Early pioneers came to the area today known as Shreveport and Bossier City more than 175 years ago, recognizing the value of the fertile land along the Red River.
Migration to this area increased after Captain Henry Miller Shreve, a steamboat captain, cleared a great logjam known as the "Great Raft" in the 1830s. The Great Raft stretched 150 miles along the Red River. Captain Shreve's work opened the area to commerce, marking the beginning of growth and prosperity.
In 1835, eight businessmen formed the Shreve Town Company. The town, later to be named Shreveport, was incorporated in 1839. Agriculture was the area's mainstay in those days, but the lumber industry and manufacturing developed through the 1880s with the assistance of railroads. In the early 1900s came the oil boom, serving as the impetus for industrial and commercial expansion.
Bossier City had its beginnings in the 1840s as a small trading post known as Cane's Landing. The site was incorporated in 1907 and named Bossier City. The town became the home of Barksdale Air Force Base in 1933 and since that time has been one of the fastest growing cities in the state.
Today, Shreveport and Bossier City serves as the trade and cultural hub of the Ark-La-Tex, a 200-mile radius extending into Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.