Harrisonburg, Louisiana

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Harrisonburg is a village in and the parish seat of Catahoula Parish.

History
In 1818, John Harrison acquired a tract of land, had it surveyed and plotted the township into lots. The name, Harrisonburg, was given this area which was incorporated into a village in 1872; however, records show that the site was selected as the parish seat in 1808. Early settlers began coming in and moving on to the rolling hills of the longleaf yellow pine forest to build their homes.

Harrisonburg was once a trade capital because of its location on the Ouachita River, with easy access to the Mississippi River and New Orleans. The Harrisonburg Road ran through the area as it crossed Louisiana between Mississippi's Natchez Trace and Texas' El Camino Real.

Fort Beauregard, which is located a fourth of a mile outside the village, was a Confederate stronghold during the American Civil War. In 1863, the fort successfully defended Harrisonburg from the attack of four Union gunboats coming from the Black River to the Ouachita River. After four days of bombardment, little damage was done, and the gunboats retired down river.

Websites

 * Catahoula History