Now Rodessa, Louisiana, But Why Was it First Named “Frog Level”?

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Real history buffs really don't have to travel far to find some of the most interesting nuggets of info in all of America.

In fact, just a short drive north on Highway One from downtown Shreveport to northern Caddo Parish, not too far south of the Arkansas border, a quick stop in Rodessa, Louisiana, might prove to be one of the most interesting of all.

A monument erected in Rodessa that's dedicated to the area's early settlers from Alabama and Georgia might leave visitors with more questions than answers.

The monument reads:

A TOWN MEETING WAS CALLED IN THE 1800'S BY NOAH TYSON SR., STORE OWNER, POLICE JUROR AND POST MASTER, TO NAME THEIR TOWN. THE FROGS WERE HOLLERING IN A NEARBY POND. A MAN FROM ALABAMA JUMPED UP AND SAID, "LET'S NAME IT FROG LEVEL." AND SO THEY DID. ON APRIL 11, 1879, M.C. SPEARMAN WAS APPOINTED POST MASTER. FROG LEVEL'S NAME WAS CHANGED TO RODESSA IN 1898 WHEN THE K.C.S. RAILROAD WAS BUILT IN THIS AREA. THE PRESIDENT OF THE K.C.S. NAMED THE TOWN AFTER HIS DAUGHTER, WE'RE TOLD. IN JULY OF 1935, THE I.L. YOUNG, GAS WELL WAS BROUGHT IN BY UNITED GAS COMPANY OPENING ONE OF LOUISIANA'S MAJOR OIL FIELDS. AS OF JANUARY 1, 1973, 101,773,804 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL HAVE BEEN PRODUCED ON THE LOUISIANA SIDE.

So, now that you have the facts of the origins of Rodessa, you might wonder what other questions there might be, that I referenced earlier?

What if it wasn't frogs making all the noise? What if it had been a baby crying? Would the town have been called "Squalling Toddler?"

What if it had been a bunch of pigs in a pig pen that interrupted the meeting? Maybe Rodessa would have originally been called "Squealerville?"

Or what if it had been a group of upper class Junior League'ish kind of women who got so loud that they became a problem? Could the town have originally been called "Gossip Stop?"

The possibilities are endless.