It was a beautiful day at historic downtown Oakland Cemetery for the Shreveport Yellow Fever 150th Commemoration Memorial Dedication.
A large crowd gathered for the Saturday dedication.
The dedication was at the site of the Yellow Fever Mound, in which nearly 800 souls lay buried, most of the nearly 25% of the population that perished in the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873. Finally, most of those buried in that mass grave now have a name, listed on bronze plaques that surround the memorial.
Invocation by Pastor Bruce Carroll, Antioch Baptist Church
The dedication featured remarks by Mayor Tom Arceneaux, Antioch Baptist Church’s Rev. Bruce Carroll, Holy Trinity Catholic Church’s Fr. Duane Trombetta, B’Nai Zion Temple’s Rabbi Jana L. De Benedetti, St. Mark’s Cathedral’s Rev. Thomas Nsubuga, Fr. Peter Mangum of the Diocese of Shreveport, Dr. Steven Bell, pastor of First Methodist Church, and Dr. Jeff Raines, pastor of First Baptist Church.
The bronze plaques contain most of the nearly 800 names of those who died in the epidemic.
The memorial is open to visit seven days a week dawn until dusk.
There is one more important part the the 150th year commemoration- The Merciful Frost Victorian Dinner planned for Sunday, Nov. 19 at The Noble Savage, 417 Texas St. The Yellow Fever raged until cooler weather killed the mosquitos that carried it, and it was a time of relief and rejoicing. This meal will honor that Merciful Frost in the way that Victorians of the time would have. We invite you to join us for this very special event. A limited number of Tickets are available here.
The Victorian menu of The Merciful Frost.
