mr. Fontana came to Bogalusa in 1917 and had resided here since. His business activities included a grocery and market at North and Royal Streets, interest in the Barbecue Inn on Columbia Street, interest in the Club LeRue at the Pearl River bridge, agent for the Dixie Brewing Company and large real estate holdings.

During his busy life Mr. Fontana found time to participate in civic affairs, and was a liberal contributor to all worthy public projects. He was 44 years of age and a native of Donaldsonville.

Active pall bearers were: Dr. J. H. Slaughter, Jim W. Richardson, N. H. Seirsdale, G. C. Edmondson, Jules Trepagnier, Sam Formagus, A. D. Levert and Walter L. Moss.

The honorary pallbearers were Dr. J. L. Brock, Guy V.  Rich, George Marx, T. T. Dunn, C. L. Black, W. S. Richardson, A. A. Chandler and Charley Schwartz.